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Adult Opportunities

ACCA: Forest Ecology in a Changing World

Learn about forests, what they are, how they function, and why they are so important for our future in this semester long college class.

Content Detail

Trees and forests in urban areas and in the wild provide essential benefits to society and the environment but face increasing challenges that put them at risk. We will explore forest ecology through three units that include presentations, discussion, and field exploration:

  1. Ecological principles at four major scales of biological organization (individual, populations, communities, ecosystems) with an emphasis on forests
  2. Applications of these principles to current environmental problems impacting forests (the biodiversity crisis, global climate and environmental change, and others)
  3. Current methods in forest ecology, which we will explore through hands-on field experiences in Northern Illinois and during a week long trip to Costa Rica

The course will take place in person and online, and includes a combination of field experiences, classroom instruction, and community engagement. Students will gain a rich understanding of the biodiversity, ecological importance, and sustainable development practices for temperate and tropical forests, and conduct field visits to research and restoration sites both in Northern Illinois and the Monteverde cloud forest of Costa Rica.

Instructors: Spencer Campbell, MS, plant clinic manager, The Morton Arboretum; M. Isabel Loza Rivera, PhD, post-doctoral researcher, The Morton Arboretum; Megan Dunning, PhD, manager of adult learning programs, The Morton Arboretum

Credit: 4 semester hours (or equivalent), upper division undergraduate

Prerequisites: For additional information on prerequisites, travel requirements, and registration, please review the What to Know section. This course requires an $1,800 course fee, payable to The Morton Arboretum

Age: This course is open to students currently enrolled in the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area (ACCA) consortium.

Scholarships: If the course fee or cost of travel to Costa Rica would be a barrier to your participation, a limited number of scholarships are available to offset course costs. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, please email education@mortonarb.org.

Course number: ACCA-FE

Instructors

Spencer Campbell, MS, plant clinic manager, The Morton Arboretum

Spencer Campbell is dedicated to inspiring people to develop a deeper connection with the natural world. His horticultural and natural areas management experience guides his work in The Morton Arboretum’s Plant Clinic, a service to educate professionals and the public about how to select, care for, and protect plants. He leads classes, workshops, seminars, and public presentations about gardening techniques, ecological restoration, climate change, and wilderness conservation. His teaching philosophy is that true knowledge of the natural world is best acquired by immersing oneself in the company of the plants and the animals

M. Isabel Loza Rivera, PhD, post-doctoral researcher, The Morton Arboretum

Isabel Loza is originally from Bolivia, where she earned her undergraduate degree. After working as a researcher at the Herbario Nacional de Bolivia and the Missouri Botanical Garden, she got several fellowships from the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Whitney R.Harris World Ecology Center in support of her pursuit of both her master’s and doctoral studies at the University of Missouri in Saint Louis. Dr. Loza’s current research explores the implications of plant range, habitat breadth, and local abundance for the conservation of threatened tree species, with a special emphasis on the neotropical forest. She also coordinates and leads long-monitoring restoration experiments and conservation workshops that build capacity for restoration and conservation efforts in Mexico and Central America.

Megan Dunning, PhD, manager of adult learning programs, The Morton Arboretum

Megan Dunning has been working in education at the Arboretum since 2007. She oversees curriculum development and program management of the Arboretum’s educational programs for adults, college students, and green industry professionals. These programs focus on subjects ranging from trees and nature, gardening and horticulture, tree care, ecological restoration, nature art and photography, and wellness, and include both in-person and online classes. Before entering the world of public gardens, Dunning studied the co-evolution of plants and their pathogens at the University of Chicago, where she completed a PhD in genetics. She believes in the importance of hands-on learning and has been known to pull the car over to identify plants.

What to Know

General biology and either introductory botany OR environmental science OR ecology OR permission of the instructor are required prior to enrolling in this course.

A course fee of $1,800, paid to the Arboretum, is required to register for the course.

Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the Arboretum and to and from any field trips in Illinois.

Students must hold a valid passport with an expiration date later than September 2024.

Students are expected to arrange their own airfare to and from Costa Rica and provide their own health insurance that includes repatriation of remains during the field experience in Costa Rica.

Students interested in enrolling need to register both online through the Arboretum by clicking the “Availability” tab on the left and by contacting your advisor and registrar’s office at your school.

Questions about registration for the Arboretum can be directed to the Registrar’s Office at The Morton Arboretum: Registrar-ed@mortonarb.org.

If the course fee or cost of travel to Costa Rica would be a barrier to your participation, a limited number of scholarships are available to offset course costs. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, please email education@mortonarb.org.

Program Schedule

This program includes six Saturday meeting times in person at the Arboretum, February through March; online meeting times on select Thursdays, February through March; and one week of field experience in Costa Rica during May.

A complete schedule of Thursday sessions will be sent to registered participants two weeks prior to class beginning.

In Person

Saturday, February 10, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 24, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 2, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 16, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 6, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 20, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Online

Select Thursdays, February through March, 2024, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Field Experience in Costa Rica

Wednesday, May 22 to Wednesday, May 29, 2024

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