Abstract
The health and sustainability of humans, animals, and environments are interdependent. The relationship between climate change, disease emergence, and food security on sustainability of ecosystem services is embodied in the sustainable development goals (SDGs). A diverse workforce needs to be equipped with leadership skills to function in a transdisciplinary, team-based environment. Ecosystem health (ESH) provides a critical and innovative approach to solving these complex challenges and offers a toolbox to actualize SDGs. This article outlines the development of a course detailing the process of framing a new academic approach in ESH as a training pathway for undergraduate and graduate students.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 175-188 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| State | Published - Jul 30 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:These needs, at least at the undergraduate level to start, are being addressed through “Meeting Workforce Needs of the Future: Educational Pathways to Ecosystem Health Preparedness,” funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. In this training grant we are conducting a multi-phased approach to developing ESH competencies grounded in assessed workforce needs and trends and mapping them to existing courses as well as creating new courses to create an ESH pathway in the UMN’s already-established Sustainability Studies Minor. “Ecosystem Health: Leadership at the Intersection of Humans, Animals, and the Environment” – the course presented here – will serve as an important core course for the ESH pathway. Part of this training grant will also involve the creation of a faculty community of practice oriented to SDGs and equipped with tools of the ESH approach to further support course development for students as well as teaching efforts across disciplines. Another critical element of this work involves recruiting and retaining previously underrepresented student groups into this ESH pathway and continuing to update curricular content with an eye toward antiracism, social justice, and indigenous ways of knowing.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, North American Business Press. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Ecosystem health
- Ecosystem health education
- Sustainable development goals
- Team leadership
