Course description:

This is intended to be a capstone course for the Protected Area Distance Education Program. As such, the course will be the last in the sequence and will draw from the principles and concepts introduced in the previous courses. These principles and concepts will be applied in a real-world context in order to address a challenge or opportunity in a given protected area. Protected area planning and management occurs in a dynamic and complex setting and it is important for students to get experience applying what they have learned in their coursework to a real-world situation in a protected area that they are familiar with. Students will begin with a description of the challenge or opportunity they would like to address in their chosen protected area. Once the description is complete, students will conduct a review of relevant literature that will provide a conceptual and theoretical foundation for addressing the challenge or opportunity. Students will also be expected to integrate concepts and principles from their previous courses in the PADEP in a synthetic manner that illustrates not only their understanding but their ability to apply what they have learned to a real issue in a real protected area. Students will be expected to spend a significant amount of time in the field investigating their chosen challenge or opportunity. The final output will be a research paper that describes the challenge or opportunity, uses the literature to develop a framework for investigating and addressing the challenge or opportunity and finally develop an action plan that can be applied in the protected area to address the challenge or opportunity.

Purpose:

The purpose of this course is to provide students a capstone experience where they have the opportunity to apply the principles and concepts learned in their coursework to a real-world challenge or opportunity in a protected area of their choosing.

Learning outcomes:

• Describe in detail (using principles and concepts of protected area management) a challenge or opportunity in a given protected area.
• Engage with and critically assess the literature on a given topic within protected area management.
• Develop a literature review that can serve to guide fieldwork.
• Analyze a given challenge or opportunity in a protected area using relevant literature in the field of study.
• Develop an action plan to address a real-world challenge or opportunity in a protected area.
• Synthesize relevant principles and concepts learned from other courses and apply that synthesis to a real-world situation.