By Braden Weinel//
The Hood College biology department will offer a new major in sustainability studies starting this spring.
Drew Ferrier, the director of the Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies, said that Hood will be the first institution in the state of Maryland to offer an undergraduate major program in sustainability.
Sustainability studies teach students how to best protect, preserve and use natural resources, focusing on the water, food and energy nexus.
“We take those three major areas of sustainability; sustainable watersheds, sustainable food systems and sustainable energy, and we build the program around those,” Ferrier said. “You have to address all three simultaneously, and that’s the thing most programs don’t do.”
This new major, which Ferrier will head, is related to environmental science but more uniquely designed to educate students on the research of sustainability and give them a practical, hands-on experience with sustainable resources.
Inside the classroom, the program is outlined to be 50% lecture classes and 50% labs.
The first course for sustainability studies majors will be Sustainability 101, which offers an introduction to the research and control of food, water and energy.
Upperclassmen in the major will have many opportunities to earn an internship or take an independent study course which emphasizes experiential learning, Ferrier said.
Hood College and the science department work closely with the city of Frederick to address and understand sustainability. There are three greenhouses and five gardens throughout the city that Hood uses for study.
Ferrier and his program team recently developed the Frederick Food Security Network, which mainly helps to run community gardens and distribute food to low income families.
The sustainability studies major was developed over the past two years by a task force of faculty addressing the needs of the environmental science and biology departments.
“Sustainability is becoming a more prominent part of everyday society,” Ferrier said.
The push for this new major is due to the need for a high level of understanding and knowledge in sustainability across the board. Ferrier said that jobs in the business field, non-profit organizations and government agencies are all looking for this expertise.
Ferrier is working closely with Daehwan Kim and Craig Laufer, two biology professors at Hood, to ensure that the implementation of this new program goes smoothly.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, the biology department will be holding an open house on Zoom at 12:45 p.m. for those interested in learning more about the major.
For more information about the sustainability studies major, email Drew Ferrier at dferrier@hood.edu.
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