Australia - Sydney: Urban Sustainability
Program Description
This 10-day experiential program focuses on urban sustainability in/around Sydney, Australia. Sydney is home to nearly a quarter of Australia's population, and we explore the cultural diversity of this metropolis, the management and conservation of protected areas for nature-based recreation and tourism, and the impact of humans on an urban environment (including topics such as energy conservation, carbon emissions and climate change, and water conservation).
Classes are based at the University of Technology at Sydney and field activities include a cruise on Sydney Harbour, a visit to the Rocks (site of Australia's first penal colony) and the Australian Museum, and a performance in the world famous Sydney Opera House.
We will also explore Aboriginal influences on the landscape and travel to the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area as well as Royal National Park (the second oldest national park in the world), to learn about impacts of cities on protected natural areas and implications for creating a sustainable future for the rural-urban interface.
Program Pictures
Check out our Flickr page to view pictures of the Australia: Sydney program!
Program Objectives
By the end of the program students will:
- Understand the anthropological, recreational, and environmental contexts of Sydney and its surrounding locale (including coastal and montane natural resource systems);
- Know and appreciate the impacts of human actions on natural systems and human responses to those changes, using the case of Sydney, Australia;
- Develop an understanding of ecological education, integrated natural resource management, and conservation as practiced throughout Sydney, Australia;
- Be able to address issues of urban sustainability, and the complex relationships between human societies and their natural environments, from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
- Work as an effective member of an interdisciplinary research team
Read the
program syllabus and
sample itinerary for the Sydney program.
Eligibility
We encourage students from all majors to apply, as we take an
interdisciplinary perspective to examine global issues in the
conservation of unique wildlife, natural systems, and cultural places.
Students should have a minimum GPA of 2.5 and be in good standing with
their home university or college.
Program Fee
The program fee (see
application page) includes:
-
Transcript
- Accommodation at hostels and motels
- Orientation
- All meals
- Group activities
- In-country transportation
Additional costs that students are responsible for include:
Top Reasons to Choose this Program
- Where else can you witness the longest surviving
culture in the world (Aboriginal) then explore one of the most
metropolitan cities in the world?
- Activities
include a cruise on Sydney Harbour, a performance in the world famous
Sydney Opera House, a visit to the Rocks (site of Australia's first
penal colony), the Blue Mountains World Heritage area, and the Royal
National Park (the second oldest national park in the world).
- You
will learn from leading Australian academics and professionals with
expertise in subjects related to the Humans and the Environment theme.
- You
will spend much of your time out in the field, visiting and observing
Sydney first-hand. We believe that students learn from study abroad
experiences both in and outside of the classroom.
