This course on Environment, Landscape and Heritage examines recent environmental change and the formation of different types of landscapes, including natural and cultural heritage places. Central to the course are consideration of:
- changes to New Zealand's landscape and environment since human arrival. We cover topics such as resource exploitation, forest loss, acclimatisation, the impacts of human activity on rivers and wetlands, and processes driving the creation of different types of landscapes and heritage spaces.
- the ongoing effects of colonialism on natural environments and people.
- approaches to investigating and understanding the transformation of environments.
Content is delivered using a combination of lectures, tutorial exercises framed around skills for researching recent environmental change, and guided walks. On completion, students should have an understanding of past processes and ideas that have shaped environments and landscapes, and be able to place the modern environment within a historical context.
This course will be of value to students interested in geography, environmental management, heritage, history, and/or archaeology. It leads into further postgraduate study in geography and environmental management, including courses such as GEOG 750 Environment, Landscape.