EARTH, ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN INTERACTIONS IN TENNESSEE: INSIGHTS FROM A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL FIELD COURSE EXPERIENCE

Earth Horizons is an innovative, NSF-funded multi-institutional program with the aim of increasing workforce diversity in the geosciences. Environmental science students from Tennessee State University (TSU) a historically-black land grant university work with faculty from TSU, Vanderbilt University and partner organizations to develop foundational geoscience knowledge and professional skills through coursework, research experience and internships. A keystone component of the program is a three-week-long field course developed in partnership with Tennessee State Parks. In 2019 the inaugural session of this field course engaged six TSU students in a voyage across the state of Tennessee. We visited ten State Parks, and several additional parks, museums and points of interest, to gain on the ground experience investigating geology, hydrology, resource management, natural hazards and cultural history. Students met and interacted with park rangers, museum scientists, students and faculty from other institutions, and the general public. Along the way students maintained detailed field notebooks and at the culmination of the program created a story map detailing their discoveries. We highlight key insights from the story map and field notes identifying sites and moments that left lasting impressions, both positive and negative. At various points along the way we were inspired, confused, amused, exhausted, excited, scared and resilient. This immersive course helped to transform abstract concepts that began as words and pictures in a textbook into real world lived experiences and provides a bridge into independent critical thinking about the natural systems and resources that sustain life and society across our state and the entire planet.