Make a term project on- Wildfires in California. Focus on agricultural crops affected by the wildfire in California. It should focus on damage to the crops rather than agricultural workers affected.

Task:

  1. Examine and research an environmental problem or issue of your choice. It can be at the local level or something on a global scale – just make sure it is specific. Complete the project template to document your research (included).

    1. Topics must connect Environmental Science and Physical Geography (as studied in this class) – good choices are things like deforestation.

    2. Your choice must be approved by your assigned Teaching Assistant (see the module for details), no later than October 4, 2021 – I may give extra credit if applicable.

      1. If you are unsure, email your TA ahead of time for help with suggestions.

      2. Complete the online topic approval form in the Major Term Project Module. Your TA will indicate in the comments if the topic is approved or provide suggestions for improvement or if a new topic is needed.

      3. For those needing new topics, those will be due no later than October 12, 2021

  2. A draft of the project (using the project templated) is due November 1, 2021

    1. This may be presented in point form

    2. Upload to the Dropbox.

    3. Extra credit may be given for completion if applicable

  3. The final project, due November 22, 2021, must be typed – using APA format

    1. Double spaced

    2. Times New Roman font

    3. 12 point

    4. 1” margins all around

    5. Please using section headings as provided in the outline and put spaces between each section for readability

  4. A template has been included to help you address the questions/sections required for this term project

  5. The project must use full paragraphs, point form is not permitted in the final product.

    1. Each section in the template should be one paragraph minimum

  6. Proper grammar and English are required.

  7. Students must use in-text citation and referencing using APA.

  8. At least 5 reputable sources must be included

    1. Be aware sites like Wikipedia are not considered reputable sources, try using government and other reputable professional organizational sites

  9. See the grading rubric for details on the project evaluation

Research Project Template (delete unnecessary information, other than the cover page, each section must be at least one paragraph):

  1. Cover Page

    1. Course Title

    2. Project Title (should describe your topic)

    3. Your name and ID number

    4. Submission Date

    5. Instructor and TA names

  2. Describe the problem or issue

    1. What is the issue or the problem?

    2. Who does it impact?

    3. How does it impact them?

    4. What are the root causes of the problem?

    5. Secondary or Tertiary problems it creates?

  3. Demonstrate how this problem or issue is connected to the concepts learned in this class.

    1. What chapters or concepts that we learned are present in the problem or issue? Discuss how they are connected.

  4. Conduct an organizational needs assessment of the problem or issue

    1. Identify two organizations working on the problem or issue.

    2. What does each organization do well in response to this problem or issue?

    3. Compare and contrast how each organization’s approach to tackling the issue and asses the effectiveness of each.

    4. Identify criticisms of what each organization is lacking in their approach to the problem or issue.

    5. What could these organizations do better?

  5. Provide at least 3 solutions to the problem (if you identify solutions in section 4 you may restate them here)

    1. One proposed solution should be your own

    2. Outline the pros each solution

    3. Outline the cons each solution (remember solutions can often have unintended consequences)

  6. Summary

    1. Write a summary of your research stating the problem, its impact and how it could be solved and what are the likely outcomes to this problem

      1. Address questions like will it be resolved; will it get worse?

  7. Reflection

    1. Reflect on this experience and what you learned engaging in it.

  8. References

    1. Include at least 5 reputable sources, listed alphabetically.



Section

Problem or Issue Identified

Problem is clearly Identified

Problem is somewhat broad

Problem is abstract or vague

No problem identified

Problem Impacts Identified

Problem impacts clearly identified

Problem impacts somewhat broad

Problem impacts abstract or vague

No impacts identified

Connections made to course learning

Connection clearly identified

Connections somewhat broad

Connections abstract or vague

No connections identified

Organizational needs analysis complete

Analysis totally complete

Analysis mostly complete

Analysis

Somewhat

complete

Analysis incomplete

Solutions provided

Required solutions provided

Most solutions provided

Some solutions provided

No solutions provided

Summary provided

Complete summary provided

Mostly detailed summary provided

Somewhat detailed summary provided

No summary provided

Reflection

Detailed reflections provided

Reflection is somewhat broad

Reflection abstract or vague

No reflection provided

References

All required references provided

Most references provided

Some references provided

No references provided

Project formatted properly

All aspects of project included and properly formatted

Most aspects of project included and properly formatted

Some aspects of project included and properly formatted

Project not formatted properly

Grammar and English

Perfect presentation

Minor grammar or English mistake

Noticeable grammar or English mistakes

Major grammar or English mistakes