Our students learn by going outside and doing—hands-on learning in the field. Our physical location is advantageous in that it gives faculty and students access to an abundance of on- and off-campus fieldwork opportunities.
ON-CAMPUS
Few campuses in the country have the on-campus field resources that we have at Western where you can study streams, soils, forests, wetlands, earth history, tectonics, water quality, as well as the affects of land development on environmental change.
Cullowhee Creek Field Station (CCEFS)The CCEFS is an on-campus site developed to facilitate an investigative and interdisciplinary approach to learning in introductory through advanced level classes in the geology and physics programs.
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WCU GNR Weather Station
The WCU GNR Weather Station is located near Stillwell Science Building and was installed in the summer of 2007. The goal of the station is to provide weather data for the campus community and to collect climatic data to support course instruction, research activities, and monitoring environmental change.
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OFF-CAMPUS
The department has access to a number of off-campus sites through partnerships with the following entities: National Park Service (NPS), United States Forest Service (USFS), and Balsam Mountain Preserve.