While pursuing my Master’s in Regeneration and Sustainable Development, I had the opportunity to enroll in this Socio-Ecological Systems class. This class focused on the relationships that society has with ecological systems. As such, I learned key information related to climate change. Specifically, this class highlighted and expanded topics that I learned throughout my Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering – namely thermodynamics, but in this case applied to the entire planet, not just a piston/cylinder assembly.
Similar to Management for Sustainable Development and Regeneration, this class focused on one project throughout the class as we developed the skills to analyze and improve it. My team focused on the newly constructed Highway Pamplona to Cúcuta Project. By focusing on a highway, our team was able to better understand the relationship that people (both as individuals and through organizations) have with the natural environment. Here’s a list of some of the major skills and insights that I had from this course:
- Experienced in the Ecosystem Services framework which helps define which services an organization is dependent on or impacts.
- Skilled in taking publicly available climate data and make predictions on the change and future availability of Ecosystem Services
- Proficient in understanding the climate crisis
- Developed a deeper understanding of the numerous use cases for biomimicry
- Trained in understanding how to improve business practices for better environmental management