Trip Leader:  Prof. Christine Massey
Course Title:  ES299:  Berlin’s Environmental Future: Going from Brown to Green (3 credits)

How is Berlin, a global center of culture, government, and industry, working on its commitment to the environment?  We will explore how Germany is managing the environmental legacies of Water, Coal, and Industrial ‘Brownfields’ in the Berlin region.
 
Investigate water quality in an urban setting with hands-on sampling and laboratory analysis.  Visit an active, mega-scale coal mining operation and learn how Germany is re-purposing historic strip-mining sites.  Learn how urban brownfields, formerly polluted military and industrial sites, are converted into modern, “green” spaces.
 
Explore the rich historical and cultural offerings of one of Europe’s iconic capital cities.  Berlin is a cosmopolitan metropolis and home to countless world-class museums (Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site).  Berlin was the center of post-WWII geographic divisions in Europe (Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie).
 
We will utilize the Berlin cityscape as an outdoor classroom and will also take field trips to a regional coal mine and to Potsdam, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 
 
Living Arrangements
Students will live in CityLAB: Berlin apartments which are equipped with kitchens.  Aside from a few group lunches or dinners, students are expected to purchase their own meals (i.e. restaurants, grocery stores, etc).