ES/GE 360 - Cultural Geography and Natural History of the Freiburg Region

Geography and especially climate and soil play an important role in the development of human settlements and culture in the region of Freiburg. This module focuses on how human culture impacts the regional ecosystems and will highlight the combined development of cultural processes and the environment in the Black Forest.

Students will gain knowledge regarding how to interpret a landscape with the help of maps and 3-surface models. They will learn about how natural resources and climatic/edaphic preconditions lead to the development of industries. There will be detailed insights into those historical industries and also practical imitations. Furthermore the course will show how those human activities have influenced the ecosystems leading to the present situation and show answers on how to mitigate those influences by ecosystem restoration and nature protection. The case study of the Freiburg Münster will show the students how closely linked human culture and natural history develop.