This seven-day residential field course in September is based at 20,000 Leagues Society in Silba, Croatia. You will focus on marine mammal surveys, micro plastic analysis, sea grass mapping and marine spatial planning, developing skills in water-based research, project design, data acquisition, analysis and dissemination. The cost of this trip is subsidised by the university and student contribution is £750. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.

In the next 30 years, agricultural crop productivity must double to meet increased demand from a growing population. At the same time, climate change is already taking a bite out of global yields of our major food crops.  So how can we use our knowledge of modern plant science to improve agricultural productivity? From genetically-engineered disease resistance, to using water and nutrients more efficiently, you consider the potential impact and implications of the latest thinking and technology, and discover career opportunities within agricultural research

Earth`s climate has fluctuated throughout history, but the speed of change in recent decades has been unprecedented. Warming, acidification, drought, flooding, and fire are increasingly prevalent features of our modern world. In addition, humans are responsible for widespread environmental pollution, which is any input of material or energy into air, land, or water that causes harmful environment change. The sources and ecological consequences of climate change and pollution will be explored and discussed, concentrating on biodiversity, species distributions and extinctions, and the provision of ecosystem services of benefit to humans. Examples of climate change and pollution will be presented from both terrestrial and aquatic domains, and from polar to tropical biomes, together with a review of the avenues to be followed for remediation of biosphere processes and the conservation of biological diversity. The module will be delivered through lectures and a practical session incorporating data analysis and interpretation.

Freshwater systems play an essential role in the ecology of many species. Explore the major types of freshwater habitats (streams, rivers, ponds, lakes) and examine how anthropogenic stressors such as water extraction, pollution and climate change place them under threat. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.

This module will enable students to link ecological knowledge to decision making by integrating ecology with the sociological and political contexts that underlie today's complex environmental issues. We will discuss in depth how Translational Ecology directly serves the needs of natural resource managers and decision-makers for real-world outcomes. The module will include guest speakers who are practitioners and decision-makers and will be problem-focused, addressing research questions and tackling them from the bottom-up rather than top-down, expert perspectives to understand how we can improve decision-making for the future of environmental management and conservation.

Access to water is one of the most urgent global challenges facing us today. Vital for health and well-being, as well as integral to indigenous cultures and industrial processes, water is a threatened commons and contested commodity. In this module, we will explore global and local case studies that highlight challenges of scarcity, contamination, privatization, and climate change, and the cultural importance of bodies of water for diverse communities. We will examine water-related problems, such as economic and urban development, grassroots activism, political conflict, community relations, heritage and public health. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.