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The Family Issue | EcoParent 45 Winter 2015 44 EcoParent | The Family Issue Winter 2015 Parenting by jacob rodenburg TAKE IT OUTSIDE Enjoying the Gifts of Winter I t’s a cold February day. A delicate layer of frost edges the corner of each window and mounds of snow smooth over bushes and trees. Birds are huddled under eaves, fluffing their feathers, reminding you that winter is well and truly here. Meanwhile, the kids are hunched behind computer screens, or tapping their feet to the tunes emanating from their hand-held devices. And you’re thinking, “I’ve just got to figure out some way to get the kids outside!” From TV, computer games, Wiis and Xbox’s, our society has created many enticing reasons for kids not to go outside. Children are easier to monitor when they stay indoors. They are “safer” inside. And, in the age of multi-tasking we can “look after them” while we are busy doing something else and we have the satisfaction of knowing that they are being entertained. And yet, if we have the fortitude and gumption to get our kids off the couch and into the magic of a winter’s day, we not only provide exercise and fresh air, we help to forge a real and lasting connection between our children and the outdoors. If we give them some winter experiences in nearby fields, forests and green spaces, we’ll help them to recognize, as John Muir once said, that if we “tug at a single thing in nature, we’ll find it connected to the rest of the world.” So redeem this very wintery day. Grab your hat, mitts, warm boots and winter jacket and don’t forget the kids! Experience the exhilaration of winter while the air is crisp, sharp and clear. The spring thaw will come far too soon! BUILD A QUINSY OR SNOW FORT 1. When the snow is more than 20 centimeters deep, dig out the recycling containers and find several shovels. Fill up the recycling bins with snow and haul them over to a central location. Mound snow up as high as you can (a big pile about 2 meters high and 4 meters across would be ideal). Make sure your pile slopes gently. Use a shovel to smooth the sides into a symmetrical dome shape. 2. Important tip: You must leave the mound for a minimum of three hours! This will give the snow crystals time to coalesce (bind). Ideally, leave the mound overnight. After the pile has settled, find a series of sticks 30 centimeters long and push them into the mound so that one end is at the surface and the other end is pressed deep into the mound. There should be a stick every meter or so, covering the entire surface of the quinzy. 3. Next, begin hollowing out the mound. Make sure you have snow pants and an insulated jacket with a hood – this can be cold and wet work! Use your shovel and start scooping snow out. Have your children haul the snow away from the entrance. Keep digging until you come across the butt end of one of the sticks which serve as a guide so that you know the walls are of a consistent thickness. When the quinsy is sufficiently hollowed out, use a larger stick or your fist (12 cm in diameter) to poke three or four holes through to the outside (one overhead, the rest along the sides). These holes will serve as ventilation, helping to bring fresh air inside. If I know my children are going to be playing in the quinsy without supervision, I make an extra exit. 4. If you are up for an adventure, insulate the bottom of the quinsy with a tarp, some warm blankets and sleeping pads. If you are dressed well and if there is enough insulation above and below you, you and your children can spend a cozy and unforgettable night in a snow fort of your own creation! Q Photo: Robert Hoetink / shutterstock.com TRACKING & TRAILING As I am fond of telling my students, every trail has a story to tell and if you are patient enough you can learn to read the writing each footprint makes in the soft snow of winter. As a way to practice reading tracks try this simple activity. If you can, find an area that has fresh snow. Ask your children to stand in a straight line with their back to you. Make sure there is undisturbed snow behind them. As a way to distract everyone and to disguise the noise you make, have them sing a song in unison. Now, right behind your group’s backs, make a tracking pattern. Here are some suggestions: JUMP with two feet WALK on all fours LAY in the snow WALK normally, then run HOP on one foot TURN around and walk backwards When you have a clear track, have your group pivot in the same spot and study the story you’ve just made. Don’t forget to remind your group that their feet are just like big erasers, able to wipe out your freshly made tracks. Can they tell you what happened? Here are some questions your group can try to answer for any track they encounter. Use your tracking story as a guide. 1. Which way was I going? Examine the scuff marks. Often a small and discernable scuff mark will appear at the rear of a track. While this isn’t a hard and fast rule, it does help to establish the direction of travel. 2. How far apart are my tracks? Most animals have a “harmonic gait”, the normal speed at which they travel. When an animal runs, its stride (or the distance between tracks) increases. 3. What was I doing? During the day, White Tailed Deer will often rest at the side of a hill. Often you can spot the area where it has lain down (called a bed). 4. What pattern do my tracks have? This is often a clue as to what kind of animal it is. For example, rabbits hop with their two back legs beside each other and the front feet landing behind their back feet, one in front of the other. Raccoons often walk with their bigger rear foot beside their smaller front foot. Weasels, mink and members of the mustelid family move in a bounding manner. Deer, fox and coyotes walk in a fairly straight line. Now, after putting all the clues together, can you read the story of this track? Ask your group if they can tell you, just by looking at your tracks, exactly what you were doing. This activity is an excellent way to begin the art of tracking. Think about ways in which it might help you read other animal tracks. A Photo: TSpider / shutterstock.com Photo: stock_shot / shutterstock.com

The Master of Science Program in Environmental Engineering · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Newark College of Engineering The Master of Science Program in Environmental

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Page 1: The Master of Science Program in Environmental Engineering · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Newark College of Engineering The Master of Science Program in Environmental

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Newark College of Engineering

The Master of Science Programin Environmental Engineering

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Page 2: The Master of Science Program in Environmental Engineering · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Newark College of Engineering The Master of Science Program in Environmental

WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM COVER?The program is designed to provide students with a broadunderstanding of environmental issues, including:• Interconnected natural and industrial ecosystems in which welive, as well as tools to measure and understand them.

• Values assigned by people and society to the environment and thepolicies and laws established to preserve, protect, manage andrestore it.

• Roles played by biological organisms in ecological processes,as well as their contributions to environmental technologyin practice.

• Key value of the water medium and the chemical movements andtransformations that occur as an academic vehicle for illustratingenvironmental processes and their control and management.

WHAT AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION ARE AVAILABLE?Specialty tracks in the master’s program have been identified toaddress current and future environmental issues facing society.The Master’s program has been developed in close consultationwith the New Jersey environmental industry—the employers ofmany of the NJIT graduates--to assure that the components ofthe program are relevant and useful. Each area incorporates anenvironmental biology perspective in balance with other aspectsof environmental technology and science.• Water quality, treatment, and infrastructure• Integrated site remediation• Multidisciplinary environmental engineering

IS PART-TIME STUDY AVAILABLE?The program can be pursued on a full- or part-time basis. Eveningand late afternoon classes accommodate working professionals.

WHO TEACHES THE COURSES?Courses are taught by full-time faculty with a range of academic

and professional experience as well as by adjunct instructors whoare experts in their fields. Students interested in research at themaster's level or continuing their education at the doctoral levelhave the opportunity to work with faculty involved in one of theuniversity's research centers.Courses will be provided both in a face-to-face classroom formatalong with many in an electronic format so that when absencesare required for job or other reasons, the students can continueto participate in the course.

WHAT JOB OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE INENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING?The US Bureau of Labor Statistics identified the 30 fastest growingjobs ranking environmental engineering 5th among the nation’sfastest growing professions. Graduates of the program will beemployed in consulting firms, state government, federal govern-ment, not for profit agencies, utilities, and chemical and pharma-ceutical companies, among many others. For this part of the coun-try and globally for that matter, the opportunities are huge.

IS FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE?Financial support for full-time students in the MS program isextremely limited. Full-time domestic and international studentsmay be eligible to receive the Provost Fellowship. For further infor-mation on financial aid, visitwww.njit.edu/financialaid/graduate/index.php

NJIT students can also offset educational costs by participating inthe Cooperative Education Program, which provides an opportunityto gain practical work experience in a professional environment. Aco-op student works on a fulltime or part-time basis for a companythat has agreed to hire, train, and pay the student during a specificco-op work cycle.www.njit.edu/CDS/studentservices/coop.htm

WHY PURSUE AN MS DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING?Environmental engineers develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems. Environmental engineers protect the environment,improve water quality, and are essential in planning, designing and constructing water and wastewater treatment plants, solid waste dispos-al systems, site remediation approaches and emission control measures. In addition, new environmental challenges provide new opportuni-ties for environmental engineers to solve global problems. Successful response to the impacts of global climate change, fast-moving intro-duction of sustainable development practices in industry, and greener operations will require the skills of environmental engineers. Majorcorporations, government agencies, private consulting and construction firms, and universities are just some of the organizations thatemploy environmental engineers. Employment of environmental engineers is expected to increase by more than 25 percent through 2014.More environmental engineers will be needed to comply with environmental regulations, to develop methods of fixing existing problems,and preventing future ecological difficulties. A shift in emphasis toward preventing problems rather than controlling those that alreadyexist, as well as increasing public health concerns, also will spur demand for environmental engineers.

WHY STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AT NJIT?NJIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has been providing quality education for nearly 90 years. Its graduates areleaders in industry, government and military enterprises throughout New Jersey and across the nation. The teaching program isenriched by advanced research programs in environmental engineering, science, and policy, building sciences and materials, andtransportation. The department collaborates closely with NJIT's New Jersey School of Architecture, and a dual degree program thatcombines the Master's in Architecture with the MS in Civil Engineering is a popular option.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:Professor Lisa [email protected]

TO APPLY:Graduate Admissions800-925-NJITwww.njit.edu/admissions/graduate/howtoapply/