Course Description

Environmental citizenship is based on the principles of national citizenship, yet it goes beyond political borders to emphasize global environmental rights and responsibilities. An environmental citizen is committed to learning more about the environment and to taking responsible environmental action. Through a combination of interactive activities, assignments and discussions, students learn how they are personally connected with current environmental issues. Students are also encouraged to adopt attitudes and behaviours that foster global environmental responsibility.

General Education Theme Area(s)

This is a General Education course that supports learning in the following theme area(s): Civic Life

Essential Employability Skills

This course contributes to your program by helping you achieve the following Essential Employability Skills:

EES 1 Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience. (A)
EES 2 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures effective communication. (A)
EES 7 Analyze, evaluate and apply relevant information from a variety of sources. (T, A)
EES 8 Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems and contributions of others. (T, A)
Assessment Levels —T: Taught A: Assessed CP: Culminating Performance 

Course Learning Requirements / Embedded Knowledge and Skills

When you have earned credit for this course, you will have demonstrated the ability to:

1. Explain the concept of environmental citizenship.

  • Define environmental citizenship.
  • Summarize environmental sustainability.
  • Outline the roles and responsibilities of people as good stewards of the environment.
  • Provide examples demonstrating the roles and responsibilities of people within the global ecosystem.

2. Relate the history of environmental trends to contemporary society and to future social direction.

  • Identify trends in the growth of environmentalism and environmental awareness.
  • Analyze global, national and local examples of activities and initiatives that have fostered environmental awareness.
  • Identify some of the barriers faced by proponents of environmental awareness.
  • Explore climate change and individuals' relationship to it personally and professionally.

3. Explain the relationships between citizenship and sustainability.

  • Outline the concept of interconnectedness and provide examples demonstrating interconnected environmental relationships.
  • Explain the relationship between environmental health and human health.
  • Investigate one key aspect of environmental citizenship.

4. Identify day-to-day practices, their impact on the global ecosystem, and, in turn, the global ecosystem's reciprocal impact on individuals.

  • Provide examples demonstrating that every human decision made has an environmental impact.
  • Identify ways to mitigate human environmental impact.
  • Identify and explore individuals'  ecological worldview.
  • Recognize the dynamic interplay between climate change and human actions.

5. Explain the concept of ecological footprint and identify ways in which personal environmental impact can be mitigated.

  • Define ecological footprint and calculate personal ecological footprint.
  • Explain the roles and responsibility each individual has to manage and amplify their environmental impact.
  • Develop a personal action plan to help improve personal ecological footprint and to develop environmental citizenship.

Pre-defined Evaluation / Earning Credit

The following list provides evidence of this course's learning achievements and the outcomes they validate:

Quiz(zes)/Test(s) (25%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 1, CLR 2, CLR 3, CLR 4, CLR 5, EES 7

Assignment(s) (30%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 2, CLR 4, CLR 5, EES 1, EES 2, EES 7

Discussion Forum (30%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 1, CLR 2, CLR 3, CLR 4, CLR 5, EES 2, EES 8

Case Study(ies) (15%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 1, CLR 4, CLR 5, EES 1, EES 7

Learning Resources

  1. There is no required textbook for this course
  2. Course notes will be posted on Brightspace
  3. Required web-based readings and resources (including video and audio clips) will be available via Brightspace

Learning Activities

  1. Online lesson notes
  2. Online web links (URLs), video and audio clips to explore and review
  3. Exercises to highlight specific concepts and material
  4. Powerpoint presentations
  5. Online Discussions

During this course, students will be exposed to a wide variety of resources covering topics related to environmental citizenship and human-environment interactions.  Students are encouraged to explore these resources in depth and comment on them and others they find through personal research.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition

Students who wish to apply for Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) need to demonstrate competency at a post-secondary level in all outlined course learning requirements. Evidence of learning achievement for PLAR candidates includes:

  • Project/Assignment
  • Other: Interview with a subject-area specialist.

Other Information

Grade Scheme

Final Grade Mark Equivalent Numeric Value Final Grade Mark Equivalent Numeric Value
A+ 90% - 100% 4.0 A 85% - 89% 3.8
A- 80% - 84% 3.6 B+ 77% - 79% 3.3
B 73% - 76% 3.0 B- 70% - 72% 2.7
C+ 67% - 69% 2.3 C 63% - 66% 2.0
C- 60% - 62% 1.7 D+ 57% - 59% 1.4
D 53% - 56% 1.2 D- 50% - 52% 1.0
F 0% - 49% 0 FSP 0 0

Course Related Information

Please refer to the Course Section Information (CSI) / weekly schedule for specific course-related information as provided by your professor.

Program Information

College Related Information

Algonquin College’s policies have been developed to ensure the health, safety and security of all students, faculty and staff, and the proper and fair operation of the College as an academic institution and employer.  Please refer to the Algonquin College Policies website for the most current policy information available at http://www.algonquincollege.com/policies/.

Students are especially encouraged to be aware of the following College expectations

Academic Integrity 
Algonquin College is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity, and students are expected to uphold these standards as part of the learning process. Any academic work submitted by a student is expected to be their own work, unless designated otherwise and all sources must be attributed. All students should be familiar with the Algonquin College policy AA48: Academic Integrity .  In some courses, online proctoring may be used to discourage cheating. Additional information can be found at https://www.algonquincollege.com/studentsupportservices/student-learning-kit/preparing-to-learn-online/. Students with any questions about the course expectations for academic dishonesty and plagiarism are encouraged to speak to their professor.

Centre for Accessible Learning
Students with visible and/or non-visible disabilities are encouraged to register with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) in order to be eligible for appropriate learning supports and/or accommodations.  Students are strongly encouraged to make an appointment at the Centre for Accessible Learning as early as possible when starting a program. Once your needs are identified, a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) will be issued which you can share with your professors. If you are a returning student, please ensure that professors are given a copy of your LOA each semester.

College Email
Students at Algonquin College are provided with a college email account. This is the address that will be used when the College, your professors, or your fellow students communicate important information about your program or course activities.  Your network credentials can be found in the ACSIS portal and you are expected to check your Algonquin email regularly and to use it to send and receive college-related email. Support is available through the college Information Technology Service (ITS) at: https://www.algonquincollege.com/its/

Retroactive Accommodations
Students are expected to meet evaluation and completion deadlines as stated in course outline and course section information documents. In circumstances where evaluation and/or completion deadlines are missed or student performance has been affected by a temporary or permanent disability (including mental health), interim or retroactive accommodations may be considered. In such instances, please consult your course faculty member. For other situations where deferral of evaluations may be warranted, please consult Algonquin College Policy AA21: Deferred Evaluation.

Student Course Feedback
Algonquin College’s invites students to share their course experience by completing a student course feedback survey for each course they take. For further details consult Algonquin College Policy AA25: Student Course Feedback.

Use of Mobile Devices in Class
With the proliferation of small, personal mobile devices used for communications and data storage, Algonquin College believes there is a need to address their use during classes and examinations. During classes, the use of such devices can be  disruptive and disrespectful to others. During examinations, the use of such devices may facilitate cheating. For further details consult Algonquin College Policy AA32: Use of Mobile Devices in Class

Technology Requirements
As Algonquin College continues to respond to public health guidelines, many courses will be offered through remote delivery. As such, students will be required to have access to a computer and to the internet. There may also be additional technology-related resources required to participate in a course that are not included in the course materials fee, such as headphones, webcams, specialized software, etc. Details on these requirements can be found in the Course Section Information of the course outline for each course available on Brightspace.

Transfer of Credit
It is the student’s responsibility to retain course outlines for possible future use to support applications for transfer of credit to other educational institutions.