Image from the Virtual Resource Collection of the Minnesota Historical Society
St. Olaf College Environmental Studies 399, Spring 2002
St. Olaf College Environmental Studies 399, Spring 2002
The relationships between people and the ecosystems they inhabit and attempt to manipulate are inherently dynamic. This Spring the students in ES 399 investigated the practical and theoretical interconnections between agricultural and environment in three counties within the prairie-forest border region of Minnesota from 1850 to 1885. They examined issues such as soil, climate, water, topography and native species within these specific ecosystems, as well as the cultural and social characteristics of the people who inhabited them, including factors such as ethnicity, conceptions of farming and environmentalism, crop diversity, technological innovations and political history. We wrestled with many of the issues present during that time period with the assumption that an historical understanding is crucial for insight about environmental change.
Disclaimer: Many of the images included in this project were downloaded from the Minnesota Historical Society WWW site or scanned from originals available at the Stearns, McLeod or Rice County Historical Societies. We are currently seeking permission to include these as a part of this project collection which is why (a) this WWW site is available only on campus and (b) these images should not be copied for any reason.