At Trent, field research has been a fundamental ingredient of the Geography curriculum for more than four decades. The founding members of the Geography Department believed you didn't teach geography just from a book, you had to experience it. After all, geography is a field science and the best way to learn is to get outside the office, classroom and library to see what is going on. This tradition continues today. Beginning in first year, many of our courses have field components and a few, such as Snow and Ice (GEOG-3420) are almost totally field-based. Much of the field experience takes advantage of Trent's unique setting in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, which serves as a natural laboratory for field research.
Another important aspect of Geography’s field tradition is the strong emphasis on community-based education. Students in upper-year human and physical geography courses have the opportunity to complete applied research projects to meet the needs of community groups, government agencies and local businesses. This is part of the longstanding commitment of faculty to apply geographical knowledge and research skills to solve problems within society. In collaboration with the Trent Community Research Centre and the U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research (Haliburton County), more than 100 projects on various research topics have been completed by geography students enrolled in GEOG-4030 Community-Based Research in Geography since the late 1990s.
For information on field courses see Course Listing, or contact the TSE office.
Please visit Experiential Learning to learn more about opportunities for field work and research in TSE degree programs.