Date and time: January 31 at 2:00–3:00 PM ET

Human activity has contributed to climate change and environmental degradation. As a result, our freshwater supplies are facing a major threat. Water is vital for life. It is our responsibility to ensure that our freshwater resources are protected so that all life may endure. The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin is committed to doing its part in order to mobilize the state into action and become a global leader in freshwater sustainability. The collaborative is working with the 13 University of Wisconsin institutions and the Wisconsin Idea to actively build a network that stretches beyond the state’s borders, promoting education, responsible stewardship, and job creation.

The University of Wisconsin – River Falls received grant funding from the collaborative and worked over the summer of 2022 to design a transdisciplinary course on the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts on freshwater accessibility and protection. The course, titled, “How We See Water,” was piloted spring semester 2023.

The purpose of the course was to critically examine how people interact with water. Using a co-instructional design, lead faculty from social work, journalism and communication studies, agricultural engineering, and agricultural law brought students in from a variety of different programs across campus to learn about our local watershed, and investigate the environmental, economic, and social implications of dams, water usage, and current issues in water quality, pollution, and water resource regulation. The students also explored historical traditions of water stewardship and the sacred relationship of Indigenous peoples with water. The course was designed around 7 guiding questions that helped students move from intrapersonal and reflective to synthesis and application through community engagement on a water issue specific to our community.

In this workshop we will share our processes in moving this course from a conceptual idea to the pilot. This includes issue identification, pedagogical considerations in teaching and learning with respect to high-impact teaching practices and actively engaged learning activities, and future directions of the course. Our hope is that what we share may inspire others to develop a transdisciplinary sustainability course on their campus, and provide tools on how to effectively do so.