In order to understand the environment, a student must understand its components. Work toward a diploma in environmental science includes subjects such as botany, geology, geomorphology and wildlife ecology. These subjects teach the student how plants, animals and earth types work together to create a sustainable environment in different climates. Once a student has learned the basics, courses progress to levels that teach how these environments evolve or fail due to outside influences.
Coursework in communications is essential for the environmentalist. In order to increase awareness and share findings with other scientists, the environmentalist must be able to write coherent reports and, at times, convey the message to the public. Public-speaking courses and media-relations classes play a role in the overall education process. Many environmentalists also become activists, lobbyists or lead field study teams. Proposal and grant-writing skills are invaluable tools.
The greatest influence on the state of the environment is humankind. The environmentalist must understand not only how humankind affects the environment, but also how to alter that behavior. Humanities courses such as psychology, analytical thinking, urban studies and environmental ethics give the student a knowledge base that aids him in deductive reasoning when balancing out the needs of the environment against the needs of people. Some programs offer classes that focus on location-specific situations that cover how they became troubled areas and what is being done to correct the problems. Sociology and population sociology classes teach students about human growth trends and how they translate into problems such as urban sprawl. Humanities studies also teach students more effective ways of communicating by allowing them to understand who they're communicating with and what approaches may be most effective.
The most effective way to change a system is generally to do so by working within the system. Environment courses include studies in disaster relief in order to aid emergency organizations to help people in times of natural disasters while minimizing damage to the environment. Environmental law courses prepare students for working within the parameters of the government in order to effect positive change. Public and federal land management classes teach the student about what laws can and cannot currently be enforced in areas such as state parks and wildlife preserves. Environmental planning law is also covered to give students an understanding of what environmental safeguards are already in place.