Environmental Science & Resource Management

Research

Take a look at all the fantastic things we do!

What is esrm?

We focus on coastal sustainability from our own backyards to international waters.

Today’s environmental problems call for individuals who are educated in more than one discipline, highly trained in technical skills, and aware of the political, economic, and social dimensions of environmental decisions. The Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) provides solid training in basic physical, biological, and social sciences, and application of management science to reduce adverse impacts of human activity on the environment and to maximize the benefits that accrue from environmental resources. In the narrowest sense, Environmental Science is the study of the impact of human systems on physical and biological systems, and the dependence on natural resources by human systems. In a broader sense, Environmental Science is the study of the interaction and co-evolution of human, physical, and biological systems. Resource Management is concerned with the most effective means of avoiding damage to environmental assets and extracting beneficial uses of environmental resources, within the context of social institutions. Effective Resource Management considers benefits and costs, uncertainties and risks, limits of knowledge, institutional constraints, and social and political forces.

Sandy Beach
Pollution
Santa Rosa Island
mapping

the ESRM team

meet our professors and staff

Sean Anderson

Professor
Conservation biologist, Pirate
Representative Classes:
Service Learning in New Orleans
Coastal & Marine Management

-Had lunch w/ Michael Gorbachev.
-Couldn’t walk/had casts on his legs for the first 5 years of his life.
-Once had the #1 DJ business in SB.
-Was once erroneously confused with bomber attacking Congressional offices, leading to his being interrogated by the FBI.

Kiki Patsch

Interim Chair, Assistant Professor
Coastal Geomorphologist
Representative Classes:
GIS
Physical Oceanography

-Has 1 husband, 4 kids, 1 dog, 1 cat, 1 bunny, and 4 goldfish
-Eats mostly brown food
-Grew up on Hilton Head Island
-Drove a 1977 super beetle across the country twice
-Can say the alphabet backwards (quickly)

Clare Steele

Assistant Professor
Marine Conservation Biologist
Representative Classes:
Conservation Biology
Environmental Film Series

-Enjoys playing beach volleyball.
-Grew up in England.
-Has lived in 8 different countries on four different continents.
-Loves to scuba dive coral reefs
-Her spirit animal is a manta ray.

Dan Reineman

Assistant Professor
Coastographer
Representative Classes:
Environmental Law & Policy
Land Use Planning

– Favorite People To Be With: Family, including son Huck and another son on the way.
– Favorite Food To Cook: Sourdough bread.
– Favorite Place To Be: In the Pacific Ocean.
– Favorite Knot: The Bowline, obviously.
– Fun Fact: Family came to Southern California in 1895 and still likes it here.

Emily Fairfax

Assistant Professor
Ecohydrologist
Representative Classes:
Environmental Statistics

1. Has extremely double-jointed hands
2. Has clocked 300+ hours playing Civ V and Civ VI… so far.
3. Got married at a hands-on science museum.
4. Strategy board games are a core part of her social life.
5. Almost bumped into a black bear and her cub while running a marathon in the redwoods. All parties involved were startled.

Linda O’hirok

Lecturer
Fluvial Geomorphologist
Representative Classes:
Water Resources Management
Environmental Issues in Geography

-The first time she went to SRI with her Girl Scout troop long before it was a part of the Channel Islands National Park.
-She hosted the first academic conference at CI when the campus was still part of CSUN in 1999 for California Geographical Society. Everyone wanted a job at CI!

Mary Woo

Lecturer
Environmental Chemist
Representative Classes:
Introduction to ESRM
Coastal Contaminants

-Grew up in Santa Barbara
-Worked on the vessel that found Titanic
-Enjoys hiking and outrigger paddling
-Loves golden retrievers
-Wants to do away with petroleum based plastics

Don Rodriguez

Emeritus Professor

-Is the first generation high school and college graduate
-Has been a fly fishing guide in CO
-Has three kids (2 boys and 1 girl), and they all have jobs! Both sons are fly fishermen
-His wife teaches in the Business program

Brenton Spies

Lecturer
Conservation Ecologist
Representative Classes:
Conservation Biology

– I am an avid fly fisherman and scuba diver
– I used to race stock cars as a teenager at Ventura Speedway
– Ask me what the weather was like on the summit of Denali! (The tallest and one of the coldest peaks in North America)
– I have had three of my nature photos in National Geographic
– I’ve caught the largest tidewater goby on record at a whopping 62mm

Brett Hartman

Lecturer
Systems Ecologist/Human Geographer
Representative Classes:
Cultural Geography
Restoration Ecology

-Composed an album and recorded it with the sound engineer that worked on Frank Zappa’s albums
-Grew up in the Amazon
-Plays guitar
-His son Liam is a barrel of laughs

Jean Pan

Lecturer
Technologist
Representative Classes:
Fundamentals of Remotely Operated Vehicles

Ben Kuo

Lecturer
Wilderness First Aid Specialist
Representative Classes:
Field Professionalism

– Enjoys hiking/backpacking
– Has two endangered (IUCN Red List) Bolivian palm trees (Parajubaea torallyi) in his backyard
– Once built an amateur radio out of a toaster, for fun
– Was the only communication link between a small island nation and the US State Department after Hurricane Maria
– Removed his back lawn, and let native milkweed take over, where monarch butterflies now breed

Rachel Cartwright

Emeritus Professor
Marine Mammalogist
Representative Classes:
Marine Mammal Aerial Photogrammetry
Field Class- Hawaii

-Originally from Manchester, England.
-Spends most of her summers in South-east Alaska.
-Although she studies humpback whales, she’s a little obsessed with grizzly bears.
-In her twenties, she lived on Andros Island in the Bahamas.
-In her free time, she really likes to go to Zumba classes, despite incredibly poor dance skills.

Alan Jaeger

Lecturer
Technologist
Representative Classes:
Fundamentals of Remotely Operated Vehicles

– Licensed Private Pilot and have flown a single engine aircraft across the country
– A part time Citrus Farmer and previous award winning floriculturist
– Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management – Has legally flown drones over some of the Nation’s most sensitive and secure locations
– Father of 3 crazy little boys

Emily Gaston

Instructional Support Technician

-Enjoys the noise of cobble/rocks tumbling in the surf
-Studied abroad in Australia where she traveled Nemo’s journey from Cairns to Sydney
-Nicknamed ‘Wrong way Welsh’ for notoriously being lost
-Adds salt to her Top Ramen

Alex Padilla

Academic Support Coordinator