This one quarter project entitled Commodification of Nature: National Parks and Land Use Policy will focus on the National Park system. I intend to use Glacier Bay National Park as a primary example in how we have commodified nature and the natural world. I will narrow my focus on current and past land use policies including the Organic Act which helped establish the National Park System, and the importance of conserving wild places but not at the cost of commercializing wild experiences. This contract will look to alternative systems which allow equitable access to all peoples without the high cost. 

Learning Objectives Activities that will help me to attain this objective What my sponsor will evaluate
Students will design and then engage with an individual or group project that explores an area of student interest regarding commodification processes and alternatives. Everything from eating to voting, from learning to (re)producing are possible topics, the commodification of what we all eat will provide a foundation for weekly seminars and a tasting lab I will participate in a weekly Tuesday seminar class. I will be present for four Tuesday classes and participate in the programs activities. I will engage with my peers though weekly seminar discussions. I will read program assigned books Who Really Feeds the World? by Vandana Shiva, The Lives of Animals by J. M. Coetzee,  Dismantling Racism in the Food System (online 8-part series at Food First!), Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook, and Vibration Cooking: or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor.  Optional text: Eating Words by Sandra Gilbert and Roger Porter. The sponsor will evaluate weekly Pre-Seminar write ups, participation in seminars, WordPress website, and end of quarter paper.
The student will understand and evaluate public land use policy in regards to the National Park System using Glacier Bay National Park as a research subject. I will read federal and state laws including: 1916 Organic Act, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act The sponsor will evaluate entries specific to this topic on the students ePortfolio.
The student will conduct research on how National Parks and nature has been commodified. I will construct and complete research essay’s using Glacier Bay as my primary example. The essays will cover the polices in place for Glacier Bay, the use of guides in the park, how National Parks create wilderness, and interactions with wildlife in the park. All Essays in ePortfolio will be 2 to 3 pages in length.   The sponsor will evaluate the students ePortfolio on the topic.
The student will learn to use photographs as a tool for conveying ideas. I will construct a 15 photo portfolio of my time in Glacier Bay and Alaska by capturing what people experience when visiting Alaska on small cruise vessels. The sponsor will evaluate the ePortfolio and Image gallery for unified themes.