Joel Barnes

About Joel Barnes

My knowledge & experience with river systems & watersheds of the American West serve as content & context for interdisciplinary teaching, research & publications in the these fields - • environmental, experiential, and sustainability education; • bioregional & place-based studies; • water resource management; • river & watershed ecology, conservation & restoration; • adventure education & wilderness leadership; • whitewater rafting & river guides training.Since 1985, I\'ve been engaged in higher education teaching, research & administration. One central theme of my career path has been the seamless integration of environmental studies, sustainability, and adventure-based experiential education in the context of place-based studies. The longest stretch of my career has been at Prescott College as professor & administrator in their undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs. During my tenure there I served as Director of two programs, the Graduate Teaching Assistant Program & the Grand Canyon Semester. After receiving Professor Emeritus status in 2017, I crafted a new chapter in my career (20••••20) as the Director of Sustainability and Experiential Education at Wasatch Academy, a private international boarding high school in central Utah, where I worked closely with the faculty and administration to integrate experiential education and embed academic standards for Education for Sustainability (from the Cloud Institute) into course curricula, program assessments, and Project-Based Learning across campus. Through the newly created Sustainability Council, I established a campus-wide recycling program, secured funding for a \"Ban the Bottle\" campaign that installed water bottle filling stations across campus, and obtained designation for the Academy as a Utah Green School from the Utah Society for Environmental Education. I also held a leadership role in the Net Zero Energy Initiative that is strategically transforming Wasatch Academy into a Net Zero Energy Campus through innovative building design, renewable energy production, and student-driven project based learning. In 2020 I returned to my Professor Emeritus position at Prescott College to continue my teaching & research. I\'ve picked up the pace with my consulting business, Riparia (est. 2012), working with local and regional non-profits to advance holistic watershed health through in ecological restoration & education. Riparia has focused on project sites in the Granite Creek Watershed in the central Arizona & Grand Canyon’s portion of the Colorado River Watershed and the Dine Nation.

Experience

1. Professor Emeritus

   Prescott College

   Jan 2017 — Present · Prescott, AZ, US

   Responsible for teaching a few selected, on-campus undergraduate courses and mentored studies focused on the ecology, cultural & natural history, conservation, and restoration of water resources, rivers and watersheds in the American Southwest. Also engaged in teaching river-based expeditions and field studies that integrate the aforementioned topics.

Education

• Union Institute & University

  PhD, Environmental Conservation & Education

  1998 — 2005

• Humboldt State University

  M.S., Wilderness and Water Resource Management

  1987 — 1990

• Prescott College

  B.A., Environmental Sciences & Education

  1978 — 1981

Skills

• Conservation Issues
• Sustainability
• Workshop Facilitation
• Instructional Design
• Leadership
• Strategic Planning
• Outdoor Recreation
• Natural History
• Research
• Program Development
• Experiential Education
• Curriculum Design
• Fundraising
• Teaching
• Environmental Education
• Public Speaking
• Group Dynamics
• Nonprofit Organizations