Two new courses!
The overall health of a person’s life is influenced by environment. From the air we breath, the purity of water we drink, sunshine we can enjoy, to the abundance of fresh vegetables we eat, it is a simple fact: the environment matters!

There is a new program at LMC in the field of Environmental Science. Professionals in this field are committed to studying the relationships between human activities and our physical and biological environments.

Geology 20 and
Environmental Science 10
Both courses are transferable and AS Degree applicable. Enjoy geology field trips around the bay area. Tour Black Diamond Mines, Dow Chemical Wetlands and much more field work!

Check the schedule under Geology and Environmental Science for more details!

AS degree in Environmental Science
The Associate in Science degree major in Environmental Science provides interdisciplinary preparation for students wishing to pursue knowledge and employment in the fields of environmental research, consulting, and regulatory oversight.  The program  provides  excellent lower division preparation for students transferring to Environmental Science (and related) programs at four-year colleges and universities.

By virtue of its location,
LMC has unparalleled opportunities for its ES program:

• The California Delta is our “back yard” – in fact, California’s two major rivers, the Sacramento and San Joaquin, meet right at the location of LMC’s future Delta Science Center (at Big Break, in Oakley).  The Delta presents serious ecological and hydrological crises that call for attention, and LMC is the only institution of higher learning permanently situated at the confluence of those two great rivers. (find out more about the Delta Science Center and it's location)  
  
  
• It is estimated that 70% of the heavy industry in the Bay Area is located along the river corridor that forms the northern boundary of Contra Costa County.   This region’s oil refineries, chemical plants, water and wastewater treatment facilities, and power plants are screaming for more locally-trained employees, including environmental scientists and technicians.
  
  
• Several of our feeder high schools have strong traditions in elements of ES – for example, Pittsburg High’s Club POWER is possibly the Bay Area’s most famous ecology club.  Freedom High’s students are actively involved in research in the Marsh Creek watershed.  Heritage High just launched its Environmental Academy.
  

LMC already has many education, industry, and agency partners who are enthusiastically supporting our growing ES program. 

Just to enumerate a few: 

• For many years, Dow Chemical has been a huge contributer to our science program.  They have made their 500 acre wetlands available for our research and restoration activities.  The UC Berkeley ES program is already partnering with LMC at Dow wetlands, combining their students with LMC students in joint field studies activities, allowing a unique mentoring relationship to develop. 
  
  
• Next door to Dow’s wetlands, Delta Diablo Sanitation District has offered LMC the use of its modern laboratory, capable of accomodating an entire class. 
  
  
• East Bay Regional Park District, owner of the Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley, expects to build the Delta Science Center by 2008, with LMC acting as the college-level educator at this site.
  
  
• LMC has been invited to help with future research and restoration projects in the 1,200 acre Dutch Slough Restoration project, which neighbors the Big Break site.
  
  
• LMC is already partnering with the USDA Contra Costa Resource Conservation District, the Contra Costa County Development Department, the City of Pittsburg, and several watershed groups, in GPS mapping, water quality monitoring, and benthic macroinvertebrate surveys of county watersheds.
  
  
• Our Workforce and Education Advisory Board includes representatives from feeder high schools, transfer universities, industry, government agencies, non-profit institutes, and Congressman George Miller (famously the architect of  “CAL-FED” which is the federal-state legislation providing a framework for agreement on management of the SF Bay and Delta, taking into account the needs of wildlife, agriculture, and cities).  The design of the curriculum, as well as the broader goals of our program, have involved advice from this Board.

The goal of LMC’s new ES program is to create a signature magnet program that attracts students from all reaches of the county, involves teachers and professors from the region’s many feeder schools and universities, and builds bridges to the industries, government agencies, and institutes that are seeking an increased workforce.

Facilities

• LMC passed a local bond in 2002 (Measure A) that is supporting the construction of new Science, Math, and LRC buildings.  These will be completed in 2007 (LRC), and 2008 (Science, Math).  The square footage available for all LMC labs and classrooms will increase by 50% over current levels.
  
  
• The Delta Diablo Sanitation District (DDSD, two miles from the LMC main campus) has offered LMC  use of its 30-person lab for our science classes.
  
  
• A consortium which includes LMC, East Bay Regional Park District, and several other agencies secured $6 million from bonds and other sources to build a “Delta Science Center” (DSC) at Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley.  This 6,000 sq ft facility is expected to be complete in 2008, and it will include another lab primarily devoted to the ES program at LMC. 
  
  
• Partnerships with Dow Chemical and UC Berkeley have allowed LMC the use of the 500 acre Dow Wetlands for field studies (conveniently located next to our lab at DDSD);   and we are in early stages of forming relationships that will permit LMC use of the 1,200 acre Dutch Slough restoration project (conveniently located next to the DSC). 
  
  
• LMC has very close relations with this region’s heavy industry.  With them, LMC recently created a Process Technology program that will serve five oil refineries,  several chemical plants (Dow, one mile from campus, is the largest chemical plant on the west coast), nine power plants, and dozens of water and wastewater treatment plants.  Thus, wonderful opportunities abound for field trips, internships, faculty development, equipment donations, and other perks.  We forsee both the Process Technology and Environmental Science programs providing modern and exciting training for this area’s workforce, that will bring a healthy economy and better environment to the Bay Area.