The class will be divided into groups of three or four people, each of which will choose a small place within the Huron Valley for intensive study. A place might be a building or several buildings, a park, a city block, a creek, a dam, a road, a meadow, or a farm. To find your place, examine maps of the area and go exploring. The instructors will help. You will need to know where to find information about your place before making a commitment, and your choice must be approved.

Each group will prepare a joint report on the chosen place, including a written report of 20-25 pages, excluding illustrations and references. Include references to relevant readings from the course and sources which you have researched for the project. In addition, you will make a final presentation to the class during the last three weeks of the term, and will lead the class on a visit to the place. We expect to spend about an hour on each visit. You may assign readings about your place.

What is your chosen place? Describe it. What attracted you to this particular place? What does it embrace? What is in it? For example, what is the geology, the landforms, the flora and fauna, human residents and users, buildings, purpose and others.

How has your chosen place become what it now is? What has been its history? What factors have affected its development?

How does your chosen place affect humans? Is it useful or beautiful or both? Has its effect on humans changed with time?

What does the future seem to hold for your chosen place? What should the future hold? How could we make the desired future more probable?

A Dam - e.g. Mill Creek or Argo Dams.

A City Block - Trace the history of a block or a few buildings using Sanborn Maps, rehabilitation of downtown as residential areas.

Urban sprawl - Examine an area recently developed or one likely to be developed in the near future.

A Stretch of the Huron.

Barton Pond.

A Creek - e.g. Mallett’s, Fleming, or Miller Creeks.

A Park - e.g. a city park, county park, or Metropark, Fleming Creek and Parker Mill, Furstenberg Park

Farm - e.g. traditional and organic methods.