Every Rubenstein School first-year takes NR1010 and NR1020: Natural History & Human Ecology, a yearlong series of courses that set students up with crucial foundational knowledge and prepares them to succeed in classrooms and the field throughout the rest of their academic career. Also, they’re tons of fun, and alumni consistently report that their fondest Rubenstein School memories were made during the course.

In February, our first-year students had a lab at the Intervale Center where they learned about the ecological history of the area, identified tracks, and spent some time skiing! For many students, it was their first time doing any kind of skiing.

Winner of the UVM BORED’s Best Course Award for four years running, NR1010 and NR1020 integrate the science of ecology, humans, and society to better understand our relationship with the environment. Throughout the yearlong combination of courses, students learn about Vermont’s wide array of ecosystems, how they interact with one another, and the economic and cultural influences that impact them. 

Check out some behind the scenes footage of NR1010’s snowy workdays in Calahan Park with city stewards in November 2025.

Each week, students leave the classroom and head outside for a lab—sometimes traveling as far away as Mount Mansfield in Stowe, VT, other times heading down Main Street to the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Lab and taking a ride on the Research Vessel Marcelle Melosira. These trips help introduce students to their new home state, getting them familiar with the landscape and all the fun it can offer.

Another way that NR1010 and NR1020 prepare students for life in the Green Mountains is by getting students outside, rain or shine. The saying “there’s no bad weather, just the wrong clothes” is popular in Vermont, and with the Rubenstein School Gear Library, the right clothes are readily available. Students find immense value in learning to love winter, especially early on in their college career. 

NR1020 students participated in a backcountry snowshoe lab in Bolton last winter. They studied natural community changes along an elevation gradient and examined the impacts of ski glade cutting on species diversity. Some highlights of the lab included: Learning about the backcountry and Leave No Trace, tree ID, comparing conditions inside and outside the managed ski glades, and more.

Students in NR1010 and 1020 learn important skills that will help them make the most of their Rubenstein School experience, from water sampling in Lake Champlain to animal track (and scat!) identification, to building and maintaining garden beds. 

“NR1010 and 1020 helped me so much because I got to sample all kinds of fieldwork.” - Nina de Silva ’26. 

In addition to winning the Best Course Award multiple times, the instructor team for NR1010 and 1020 is made up of all-stars. Senior Lecturer Walter (Walt) Poleman, one of the lead instructors and designers of the course, won UVM BORED’s Best Professor Award in 2024, 2023, and was a runner-up in 2022. Walt, along with Senior Lecturers Chris Brooks and Mike Blouin, co-teach the class and foster a welcoming, fun learning environment for first-years.

Walt stands in front of the NR 1010 lecture in his halloween costume.
NR1010 students were encouraged to join Walt and Chris in a Halloween sing-a-long in Fall 2025.
Chris and Walt play the guitar for NR1010 lecture.
Walt and Chris shredding in front of a room full of adoring fans (NR1010 lecture).

NR1010 and NR1020 provide students with several important deliverables: Crucial skills honed in field labs, the ability to think critically about our natural world and how we relate to it, a mental map of Vermont and many of its beauties, and more. But perhaps the most important takeaway students finish the course with is community. Many students make great friends in their smaller lab sections, and those relationships sustain them throughout their college career and beyond. When other professors come to class to guest lecture and introduce students to new fields of study, that is often the beginning of a valuable connection that leads to research opportunities, internships, and mentorship. 

The Rubenstein School is so beloved by students and alumni because of the strong relationships it fosters. Those relationships and all the experiences that come with them begin on a student’s first day in NR1010. 

"Natural Selection," the NR1020 band made up of faculty and teaching assistants, serenaded the last lecture of the spring 2026 semester with Loudon Wainwright III's "The Swimming Song."
A group of students pose for a photo with their professors while holding instruments.
A triumphant post-performance shot of Natural Selection.