Geography & Planning

The Department of Geography and Planning offers a variety of service learning and internship opportunities for the undergraduates and graduates enrolled in the program. Service learning is embedded in four classes that undergraduate geography and planning majors take to complete their degrees. In these classes, students design and complete projects that deal with environmental issues, rural and town planning, and community development.

Some examples of student projects include

• Drawing a community map and marking community boundaries for Concow
• Planning for future development of “the Avenues” neighborhood in Chico
• Organizing community meetings and participating in neighborhood planning
• Designing a rural community center for Cohasset
• Taking elementary school classes to our to Butte Creek Nature Preserve
• Restoring/replanting riparian vegetation in local river systems
• Conducting research surveys to assess recreation issues and needs in local communities
• Using GPS to locate illegal trash sites in Butte County foothills

While internships are not required to graduate with a degree in geography and planning, both graduate and undergraduate students realize that internships provide valuable opportunities for professional experience. The department receives requests for interns from planning and environmental agencies from cities and counties all over the North State. These agencies seek our students for their expertise in GIS, planning and environmental analysis. Every semester, about 40 students complete internships. A few are paid positions while most are for college credit. These opportunities provide vital professional experience for the students who often continue to work for these agencies after graduation. There are also numerous opportunities for students to work on campus environmental projects or to intern with campus environmental organizations.

Geography and Planning service learning and internship partners include