The final assignment in History/Geography/Environmental Studies 460 asks students to choose a particular place--either in Madison or somewhere they know well from your home or travels--and write a brief essay interpreting its environmental history using themes and ideas drawn from the class. The assignment is described in much greater detail in the course syllabus, which can be found here.

Given the unusual nature of the assignment, it's often helpful (and fun) to read samples of the papers that past students have written in response to it. Below are links to a wide variety of "place papers" from the course--remarkably different in approach, style, and focus, but all excellent. They'll give you a great sense of the many ways that this assignment can be tackled successfully.

Lindsay Amiel, "The Many Faces of Cadiz Township," 1994
(Cadiz Township, Green County, Wisconsin)

Justin Bendell, "Environmental History of Downers Grove, Illinois," 1998

Kathryn Berg, "Brittingham Park" 2004
(Madison, Wisconsin)

Emily Bradley, "From Railroads and Red-Light Districts to Restoration: A History of the Hotel Rubie Marie," 2008

Kim Nicholas Cahill, "From Turkey Ranch to Wealthy Retreat: The Making of Lovall Valley, California," 2002

Cortney Cain, "Observatory Hill—A Sense of Place?" 2004

Eric Carter, "The Ordinary Place I Once Called Home: Making Sense of the San Fernando Valley," 1999

Kevin Check, "Prairie du Chien and the Changing Role of the Mississippi," 1994

Margaret Christie, "Farm in the City," 1994
(Near the Beltline in Madison, Wisconsin)

Matt Colwin, "From Commercialization to Conservation: The Story of Devil's Lake State Park," 2008

Amy Dignan, "Journey Into the Heart of a Small Town," 1998
(East Troy, Wisconsin)

Jeff Dillen, "Temkin Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin," 1994

Courtney Ehlers, "Kenosha, Wisconsin and the Grey Magic of Urban Sprawl," 2008

Lily Farrar, "A Path Through Owen Park," 2004

Julia Ferguson, "The Trees Tell the Story," 2007
(Canada Creek Ranch, northern Michigan)

Aaron Goyette, "Train Car Shops Open!" 2000

Yasemin Gulec Can, "Reading a Ruin: The East Railroad Corridor of Madison, Wisconsin," 2007

Jay Harvey, "The Growth of the Deer Population in Rusk County, Wisconsin," 2000

Lynne Heasley, "Of Bass and Fishermen: A People and Forest Divided Around One Small Lake in Northwestern Wisconsin," 1994
(Bass Lake, northern Wisconsin)

Emily Hilts, "Canoeists, Anglers and Scientists: The Making of Escanaba Lake," 2012
(Escanaba Lake, Vilas County, northern Wisconsin)

Carolyn Hogg, "The New Suburbia of Denver, Colorado," 2005

Julia Hon, "The More Things Change Rock Cut State Park’s Environmental History," 2002
(Near Rockford, Illinois)

Rachel Hunerdosse, "The Stench That Shaped History," 2008
(Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin)

Emily Hunt, "Digging Through the Past," 2008
(A rural property near Ridgeway, Wisconsin)

Jessica Hutcheson, "Ease on the Land," 1999
(John's Island, south of Charleston, South Carolina)

Eric Idsvoog, "Crossroads: Land and Its Value on Madison's West Side," 1998

John Isom, "Walking Home," 2000
(Westchester County, New York)

L. J. Janowski, "Two Visions of the Kickapoo River: Voices For and Against the Lake LaFarge Dam Project," 2003

Jeff Jordan, "100 Years of Solitude: A Progressive Era Retreat in the Heart of a Modern City," 2008
(James Madison Park, Madison, Wisconsin)

Jane Kepler, "A Seven Lock Walk on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal," 2008

Eva Lewandowski, "Maintaining a Rural, Pastoral Lifestyle in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin," 2004

Nicole Magel, "The Attraction of Observatory Hill," 1994
(Observatory Hill on UW-Madison campus)

Joe Malkovich, "An Environmental History of Oldenburg Point," 2005
(Jay Cooke State Park, near Duluth, Minnesota)

Kerry Martin, "McCargoe Cove: An Examination of Isle Royale through Space and Thyme," 2005

Cate McCraw, "Swallowed by the Bay: The Historical Landscape of Smith Island," 2008
(Chesapeake Bay, Maryland)

Aaron Megquier, "Encounters with a Wilderness City," 2004
("New City" in Baxter State Park, Maine)

David Meyerson, "Ghosts in the Soil," 2012
(Joliet Army Ammunitions Plant, Joliet, Illinois; HTML version at http://davidmeyerson.net/ghosts-in-the-soil/)

Amelia Mitter-Burke, "Mineral Point Road: Two Eras of Change"
(Madison, Wisconsin)

Robert Morel, "Forty Minutes north of Chicago, IL there is a town called Zion. This is not a history of that town," 2002

Laura Muskatevc, "Remembering Elkmont," 2007
(Great Smoky Mountains National Park)

Andrea Nesbit, "“The City Moved to Us,” 2003
(Swanton Road, on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin)

Anders Olson, "Patrick Marsh: A Human Nature," 1998
(Near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin)

Thomas Olson, "The Three Worlds," 1994
(Waukesha, Wisconsin)

Omar Poler, "The Middle Yard," 2005
(La Crosse, Wisconsin)

Natalie Ray, "Stories from the Medinah Wetlands," 2005
(Medinah, Illinois, in suburbs of Chicago)

Margo Reeder, "Quarry Hill Park: A Reflection of the Social Definition of Health," 2005
(Rochester, Minnesota)

David Reiley, "A Black Bear's Path," 2002
(Northern New Mexico)

Sarah Reis, "The Town of Lovell's Kezar Lake," 2008
(Lovell, Maine)

Jeffrey Schwartz, "The Twin Canals," 2003
(New Orleans, Louisiana)

Paul Schwinn, "West Bend, Wisconsin," 2003

Katie Sharrow, "Horicon Marsh: A Work In Progress," 2002

Alison Sipkins, "Defeminizing the Camp Warren Garden," 2004
(Near the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota)

John Sprangers, "The Howard M. Temin Lakeshore Path: A History of Human Intervention," 2005
(Along Lake Mendota, UW-Madison campus)

Stacey Swearingen, "A River Runs Next To It," 1994
(Clark Fork River, Missoula, Montana)

Robin Tanamachi, "Winona’s Watchtower," 2000
(Winona, Minnesota)

Alexandra Tempus, "No Tresspassing," 2008
(Alexian Brothers Novitiate, Northeast Wisconsin)

Gina Walejko, "Kalaupapa, Hawaii: What’s in a Name?" 2002

Andrea Ward, "Phoenix Park: A Hopeful Metaphor for the Forgotten Heart of a City," 2007
(Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Daniel Wiersema, "Marsh Resurrected: The Story of the Patrick Marsh Wildlife Area," 2005
(Near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin)

Lindsay Woodbridge, "Greenbush: A Center of Economic and Cultural Capital," 2004
(Greenbush Neighborhood, Madison, Wisconsin)

Christina Socorro Yovovich, "The Mythology of Home," 1994
(Hoyt Park, Madison, Wisconsin)

Joseph Zagrodnik, "The Menomonee Valley: A Window to Milwaukee's Past and a Projection of its Future," 2008