the Western Slope Institute
Living Systems Thinking for Bioregional Regeneration
Durango - Colorado
College Field Semester in Regenerative Design
Live. Learn. Design. Transform.
The College Field Semester in Regenerative Design is an amazing 16-credit adventure for young adults eager to learn by doing while uncovering their true potential and making a real impact in the world!
Embark on an unforgettable semester in the stunning deserts, rivers, and mountains of Southwest Colorado. You'll live in a vibrant community, explore breathtaking national parks and wild landscapes, and connect with Diné families through our immersive cross-cultural experiences.
This dynamic environmental studies program dives deep into watershed resilience, where you'll collaborate with passionate local nonprofits and bring your ideas to life through a hands-on capstone project.
Get ready for an experience that will inspire you and change the way you see the world!
An accredited college field semester dedicated to social and ecological regeneration
College Field semester
in regenerative design
August 21 - December 17, 2027
Durango, Colorado
16 credits / ages 18 - 24
Live. Learn. Design. Transform.
Dr. Kobe Biederman teaches courses at Prescott College in:
The Education with Emphasis in Environmental Education MA Program
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Design & Facilitation in Environmental Education
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Philosophies & Trends in Environmental Education
The Outdoor Education Leadership MA Program
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Ethical Risk Management
Field Semester in Regenerative Design
Led by Dr. Kobe Biederman, students learn through field-based coursework in environmental science, environmental humanities, and systems thinking. The San Juan Basin becomes the classroom, with the Animas River watershed serving as a living laboratory for applied projects in watershed restoration, community resilience, and climate solutions.
Program Highlights:
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Wilderness travel & field expeditions
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Regenerative design & watershed restoration
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Community living & personal growth
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Reciprocal, community-hosted immersion with Diné families
A Semester in the Deserts, Rivers, and
Mountains of the Southwest
The American Southwest is an incredible landscape filled with stories waiting to be uncovered. Picture yourself wandering through stunning red rockyons, lush river corridors, and breathtaking alpine headwaters, all part of an immersive living classroom. As you explore the San Juan Basin and Animas River watershed, you’ll visit iconic spots like Mesa Verde National Park and the historic mining town of Silverton, diving deep into the region's rich ecological and cultural history. Here, every element tells a story—water, land, and the people who call this home. You'll learn to view these places not just as beautiful scenery, but as vibrant social-ecological systems shaped by climate, culture, and time. This experience will truly ignite your passion for environmental science and conservation!
Learning Through Experience
This is not a semester of passive listening.
Students:
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Backpack and raft through regional landscapes
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Conduct watershed and field assessments
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Work alongside nonprofit partners on environmental science initiatives
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Engage in cross-cultural learning based on long standing relationships with Diné families
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Reflect through journaling, dialogue, and guided inquiry
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The semester is physically engaging, intellectually demanding, and personally clarifying.
Students do not just study regenerative systems. They live inside them.
collaborative program design
The Western Slope Institute College Field Semester in Regenerative Design brings together accredited academics through Prescott College and immersive field experience at Deer Hill Expeditions, creating a fully integrated college semester in sustainability and regenerative design.
Field semester
schedule
The Arc of the Semester
A Purpose-Built Academic Model
The Field Semester is not an outdoor program with academic credit added on. The 16 credits are not an afterthought — they are the structural foundation of the experience. This is designed as an experiential college semester.
Students are not simply earning credits while backpacking. They are participating in a carefully sequenced learning arc rooted in cutting-edge thinking in regenerative systems and bioregional management. Field experiences, wilderness travel, and community-hosted immersions are not add-ons; they are intentionally integrated components of a coherent academic design. When students hike into the mountains, they are not just on a trip — they are studying watershed patterns, observing ecological relationships, and learning to read the landscape.
When they raft a river, they are tracing the movement of water through social and ecological systems. When they engage in community-based projects, they are applying regenerative design frameworks grounded in real research. This program is both lived experience and intellectual rigor — a place where theory becomes embodied practice.
Phase 1 : weeks 1-8 (Courses 1 and 2)
August
Orientation Backpacking Trip in the
weminuche wilderness
Course 1 – Bioregional Awareness & Living Systems Thinking (4 Credits)
Students begin by grounding themselves in place. Through watershed exploration, mapping exercises, systems thinking tools, and an introduction to Diné land-based knowledge and relational ecological perspectives, they learn to read a landscape as both an ecological system and a cultural story.
By the end of this course, students can analyze how water, land, community, and history interact within a region. They develop a comprehensive systems portrait of the bioregion that informs the applied design work in the second half of the semester.
Focus areas: Watersheds, ecological literacy, systems thinking, place-based inquiry.
October
Rafting Trip
on the San Juan river
Course 2 – Inner & Outer Dimensions of Regenerative Design (4 Credits)
Running alongside Course 1, this course focuses on the personal development that supports effective leadership and regenerative work.
Through structured reflection, resilience practices, and applied design frameworks, students explore identity, purpose, and their role within complex systems. Using the A.D.A.P.T. framework, they connect self-awareness to ecological and community impact.
By mid-semester, students articulate their personal strengths and how they can contribute meaningfully to regenerative projects.
Focus areas: Leadership development, resilience, regenerative design principles, purpose alignment.
Phase 2 : weeks 9-16 (Courses 3 and 4)
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October
reciprocal, community-hosted immersion with Diné families
Course 3 – Place-Informed Project Design Studio (4 Credits)
Students shift from analysis to action. Working with local nonprofit and community partners, they design context-specific regenerative solutions grounded in real ecological and social needs.
Through collaborative studio work, stakeholder engagement, and iterative design, students develop practical interventions informed by the bioregional research completed earlier in the semester.
Focus areas: Applied sustainability, project design, collaboration, stakeholder engagement.
November
arches and Canyonlands
National Parks
Course 4 – Regenerative Practice & Community Engagement (Capstone) (4 Credits)
The semester culminates in a cohort-based capstone project implemented with a local partner organization.
Students take on defined roles within a shared project ecosystem, translating ideas into action. They present their work publicly, complete a professional portfolio, and reflect on their growth.
Focus areas: Capstone project, community engagement, applied regenerative design.
Field semester
BASECAMP
BASECAMP & WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP
Life at Deer Hill
Students are based at Deer Hill Expeditions’ 110-acre campus in Southwest Colorado. Housing includes shared cabins, meeting spaces, kitchens, and outdoor learning areas.
Campus life includes:
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Shared meals and food preparation
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Solar-powered facilities
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Composting systems
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Community responsibilities
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Direct access to surrounding public lands
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Sustainability is not theoretical here — it is daily practice.
Expedition Leadership & Safety
With over 40 years of experience in wilderness education, Deer Hill provides professional expedition leadership, risk management systems, permits, and logistical infrastructure.
All backpacking and rafting expeditions operate under established safety protocols and experienced guides. Long-standing Indigenous partnerships support community-hosted immersion with Diné families, grounded in respect and reciprocity.
(Ethical Commitments in Community-Hosted Immersions)
Students are challenged — and supported.
All wilderness travel and outdoor expeditions operate under Deer Hill’s permits, safety protocols, and experienced leadership.
Deer Hill expeditions basecamp facilities
Sustainability at Deer Hill
Deer Hill operates as a working model of sustainable living. Vegetables are grown organically at Basecamp, food waste is composted, and the main buildings use passive solar design and on-site renewable energy systems.
Students experience sustainability not only as an academic concept, but as a daily practice embedded in campus life.
college credit
Field Semester
Accreditation and College Credit
The College Field Semester in Regenerative Design is accredited by Prescott College, a leader in experiential education and sustainability. Students earn 16 accredited credits in environmental science and applied regenerative design through immersive, rigorous courses. This program offers valuable academic and real-world experience for those pursuing degrees in related fields.
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students leave
Prepared to Design What comes Next
By the end of the semester, students leave with far more than college credit. They leave with lived experience, demonstrated competence, and a clearer sense of who they are and how they want to contribute to the world.
Students complete a real-world regenerative design project in partnership with local organizations, gaining tangible, portfolio-ready work grounded in watershed restoration, climate resilience, and community-based sustainability. They develop the ability to think in systems, analyze complex social-ecological challenges, and move from insight to action.
Equally important, students strengthen leadership capacity, resilience, and self-awareness. Through wilderness travel, collaborative problem-solving, and structured reflection, they build confidence navigating uncertainty — a skill essential for both environmental work and adulthood. They learn to navigate uncertainty, contribute meaningfully to a team, and take responsibility for outcomes.
By the end of the semester, students leave with:
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A completed capstone project
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Portfolio-ready applied field experience
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Experience in sustainability and regenerative design
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Strengthened leadership, confidence and maturity
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Greater clarity about their academic and life direction
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Ability to apply systems thinking to complex environmental and social challenges
They leave not just prepared for the next academic step — but return more equipped to shape what comes next. More grounded, capable, and ready to design their future with intention.
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