想象一下你不是傻坐在教室里，而是身处真实的物种密集的栖息地研究加州丰富多样的风景地貌，有无际的大海，还有绵延的山脉。

这就是沉浸式加州生态和环境保护课程的教学主旨。来自加州大学系统的学生将用七周的时间在加州大学自然保护区生活和学习，居住地分别有岩石海岸、淡水沼泽、橡树林、针叶林和沙漠。

参与者可以学习动植物生态学、环境保护科学、气候、加州生态系统等。

这门课程是由加州大学自然保护系统首次开设，开课时间是今年秋天。这门课程与出国留学有异曲同工之妙：学生沉浸在身边的“异域”文化。像出国留学要练习语言技巧，体验当地风俗一样，参与者也将有机会练习野外技巧和观察自然环境，为今后的科学研究做准备。

这学期，该课程由来自圣克鲁兹分校（UCSC）的Blake Suttle（下学期也是由他授课），Don Croll和Gage Dayton联合授课。凡是加州大学系统里的学生都能申请这门课程——不要错过： 2016年春季课程报名截止时间10月30日（最多收27个学生）。

Michael May在圣地亚哥分校(UCSD)第五年了，他说道：“我原以为这门课程涉及的内容与真正生态学家的实际工作相差甚远”其实却不尽然，“我们是真的在做野外生态学家的工作。”

他的同学Hannah Spinner是伯克利分校(UCB)的大二学生，她十分赞同“我从未和这么棒的人在这么短的时间里学到这么多的东西”她说，“在安吉洛海岸保护区的第一天，我们就设计、完成并在班里展示了一个小研究项目。这在任何其他课程中都要花费几天的时间。”

Imagine studying California's richly diverse landscapes, from sea to Sierra — and not in the confines of a classroom, but right in the thick of the actual habitat.

That's exactly what the immersive California Ecology and Conservation course offers. Students from across the UC system spend seven weeks living and learning at UC's natural reserves, in habitats ranging from rocky coast and freshwater marsh to oak savanna, conifer forest, and desert.

Participants learn about plant and animal ecology, conservation science, climate, California ecosystems and more.

The course, offered by UC's Natural Reserve System for the first time this fall, is akin to study abroad in reverse: Students are immersed in a "foreign" culture that's right at hand. And much like one might practice language skills and observe customs in another country, participants get the opportunity to practice field techniques and observe the environment in preparation for scientific research.

This term, the course is taught by Blake Suttle (who will lead next term's course), Don Croll and Gage Dayton from UC Santa Cruz. It is open to undergraduates from any UC campus – but don't delay: Enrollment (capped at 27 students) for the spring 2016 course closes Oct. 30.

Michael May, a fifth-year student at UC San Diego, "thought [the course] would end up being a sheltered version of what actual ecologists do." Far from it: "We have been thrown right into the life of a field ecologist," he said.

Classmate Hannah Spinner, a sophomore at UC Berkeley, agreed. "I’ve never learned so much in such a short time with such incredible people," she said. "The first day at the Angelo Coast Reserve, we thought of, executed, and presented a small research project to a class. In any other class this would take days."