The course is an introduction to the physical environment we live in; how it works, the way it can be measured and modeled, and how to interpret environmental data and statistics. It is for students who have NOT studied physical sciences previously at the tertiary level. The subject introduces, at an elementary level, a number of core scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, mathematics & statistics, and physical geography. As such, the main body of the course has been developed by academics across the Faculty of Science, and by external practitioners from these disciplines, drawing on specialist knowledge in several areas of the physical environment. In addition, a number of the units have been developed by interdisciplinary practitioners from environmental studies/humanities. An understanding of the physical sciences underpins the management of our environment. Without an ability to understand the physics, chemistry and geography of environmental phenomena, management strategies would be little more than guesswork. Environmental managers therefore need, at the very least, basic literacy in physical and chemical science.