In this dissertation, the author aims at gaining a better understanding of how taking an Environmental Literature and Writing course affects student writing while exploring how writing students view their own roles within their natural environments following the completion of the described course. Through the collecting and assessing of student writing as well as post-semester open-question interviews, the author seeks to understand how students are affected and influenced by being exposed to a place-based environmental writing class and how such experience informs their personal perceptions of their individual roles within their local and global environmental context. By using narrative inquiry, the author explores her own experiences with her changing natural surroundings to engage in the class experience in a reflective and meaningful manner. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]