This class is an easy A if you do your part. You need to memorize a sizeable amount of information, but it is pure memorization. On the midterm, I got a 92% and the mean was 85%, so I already knew I was on track for an A. The lab portion of the grade is an easy A as long as you participate at least once per discussion, do the bare minimum on the group project, and you do the 2-3 worksheets assigned throughout the quarter. I got bailed by not taking the final because I think I would have gotten a B+ on it and maybe ended with an A- instead of an A for my final grade. However, I might just be underestimating myself so just believe in yourself! Professor Gillespie is such a character! He made this class so great I actually looked forward to going to lecture, which is out of the norm for me. He is an amazing professor who gives easy tests as long as you memorize simple and straightforward information. I suggest you guys make a collaborative study guide through the discussion section on CCLE like my class did so you can answer the study guide questions as quickly as possible in order to have more than enough time to study for the midterm and final. All in all, I'd rate this class 10/10! No regrets!

This was one of the best classes I have taken at UCLA! Prof Gillespie was the most engaging prof I have ever had and I attended every lecture bc I legit wanted to. Class is super easy, he offered extra credit for ppl that got below a 70 on the midterm, and altered the class/final in a very fair manner due to the TA strike. Lectures were not recorded but slides are posted, however it’s helpful and fun to be in class. He often ended lectures early and lab rarely took the full 2 hrs. You have a super easy group project, mandatory lab sections a midterm, and a final and that’s it. Wish I could take it again!

All in all, I enjoyed this class. Dr. Gillespie is a funny guy who is super passionate about the material he teaches. As previous reviews have mentioned, he does enjoy ragging on Trump, but he does so purposefully, since he spends a lot of time discussing the state of our environment and energy sources and what we should do to preserve them. Class does end fairly early, and it can be quite common for lecture to end with 20 minutes left to spare or more. There is a midterm and a group project, and they did require some work but I did well on both of them. The final exam was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, so he and the TAs decided to give everyone a 95 on it to make up for all the chaos. As nice as it was to end the class on that note, I wish the class went into more depth about environmental controversies in Los Angeles, especially during the city's development. Overall, would recommend.

While I needed this class for my major, I would recommend it to anyone needing a lab GE, a GPA boost, or some time off. Professor Gillespie often admits that this is one of the easiest classes at UCLA, and he's absolutely correct. Lectures are funny, easy to digest, and reliably end at least 20-30 minutes early. The study guides DR G gives out are very helpful. While the textbook isn't really essential, it's an easy read, it's the basis for a few questions on each exam, and you can use any edition (I got mine for $7 on Amazon). Lab attendance is mandatory. Lab activities include drawing maps, nature walks, and watching movies. It's a fun time- all UCLA students should take this class.

This class is a very chill GE. Your grade in the class is made up of the following components:
Labs: 30% of your grade with a final report/presentation making up 30% of this part of your grade.
Midterm: 30% of your grade
Final: 40% of you grade
Labs aren't very difficult. Just show up as they are mandatory and do the assignments. The final report/presentation is not very hard either. However, some TAs are more strict than mine. I had Cami who was super chill, thankfully and my group did very well on the report/presentation. The exams aren't very hard. A week before the exams, the professor gives out a list of terms/topics that could appear on them. The midterm was 50 short-answer questions while the final (which was somewhat cumulative) was 50 MCQs. Both were not super difficult, just put in some effort in memorizing the terms/topics and you will be fine.

Very easy class. One midterm and one cumulative final, both of which are in-class and are directly from the study guide. No trick questions either. There are also no assigned readings!! Some small lab assignments (attendance is mandatory in labs, but not in lecture), but they’re all meant as grade boosters before the final. If you go to his office hours he will drop hints about what will be on the final, but in lecture he also highlights the most important parts, which is nice because he talks very quickly and usually ends class well within the allocated 50 minutes. He is kind of a frat guy and is very loud, but does care about his students’ learning and presents relevant topics so that we can truly understand them, not just because he has to teach. I took it as a GE and would really recommend others doing so as well.

I am taking this class this quarter (Winter 2025), and it's probably the best GE I’ve taken at UCLA. The course is mostly memorization-based, with a midterm, a final, and weekly labs. The professor is amazing; he’s passionate about his research and work but understands that most students are taking this class as a GE, not a major requirement. He just wants us to learn the material, and he makes it so clear and straightforward. He’s also really funny and has a great personality, which makes lectures engaging. Since the key information is well-structured, studying for the midterm and final is fairly easy.

Gillespie the GOAT

I really liked this class and it definitely instilled a new found appreciation for our environment and concern for the effects of climate change on our planet. I found the lectures to be really interested, some weeks there are more videos then others but still really manageable. Usually, I would watch all the videos in one day and then take the quiz after, or you could split it up if you prefer to do it that way. The quizzes were really easy if you took notes on the videos, same for the final exam at the end of Week 6. The labs were the only thing that was really time consuming but the instructions are very straight forward and most people received at least a 90 on each one. I would recommend this class for anyone looking for an easy GE or just interested in the environment and climate change.

easiest GE ever, i recommend to anyone that needs it, or even as just a "filler" class for units because of how easy it is. prof would finish lecture wayyyy earlier, because he is so easy going, straightforward, and adds no extra fluff to anything. but his lectures are still insanely engaging i wish every prof was like him with material. you're honestly just learning about biomes, and it is graded on attendance to section, midterm, final, and group project. midterm and final he literally gave the study guides beforehand, and it was an exact replica of each. super easy btw there was not much to stress except memorizing. group project was a slide presentation on an endangered animal of your choosing. again, so insanely easy and stress-free class that was also fun.