Initially I was upset when I found out that the esteemed Prof Rosemary Lyster wasn't taking this undergraduate course in environmental law. Then I got to know Dr Kate Owens, and I wasn't upset anymore. The course is an excellent overview of some of the environmental and planning laws relevant to New South Wales. It also covers some material on Commonwealth environmental law and international environmental law. We could really do with a follow-up unit at the undergraduate level covering other environmental laws. Here's what we covered this year: a general overview of environmental law and regulation in Australia and internationally; environmental courts and decision-making; 'ecologically sustainable development' as a foundational concept of Australia's environmental laws; climate change and energy laws internationally and domestically; water law; waste management; pollution law; environmental planning; development assessment; State and regional development; environmental impact assessment; the EPBC Act; and mining law. But here are some big areas of environmental law we didn't cover: heritage; protected areas and Crown lands; oceans; integrated natural resource management; conserving biodiversity; contaminated land; Antarctica; and chemicals and dangerous goods. This is partly because the textbook has become outdated in some areas (e.g. biodiversity law), but mostly because of the lack of time. Again, we could really do with a follow-up LLB unit in this field!