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. 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.

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.

Super straightforward class and Professor is interesting lecturer. A lot to memorize for the tests but everything is clearly laid out. Really fun class overall and a good GE

BEST PROFESSOR EVER BEST CLASS EVER TAKE THIS CLASS FOR FUN NOT EVEN FOR A GE

If I could recommend any GE it would be this one. First of all, Gillespie is one of the coolest and more entertaining professors out there. Like I genuinely loved hearing this man speak every morning. There is virtually no work in this class (no textbook, reading, papers, etc) outside of what you complete during your lab time. And the labs are more like discussions with field trips to the botanical gardens. To pass the midterm and the final i'd argue you just need to pay attention during lectures and be good at memorization. To be fair, I had already taken AP Environmental Science before this class and to be honest because of that I already knew 80% of the information so to be fair it may be a little harder if you don't have that background.

Best class you will ever take at UCLA!!! Gillespie genuinely cares about what he is teaching which reflects in his teaching style, for he is very engaging. There is no homework, all you need to do is study for the midterms. What you need to study is really straightforward and he tells you precisely what to memorize. TAKE THIS CLASS!!!

Honestly, if you are looking for an easy GE this is the best! Gillespie is super straightforward and is pretty funny in his lectures. He gives out study guides for his multiple choice midterm and finals and the study guide is literally the exact same things that are on the test.
He pretty much reads off slides so if you miss lectures you shouldn't be too bad, but you should still definitely go to lecture because he comes up with stuff on the fly to explain a particular topic which makes it easier to memorize.
I will say ... the final is cumulative but honestly not as bad as I thought it was going to be, just make really good flashcards or look up some on Quizlet lol.

OVERALL this is a great class, super easy, mostly memorization based, and contains one small group project at the end of the year (super manageable).