To work effectively as a professional in environmental science and environmental management you need to apply a range of knowledge and skills in a practical context. This course provides hands-on opportunities for you to apply your theoretical understanding to critical observation and measurement of biodiversity, biogeography, landscape ecology and soil-vegetation processes. You will develop skills in describing soils and landforms, measuring vegetation patterns, identifying habitat features and detecting faunal associations. You will learn to appreciate how soils, landforms, vegetation and fauna should be considered in research and decision-making.
The course is an in person intensive immersing students in field work throughout the mid-semester break. Week 1 involves day long field trips from the ANU Canberra campus and week 2 is based at the ANU Kioloa coastal campus for four nights. You will be contributing to long-term field research informing management decisions across a range of biomes (farmland, forests, coastal and intertidal). The field work is complemented by field trip workshops.
This course develops a diversity of field skills for graduates seeking careers in all fields of natural resource management.
Graduates are co-taught with undergraduate students but assessed separately.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Collect a diversity of data that describe the biophysical attributes and processes of ecosystems.
- Recognise and understand strengths and weaknesses of a range of field sampling techniques and survey designs.
- Demonstrate a capacity to choose appropriate data collection methods, design appropriate sampling strategies and communicate findings about ecosystem patterns, processes and resource management impacts.