Small communities can make big changes when it comes to the environment.
That’s the philosophy behind a new program being offered at Lakehead University.
The school’s relatively young Department of Sustainability Sciences is preparing to launch its environmental sustainability certificate program. It is open to those who have degrees in relevant fields, including urban and regional planning, geography, biology and ecology.
“It could be something their current employment demands or something they aspire to,” Rosario Turvey, associate professor with the Department of Sustainability Sciences, said of the online program, which will launch in May 2018.
It is also geared toward those who “are not yet very familiar with but want to learn about environmental sustainability,” added department chair Sreekumari Kurissery.
The demand is there, they said. The pair’s “a-ha moment” came while reviewing Turvey’s results from research into green economy and sustainable communities.
“One of the findings of that (was) they don’t have so many skills in everything that applies to sustainability,” Turvey said.
Lakehead Orillia has the expertise to make it happen. The unique Department of Sustainability Sciences was formed in 2014, four years after Lakehead began offering a degree program in environmental sustainability.
The two can think of many reasons an education in environmental sustainability is important, but Kurissery simplified it: “It’s needed to save our planet. It’s very important and timely.”
With an ever-increasing worldwide focus on the environment, it is also in demand. Lakehead’s approach, however, is not on a global scale, but rather on how small communities can take action on environmental challenges.
It’s about “wise use of resources,” Kurissery said.
“That is what we think about when we think about environmental sustainability.”
Learn more about the program here.