Selkirk revitalizes environmental career offerings

Recreation, Fish and Wildlife Instructor, Rena Vandenbos (left), conducts fish surveys with students as part of a field school project for the program. Faculty members of the School of Environment and Geomatics (formerly School of Renewable Resources) at Selkirk College have re-designed curriculum in four environmental diploma programs for fall 2011.

Faculty members of the School of Environment and Geomatics (formerly School of Renewable Resources) at Selkirk College have spent the last year re-designing curriculum in four environmental diploma programs. The new curriculum is ready for fall 2011.

"We are excited to embark on a new era for environmental training here in the West Kootenay and Boundary Regions," said Selkirk College school chair, Derek Marcoux. "You can begin your hands-on training in the environmental sector and then ladder into our own degree program in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It's also easy to transfer to other post-secondary institutions across B.C.”

"The renewal process includes a name change for the school. The name change from School of Renewable Resources to Environment and Geomatics reflects the increasing workforce demands in the environmental and geomatics [digital mapping or GIS] sectors," Marcoux said.

"GIS uses cutting-edge software tools for digital map creation and analysis. It really is the way of the future," he continued. "GIS is used in all aspects of our society from environmental management to health care to economic analysis and offering the advanced diploma really complements our environmental training."

The School of Environment and Geomatics operates the Selkirk Geospatial Research Centre (SGRC). The SGRC works collaboratively with partners such as regional districts, Columbia Basin Trust and industry to provide digital mapping tools.

For more information on the School of Environment and Geomatics, visit www.selkirk.ca/eg or call 1-888-953-1133, ext. 392.