Supporting youth
for careers in environmental
management
and earth repair industries
Gary Schoer
Learning Coordinator, Applied Sciences
Bradfield College
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Supporting youth for careers in environmental
management Gary Schoer |
| The explosion of job opportunities in IT has created a degree of hype in our youth anxious to pursue a career in an area that suits the knowledge and information revolution. We could be forgiven for thinking that the accumulated environmental problems such as habitat loss, salination and continuing loss of biodiversity have not translated into opportunities for future careers. While the profile of such earth-care industries has not been so high, a quiet revolution is taking place in our educational institutions, which are starting to supply creative and cooperative environmental problem solvers to government and the private sector. |
| TAFE colleges now offer
courses in bush regeneration and environmental management. Horticultural
modules developed nationally by industry groups integrate up-to-date
principles of environmental stewardship. National training modules on
environmental management of our farms and cities are being released in
2001. Universities offer degrees in environmental studies, coastal and
rangeland management, and environmental law.
Many schools in NSW recycle paper, manage worm farms and compost bins, care for remnant native bushland, and conserve energy and water. Such activities are often facilitated by one to a few staff members who belong to environment groups such as NPA. (Why not contact your local school and offer your services?) |
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Bradfield College at Crows Nest has taken education for the environment one step further. This College is a unique senior high school/TAFE cooperative venture that offers a Level 11 TAFE Certificate in Environmental Practice integrated with the Higher School Certificate as a stepping stone to diverse environmental career paths. Graduates have gained positions in local government, State government departments and private industry. The certificate at Bradfield articulates into many "green" courses at TAFE, and gives students the skills needed to initiate and manage home, work and community environmentally sustainable practices.
Bradfield College is part of a Statewide network of organisations that monitor water quality in local creeks. Using state-of-the-art water-monitoring equipment, Bradfield cooperates with North Sydney Council to report on water-quality parameters that might indicate a pollutant source in the catchment. Real problems such as the impact of unleashed dogs in bushland are monitored and appropriate action taken to change local environmental management.
The big challenge for school-level education is to make teachers feel comfortable in transferring education in and about the environment to educational participation for the environment. Only then is authentic environmental education taking place. Our State syllabuses and environmental education curriculum statements encourage such participation, yet ironically many teachers still see such action as excessively controversial despite the scale of environmental degradation that we have left this generation to deal with.
Bradfield College earnt a Northern Sydney Wasteboard "Wastesavers" award for the way in which students and staff cooperate to make the campus environmentally friendly. One quarter of class time is spent on practical projects related to this aim. Students study authentic problems in the Sydney Harbour catchment, and take actions to foster sustainable practices. Such involvement does not take time away from core education; it is regarded as an integral part of developing environmentally concerned and active citizens.
Gary Schoer
Learning Coordinator, Applied Sciences
Bradfield College
He has been an NPA member for 28 years and is currently Secretary of its
Southern Sydney Branch.
| Want to know more about
opportunities for your son or daughter at Bradfield?
Don’t hesitate to contact the author at 9448 4246 (W); or 9570 1813 (H); or email gary.schoer@tafensw.edu.au |
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