Restoring Disturbed Land: Assessment and Techniques

Each NRTG course includes free, lifetime admission. Enrol once – come back anytime.

Description

NRTG’s Restoring Disturbed Land is a three-day course that examines the environmental impacts of land use change and the restoration approaches used to address them. Through interactive instruction and applied learning, you will develop practical skills in assessing disturbed landscapes and selecting appropriate restoration techniques.

The course covers the primary types of land use change in Canada and their effects on soil, vegetation, hydrology, and climate. You will examine foundational ecological concepts including ecosystem degradation, succession, and priority effects, analyze major environmental impacts, and evaluate habitat restoration techniques to mitigate each. The course also introduces landscape-level restoration approaches and the tools and strategies used to plan and implement them.

Graduates will leave with a solid understanding of land use change impacts and restoration approaches, as well as the practical foundations to support their work in restoration contexts. Completing this course counts towards Habitat Restoration Technician Program certification once the remaining courses are completed.

Program Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, you will be able to:

Explain the primary types of land use change in Canada and their effects on the environment and climate.
Describe foundational ecological concepts, including ecosystem degradation, ecological succession, and priority effects.
Analyze the major environmental impacts of land use change and evaluate habitat restoration techniques to mitigate each impact.
Explain the importance of landscape-level approach to ecological restoration, and the tools and strategies used in this approach.

Certification

This course is assessed on attendance, assignments, and participation. To earn your certificate of completion you must meet all three requirements:

Attendance: 90% of course time
Assignments: Average 70% across assignments
Participation: Average 60% across the course days

Your certificate of completion is required to claim your SER CECs and count towards your Habitat Restoration Technician Program certification.

Prerequisites

No formal credentials required to register. A basic understanding of field practices (e.g., plant identification, wildlife signs, experience around running water) and ecosystem functions is recommended.

If you are starting from scratch, consider completing NRTG’s Environmental Field Skills Program or Land Guardian Program. Either will give you a solid foundation before you begin the course.

Who attends?

This course is for you if you work on or near disturbed land and want practical training in assessing and restoring landscapes affected by land use change. You are a good fit if you:

Work on or near land, water, or ecosystems as part of your job or community role
Are an Indigenous land guardian, watchman, or community member involved in stewarding your territory
Work in environmental consulting, natural resources, or industry and need applied restoration skills
Have field experience but no formal restoration training and want credentials to back it up
Are looking to move into restoration work and need a recognized certification to get started

What should I bring or supply?

You will need:

Computer
Stable internet access
Pen and paper

Instructor Profiles

Charity Blaney, M.Sc., Wildlife Ecologist

Charity has spent the last several years studying long toed salamander ecology in the Rocky Mountains of Southwestern Alberta. Her career stems from a passion for all things nature which began at an early age roaming the forests, rivers, and mountains of Northern British Columbia. Before university, she worked as a wilderness mountain guide and thrived being surrounded by wildlife such as wolves, grizzly bears, and wolverines for weeks at a time, always wanting to know more about how they lived. Since then she has studied rainforest plants from a remote field station in Brazil, worked for a number of municipalities in invasive plant control, taught ecology labs at the University of Calgary, and botany and forest ecology at Northern Lights College. She loves her work as an instructor with NRTG for the opportunity to share her interests with others.

Thomas Munson

Thomas Munson holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree from University of Waterloo, and a Restoration of Natural Systems Diploma and Masters of Science degree from the University of Victoria. He is a Professional Agrologist and Certified Wildlife and Danger Tree Assessor. He worked with First Nations in the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Colombia, South America for much of his career.  Thomas has carried out work in the botanical field via ethnobotany studies, forestry and vegetation inventory and environmental impact assessment. Thomas worked for many years as Environmental Technician for City of Victoria Parks, in ecological restoration and management of Garry oak ecosystems and their rare plant species. He has worked on long term ecological vegetation monitoring for Metro Vancouver in the unique ecosystem of Burns Bog in Delta, BC, for 18 years. He teaches an introductory course through the University of Victoria on ecological and cultural restoration, and maintains an active interest in community ecological restoration projects in the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems of southern Vancouver Island.