Description
The Environmental Field Skills Program (EFSP) provides course participants with high-quality, in-demand environmental monitoring field knowledge and skills. EFSP ‘graduates’ are qualified and capable to assist with environmental monitoring and assessment of mining, hydro-electric, oil and gas, forestry, road construction and other natural resource-related programs and projects.
Please be advised that at present, this program does not provide transferable credits recognized by accredited bodies and post-secondary institutions.
Program Outcomes
Environmental Field Skills Program graduates are qualified environmental monitors. Graduates of this program can assist professional biologists, engineers, hydrologists, and other environmental professionals conducting environmental monitoring and assessments.
Upon successful completion, Environmental Field Skills Program participants will be qualified and able to:
- Observe, record and report environmental field data
- Conduct standard environmental assessments and inventories for: air, water, plants and trees, wildlife, fish and soil
- Conduct backpack electrofishing surveys as certified technicians (note: To be eligible for certification, registrants must complete the field component in one of our scheduled EF field sessions.)
- Operate, calibrate and maintain a wide variety of environmental field equipment and ‘tools’
- Identify and classify types of vegetation, wildlife, fish and soils
- Conduct water quality and field hydrology procedures
- Identify and interpret environmental field conditions
- Identify site impact, and develop and implement site rehabilitation procedures
- Conduct erosion and sediment control measures
- Isolate an instream construction project and conduct a fish salvage
Prerequisites
None.
Each NRTG course includes free, lifetime admission. Enrol once – come back anytime.
Who attends?
Course participants typically include existing environmental technicians, Indigenous partners, resource workers, or individuals wishing to enter the environmental management or natural resource management sectors.
How do I attend?
This course is available for individual registration via our website schedule page, or on contract to organizations/community groups. Are interested in a contract delivery of this course? If so, please contact us.
Course Formats
The EFSP is now offered in three versions: 1) an in-person instructor-led program delivered over three consecutive weeks in a community or to an organization 2) a blended program delivered with scheduled ‘live’ fully online instruction and ‘student led’ field practicums that students complete on their own 3) a fully online self-paced program students complete in NRTG’s feature-rich Learning Management System (LMS). The in-person and ‘live’ online instruction versions are typically delivered in community over three consecutive weeks, while the self-paced version is open-ended with no time limit to complete.
For more information regarding delivery options, or to arrange an EFSP delivery for your community, contact NRTG for further details.
Customize Your Program
NRTG will work with clients to customize our existing course content to meet your needs. As an example, this may include additional or advanced training relating to construction monitoring, erosion & sediment control, wildlife surveys, drone applications, fish habitat restoration, forestry, cultural heritage, rangeland management, land reclamation, program management, or topics of interest to your community or organization.
Have questions or comments about customization? Please contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
We offer this course beginning in February in coastal regions and March in interior regions throughout North America. Please refer to our schedule page for course timing and locations.
Testimonials
Amazing program and instructors. Thank you very much to both instructors for a wonderful job – well done!
The EFS program was excellent!. Awesome instructors too. We learned so much…I can’t wait to apply these new skills in my position.
Really well constructed course – very thorough and practical. Instructors were very knowledgeable. Highly recommended.
“Excellent program. Learning from NRTG instructors was an amazing experience.”
The EFS program was professionally conducted, provided specific training that really met the needs of our organization. The instructors were very knowledgeable and efficient. A true pleasure to participate in this program.
Excellent training program and instructors. Really enjoyed and appreciated the extensive practical training and learning to do tasks from professional instructors who were amazing.
This course was a wonderful learning experience, and exciting for my new future.
“Amazing course and instructors. Really learned valuable skills to work in this field. I strongly recommend attending this course.”