Each NRTG course includes free, lifetime admission. Enroll once – come back anytime.
Description
NRTG’s Water Sustainability Technician Program explores the growing global phenomenon of water scarcity, exacerbated by rising demand and diminishing freshwater supplies. This program delves into the complexities of water management, which involves balancing the needs of various sectors and environments. A range of professionals, including ecologists, engineers, agrologists, geologists, hydrologists, technicians, scientists, and government bodies, all contribute to sustainable water management, often with competing interests.
Key questions about water sustainability will be explored throughout the program. You will also examine the roles of these diverse professionals and organizations, each with their own interests, perspectives, and responsibilities in water management.
Upon completion, you will develop practical skills for measuring water availability, water quality sampling, measuring contaminant dilution, and water management. The skills learned are highly valued by employers for field workers in environmental disciplines.
Please be advised that at present, this program does not provide transferable credits recognized by accredited bodies and post-secondary institutions.
Program Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Describe the concepts of water scarcity, sustainability, and water management as a “wicked problem.”
- Describe, measure, and interpret the global water cycle, how nature replenishes the freshwater supply, and how humans affect water quantity and quality.
- Describe how aquatic ecosystems function and apply tools for evaluating environmental water needs.
- Identify, describe, and measure threats to water quantity and quality and propose mitigation strategies.
- Describe water treatment processes.
- Apply water management strategies.
Prerequisites
None.
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?
The WSTP is available in the online self-paced format outlined above and posted on our website schedule, or on contract to community groups. Interested groups or organizations can also arrange for an ‘in-house’ or contract delivery of the WSTP program. In either scenario, contact NRTG for further information.
What should I bring or supply?
Participants are required to bring/supply their own laptop, writing pad, and pen/pencils, and provide suitable field clothing to complete the field exercises. For further information, please contact NRTG.
Course Format
The WSTP includes online learning and student-led field training sessions. The fully online self-paced program is available in NRTG’s feature-rich Learning Management System (LMS), while students conduct self-led field practicum sessions. The online modules allow students to learn at their own pace and convenience; and field exercises are completed independently by students in a convenient location.
Customize Your Program
This course can also be customized for an organization and/or community based on their needs and preferences. In its standard format, this course is comprised of 120 hours of applied training. Clients may request additional training in specific topics (e.g., environmental monitoring, forestry, Guardian training, etc.)
Contact us with your ideas and needs and we’ll work with you to design and deliver a specialized training program that meets your needs.
Instructor Profile
Jeff Sereda, PhD.
Manager, Ecological and Habitat Assessment, Owner Sereda Environmental
Jeff holds a PhD. in Limnology and an Aquaculture Technician Diploma. He served as manager of a commercial salmonid hatchery for 4 years, lectured at the University of Saskatchewan on topics of fish physiology, taxonomy, ecology, conservation, and aquaculture. Currently, Jeff is a Manager of Ecological and Habitat Assessment, and formally an Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan.
Jeff’s research has encompassed topics such as assessing the risk of aquatic ecosystems to anthropogenic eutrophication, macrophyte management, fish habitat restoration, and the impacts of water management on species as risk (Bigmouth Buffalo, Chestnut Lamprey, Plains Sucker, and Lake Sturgeon). Jeff’s research has been presented at over 60 national and international conferences and resulted in 20 peer reviewed publications.