Wetland Assessment

Description

Wetland Assessment is an applied, two-day, fully online course focusing on the step-by-step process of how to characterize, classify, and delineate wetlands in Canada and the northern United States.  Through instruction and field exercises, participants will learn about wetland indicator species, typical species associations, how to identify wetland types, characteristics of wetland soils, and delineation of wetland boundaries. The student-led field exercises will guide the student through the process of characterizing and documenting a wetland. 

Objective

Upon successful completion, participants will be able to: 

• Identify and classify wetlands in the field using keys 
• Contrast and identify difference between wetland types
• Identify wetland indicator species
• Identify wetland species associations 
• Recognize wetland soils
• Delineate wetland boundaries
• Document a wetland assessment

Pre-requisites

Knowledge and experience with basic field skills such as map reading, compass, and GPS is recommended, along with some familiarity with plant identification methods.  

Who attends this course?

Recent graduates looking for hands-on training, field ecologists, biologists, or technicians.

Personal Equipment Requirements

• Waterproof field notebook
• Camera (phone camera is acceptable)
• Suitable all-weather boots (waterproof)
• Appropriate clothing for field work
• Field guides to wetland plants is optional but recommended. 
• Google Earth Pro (free download)
• Smart phone or printer for reviewing air photos is optional but recommended 
• Compass (optional)
• GPS (optional)

Check out our FAQs on equipment.

Instructor Profile

Maggie Pugh is an Ecologist with more than 18 years specializing in ecosystem assessment. She completed graduate research in Canada’s northern wetlands and has worked as an ecologist in the private sector for more that 15 years.  She is a seasoned field biologist with expertise in wetland and vegetation community assessments, flora and fauna inventories, seasonal wildlife surveys, significant wildlife habitat assessment, species at risk screenings and permitting, rare species monitoring programs, sediment/ erosion control and environmental monitoring. Maggie is an Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES) evaluator, Butternut Health Assessor, and is certified in Ecological Land Classification (ELC).

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