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05/26/2025 - 05/30/2025
9:00 am - 4:00 pm Pacific Time
This innovative, five-day certificate course is offered in a hybrid format that maximizes student learning and minimizes travel and accommodation costs. Students will spend three days in a virtual classroom where concepts will be coupled with expertly designed field assignments to strengthen understanding of techniques. The final two days will be hosted at the rare Charitable lands less than an hour drive from the Greater Toronto Area and will focus on field demonstrations and completion of Ecological land Classification in a group setting.
Ecological Land Classification practices in Ontario are presented through zoom instruction, independent assignments, and in-person field instruction. Participants will learn:
- Interpretation of Air photos for preliminary vegetation polygon delineation
- The relevance of physiography mapping to Ecological Land Classification and its’ application
- How to determine soil types, moisture regimes, and drainage regimes
- The principles of vegetation community classification
- Effective vegetation inventories strategies including species abundance and distribution, community ID, tree heights/ diameters, and basal areas
- Common species associations
- Delineation of accurate community boundaries in the field
- Significant Wildlife Habitat considerations and identification of potential Species at Risk habitats
- How to document an Ecological Land Classification
What should I bring or supply?
- Waterproof field notebook
- Compass (on your phone is fine)
- GPS (on your phone is fine)
- Clinometer (phone app is fine)
- Soil Auger (one per 5 participants)
- Prism for (one per 5 participants, if possible)
- Camera (phone camera is acceptable)
- Suitable all-weather boots (waterproof)
- Sturdy boots/ shoes, seasonally appropriate clothing
- Plant ID Field guides/ apps are optional but recommended
- Google Earth Pro (free download)
- Tablet (for digital forms and resources, encouraged)
- Laptop (for air photo interpretation, resources in class, optional)
- Stable internet connection for Zoom sessions (days 1-3)
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