| Field of Study: | Natural Resources Management and Policy
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| Description: | Ecological Restoration is a scientific discipline that has recently emerged due to the increasing need to restore degraded and damaged ecosystems. Many ecosystem goods, services, and natural habitats have been severely impacted due to the cumulative impacts of previous and ongoing anthropogenic influences, including for example: urban sprawl, industrial expansion, invasive species, and contamination of soils and water resources. These impacts, and the need to remediate, rehabilitate, and restore habitat for threatened and endangered species, have led to the requirement for ecosystem restoration work across the province, Canada, and internationally. Ecological Restoration is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity, and sustainability.
This four-term, two-year (36 credit (BCIT)/units (SFU) - inclusive of a 6-credit/unit capstone project) program will produce graduates capable of using critical thinking, adaptive management, and applied research within an applied problem-solving framework. This combination of skills will be applied to the identification of factors responsible for degraded ecosystems and to the rehabilitation and restoration of ecosystem functions, while advancing the scientific knowledge of this rapidly emerging discipline.
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