Bachelor of Environmental Management

Maybe you are passionate about climate change, local food systems or conservation, maybe you are passionate about getting a great job with the Ministry for Primary Industries, a regional Council, a renewable energy company, a local food company or an environmental consultancy company. Maybe you love camping and tramping and maybe you want to learn some useful skills like pest monitoring and water quality testing. If any or all of these apply to you then look no further because SIT’s Bachelor of Environmental Management programme offers you the broadest scope of any Environmental Management degree course in New Zealand.

SIT delivers an exciting, hands-on programme with a host of field trips, guest speakers and industry-related research projects.This degree course will develop your theoretical knowledge and practical skills for a growing number of environmental management careers.

The impact of human activities on our planet is sadly, becoming increasingly obvious.  Learn how to manage human activity and create a sustainable balance with nature. Environmental Management is an all-encompassing area which looks to find the answers to a sustainable existence.

Learn about:

• ?Renewable Energy, 
  ?Sustainable food systems
  ?Ecology
  ?Environmental Impact assessment
  ?Geographic Information Systems (GIS), 
  ?Environmental Law, 
  ?Resource Management, 
  ?Conservation Principles, 
  ?Land, Freshwater and Marine Management. 
  ?Practical training includes First Aid, river crossing, camping skills, trip planning and assessment.
  Renewable Energy
• Sustainable food systems
• Ecology
• Environmental Impact assessment
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Environmental Law
• Resource Management
• Conservation Principles
• Land, Freshwater and Marine Management
• Practical training includes First Aid, river crossing, camping skills, trip planning and assessment

Hands-on training with Environmental Management Equipment

• DJI Phantom 2 drone (aerial surveying)
• Topographic and land surveying tools
• Soil auger kit and soil research equipment
• Sedimentology research equipment
• Water quality testing equipment
• Environmental parameter testing (anemometer, sound meter)
• Faunal research equipment (bat detectors, motion activated cameras, tracking tunnels/chew cards, malaise traps)
• Primo Star Microscopes
• Chemistry lab analytical instruments
• Collection of rock and mineral specimens

The Bachelor of Environmental management program is offering two exciting new papers in sustainable food systems, one level 6 paper (second year) and one level 7 paper (third year). These papers will be elective papers. This means that at the end of the first year students can choose whether to take EM210 (Renewable Energy) or EM211 (sustainable Food Systems 1). Then depending on their second year choice they will take EM310 (Energy Auditing) or EM311 (Sustainable Food Systems 2). Having these electives gives our Bachelor students the opportunity to further explore one of two important and exciting subjects which are helping to conceptualise and build a more sustainable human society.

Year One

EM100 Data Management and Introductory Biometrics

Provides students with mathematical, analytical, and computing skills sufficient to achieve an understanding of how to source, collect, manipulate, analyse, interpret, and present data relevant to environmental sciences.

EM101 Resource Management and  Environmental Law

Introduces students to the concepts, principles, and applications of environmental law, its historical and current context, and the various Acts that currently govern environmental law and related legislation within New Zealand society.

EM102 Work Environment Skills

Provides students with practical knowledge of various instruments, techniques, machinery, and Occupational Health and Safety requirements that they will encounter on entering the workforce.

EM104 Ecological Principles and Conservation in New Zealand

Provides students with an understanding of the ecological and biological principles fundamental to New Zealand ecosystem management.

EM105 Marine and Freshwater Ecology

Provides a basic knowledge and understanding of the ecological factors which characterise coastal, marine, fluvial, and lacustrine environments. The potential impacts of various management activities will also be explored.

EM106 Conservation Management

Explores the problems and challenges with managing the New Zealand environment.

EM107 Environmental Science 1: Introduction to Chemistry

Students will acquire knowledge of the basic concepts of chemistry as it applies to environmental management.  On successful completion of this paper, the student will be able to describe the fundamental chemical concepts of atomic theory, chemical bonding and chemical reactions, demonstrate knowledge of the major chemical cycles and their influence on the environment and have an understanding of the phenomenon of pH and its relevance to environmental science.

EM110 Introduction to Renewable Energy

Introduces students to concepts of sustainability and renewable energy (RE) in the context of energy production and utilisation. Reviews existing and emerging renewable energy sources.

Year Two

EM200 Research and Statistics

Prepares students for professional practice by presenting research as a uniting strategy for practice, theory, and scholarship. Both scientific and interpretive knowledge will be drawn upon in preparing the student to become a competent practitioner of research. Students will also be assisted in developing skills as a beginning researcher.

EM202 Earth Science and Environmental Management

Students will learn to relate earth architecture, earth cycles, and earth geomorphology to the current environmental situation. They will investigate the relationship between surface features, surface processes, chemical constraints, and ecology and habitats. This paper introduces students to the concepts and applications of remotely sensed data and the application of these data to geological and environmental problems.

EM203 Land and Freshwater Environmental Management

Students will consider the issues that influence environmental management of land and freshwater at global, national, and local scales. This includes consideration of political, economic, social, and environmental and regulatory factors influencing decision making.

EM205 Marine and Coastal Environmental Management

Students will consider and assess the issues that influence marine and coastal environmental management at a global, national, and regional level.

EM206 Conservation and Environmental Management

This paper extends the theoretical knowledge, skills, and experience of students gained in EM100 level papers relating to environmental management. It also expands on concepts pertaining to ecological theory and ecological processes through time and introduces concepts of habitat restoration and protection.

EM208 Environmental Science 2:  Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetic and Microbiology

Students will acquire knowledge of the basic concepts of organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology and genetics as they apply to environmental management.

EM209 Geographic Information Systems

This paper provides a foundation for understanding and applying what GIS is, its functionality and applications in a real world GIS context.

Choose one of the two following papers:

EM210 Renewable Energy Technologies

This paper expands on EM110 and extends students' knowledge of the concepts and principles associated with renewable energy technology with an emphasis on commercially available and small-scale applications. It includes terminology and measurement units employed and basic manipulation of data relating to energy systems.

EM211 Sustainable Food Systems 1

This paper examines the issues, theories and concepts that are involved in the development of sustainable food systems. Learning through field trips exploring local food initiatives and sustainable agriculture systems, through research and lectures, this paper equips students with in-depth understanding of different types of food systems from local to global.

Year Three               

EM300 Research I

Students will apply their knowledge and gain industry experience within an environmental management related context. The cooperative experience is structured to allow students to critically reflect on the relationship between academic studies and practice and to develop the capabilities of teamwork and problem solving. Students will prepare a proposal for an industry related project which will be research orientated and beneficial to the environmental management context.

EM301 Research II

This paper will provide an opportunity for students to extend their knowledge and gain further industry experience with the environmental management context  previously selected. Students will complete a project which will be research orientated.

EM304 Advanced Environmental Impact Assessment and Monitoring

Introduces students to the concepts, principles, and skills associated with environmental impact assessments.

EM306 Case Studies in Environmental Management and Sustainability

Provides an over arching paper, which brings together the elements developed during the degree programme.  The paper emphasises governance at the national and local level coupled with the legal, scientific, management, economic, and societal constraints in relation to various environmental problems confronting the world, the nation, and Southland.  Students will be encouraged to explore issues from various points of view (society at large, local iwi, various management levels in the public and private sector, and stakeholders) and to propose consultation methods, solution pathways, management indicators and scientific solutions.

EM307 Mineral Resources Management

Expands on 100 and 200 level related papers and investigates both mineral and energy resources, to differentiate between renewable and non renewable earth resources, to explore how these resources form and to explore methods used to manage the exploitation of the resources in an environmentally responsible manner.

EM207 Catchment Evolutions, Soils and Hydrogeology

Extends first year environmental studies and introduces more complex catchment evolution, soil and hydrology concepts.

Choose one of the two following papers:

EM310 Energy Auditing

Provides students with knowledge and skills in procedures required to conduct an energy audit. This will involve site inspections, identifying and documenting energy requirements for that site, recording energy utilisation details, and measuring, quantifying, and reporting energy consumption needs.

EM311 Sustainable Food Systems II