BSc Environmental Management with Professional Placement / Course details

Environmental science is a multi-disciplinary field that seeks to understand the delicately balanced systems that support all life on Earth, the causes and receptors of environmental impacts and the potential solutions to environmental problems. Environmental systems have been altered to some degree by human activities for thousands of years but, in the past two centuries, exponential growth in the human population and the industrialisation and mechanisation of human activities have resulted in significant environmental harm. This damage has led to an increasing focus on understanding how environmental systems function and how their harm is now undermining the provision of ecosystem services that humans depend upon.

This course unit provides an introduction to many of these concepts and issues and, fundamentally, it does so in an applied setting, to foster an understanding of how we can measure and understand environmental phenomena and how we can use this information to inform our management of environmental issues. Practical field visits are used to introduce a wide range of principles, methods and applications of environmental science and to understand their implications for society. During the course unit students  will begin to apply this knowledge through case studies to gain an understanding of different career paths in the environmental discipline.
 

The unit aims to:

1. introduce students to core principles, methods and applications of environmental science;
2. develop students’ understanding of Earth systems and processes and the ways in which humans impact them;
2. familiarise students with techniques used for sampling, collecting, analysing and interpreting data 
3. support students to critically apply their acquired knowledge and skills to the discipline of environmental management

OUTLINE OF CONTENT

Week 1 - Lecture/seminar: Introduction and age of the Anthropocene

Week 2 - Lecture/seminar: Anthropogenic climate change – causes, impacts and management

Week 3 - Seminar: War on Waste (Film: Trashed)

Week 4 - Workshop: Managing Waste in Litterborough

Week 5 - Lecture/seminar: Water Pollution

Week 6 - Field Visit: Measuring water quality of two rivers

Week 7 - Lab Session: Analysing water samples

Week 8 - Lecture: Soil – importance and characteristics

Week 9 - Field Visit: Analysing soil characteristics at Delamere Forest

Week 10 - Lecture/seminar: Nutrient-cycling and ecosystem enrichment

Week 11 - Field Visit: Measuring nutrient levels at Etherow Country Park

Week 12 - Workshop: Conclusions and Exam Preparation

Face-to-face lectures are complemented with hands-on practical workshops incorporating role-play, problem-solving and analysis of samples collected during field visits in the SEED laboratories. The course unit has a very applied focus, teaching students a variety of field skills that have relevance across the degree programme and for future careers. Learning is supplemented with digital learning including online quizzes, videos and other interactive media.

• Identify the causes and impacts of human-driven environmental degradation on a range of natural systems and processes
• Recall and describe appropriate techniques for sampling, collecting, analysing and interpreting environmental data in the field 

• Appraise environmental data to identify basic trends, impacts or outcomes 
• Evaluate the efficacy of different management approaches to one or more environmental impacts 

• Explain the principles and limitations of practical field or laboratory techniques 
• Identify and describe the appropriate use of equipment in field and laboratory settings with recognition of health and safety requirement

• Communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely in writing 
• Apply basic formula and calculations to identify or solve problems 

Unseen exam. Length 2 hours. Weighting 100%

Exam scripts with marking and overview of feedback available on request

Cresser, M., Batty, L., Boxall, A. and Adams, C. (2013) Introduction to Environmental Science. Pearson, Harlow.
Hill, M.K. (2010) Understanding Environmental Pollution. 3rd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Kneale, P.E. (2019) Study Skills for Geography, Earth and Environmental Science Students (4th edition), Hodder Education, London.
Mason, C.F. (2002) Biology of Freshwater Pollution. Prentice Hall, Harlow.
Mulligan, M. and Buxton, M. (2015) An Introduction to Sustainability: Environmental, Social and Personal Perspectives. Oxon: Routledge.
O’Riordan, T. (2000) Environmental Science for Environmental Management (2nd edition), Prentice Hall, Harlow. 
Snell, C. and Haq, G. (2014) The Short Guide to Environmental Policy. Policy Press, Bristol.
Zehnder, C., Manoylov, K., Mutiti, S., Mutiti, C., VandeVoort, A. and Bennett, D., 2018. Introduction to Environmental Science.

Breakdown of learning hours

Lectures 11 hours

Tutorials/Seminars/Workshops 11 hours

Private Study 37 hours

Directed reading 22 hours

Field visits 15 hours

Other activities (e.g practical/laboratory work 4 hours

Total 100 hours