Curriculum Information

The module will be based around a residential fieldwork expedition, to examine in detail the application of conservation and restoration management practices and look at the sustainability of conservation actions within a specific environment. The fieldwork expedition focuses on contemporary issues in the conservation and restoration of wildlife populations and habitats.

Students will undertake a variety of surveying techniques to monitor wildlife populations and habitats on site, developing industry standard skills and techniques in collecting real ecological data relevant to contemporary challenges. Students will be introduced to the theoretical aspects of surveying techniques and apply these techniques practically in the field to collect real world data. Understanding of UK/International legislation and licencing relating to wildlife survey practices will be important elements of this activity. Survey and identification techniques for key taxonomic groups including mammals, birds, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and flora will be applied. Key skills in habitat classification and competencies in habitat assessment for the purposes of ecological impact assessment and conservation assessment will also be considered. Students will learn to identify organisms, compile detailed field reports based upon data collected, for the assessment of real-world conservation management and ecological monitoring practices. Students will build on knowledge from prior learning to analyse and critically interpret real world data. They will be required to think critically about the data they have collected, assess potential routes of analysis and perform appropriate digital analysis in industry standard software, to support presentation of their findings to a professional standard.

In this module students are presented with the opportunity to work in an active, collaborative fashion to collect real world data during fieldwork. Students are required to be engaged and autonomous in this activity, and are encouraged to adopt different roles in the task to support the collaborative effort. Through collaboration, students demonstrate important team building skills and are empowered to work independently in complex field-based settings. Students will have the opportunity to act as research professionals, practice research and practical skills, and play an active role in their learning journey.

Through engagement with fieldwork and research with a focus on biodiversity sustainability and ecosystem health, students will consider the impact of ecosystem changes on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem health, stakeholder wellbeing and local community impacts, and climate impacts (in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals).

Fieldwork elements in this module are an important component in the course accreditation skills requirments for CIEEM.