Dangerous Degrees

From the erosion of our coasts to the green credentials of our office blocks, understanding the environment – and our impact on it – is becoming a global necessity.

Climate change, conservation, biodiversity, green energy, pollution, carbon footprints – these are concerns that have an impact on everyone, from the man on the street to huge corporations and world governments. With environmental issues moving up the political agenda, and many large organisations including green issues as part of their corporate social responsibility statements, graduates who are able to link science and society together to tackle environmental issues are increasingly in demand.

Study of the Earth and its systems is nothing new at Edge Hill, but the introduction of a new degree programme – the BSc in Environmental Science, starting in September – is reinvigorating the subject and bringing it more in line with current and future employer needs.

“This new programme is an enhancement of our Geo-Environments course, but there is more to it than just a simple name change,” says Head of Natural, Geographical and Applied Sciences, Dr Nigel Richardson.

“Government, media, industry and public interest in environmental issues is on the rise, so there has never been a better time to be an environmental scientist. There is an increasing need to understand and manage the environment and evaluate the interactions of its components, including humans, and we are hoping to tap into that with our new degree.

 
“We want to reignite interest in the subject and offer a degree programme that reflects society’s changing needs.”

A recent report into the state of Environmental Science (ES) provision in UK higher education institutions, Mapping the Environmental Science Landscape, presented the perfect catalyst for a change in Edge Hill’s ES provision. It found that many courses don’t place enough emphasis on industrial and applied aspects of the subject, or equip graduates with key professional skills, such as report writing and negotiation skills.

The report also suggested that better graduates come from courses with a vocational element and recommended more practical experience in the field for students.

“The report dovetailed completely with our own thinking and reflected our concerns about Edge Hill’s ES provision,” says Nigel. “It gave us the opportunity to refocus the content of the course and plug some of the gaps in skills that employers had identified. The recommendations have informed our new course, making it more practical and employer-focused.

“Our students will now graduate with a fantastic skills package. They will acquire the core skills and knowledge to enable them to go on to careers in environmental consultancy or management, for example, but also transferable skills such as communication, presentation and IT.”

Based on a survey of environmental science providers, professionals and employers, the report predicts a rise in people opting to study ES in the next five years. Alongside more media attention about environmental issues, the report cited the opportunities presented by increasing EU legislation as one of the main drivers for growth.

“UK and EU mandatory requirements for both governments and industry open up exciting challenges for environmental scientists,” says Nigel. “Laws relating to air and water quality, pollution, carbon emissions and waste management are becoming more and more stringent so graduates with the relevant vocational skills and knowledge will be required to help ensure organisations comply with them.”

One of the key issues for the future is sustainability. Whether it relates to energy, buildings or agriculture, the ability to maintain balance within the Earth’s systems is paramount. The report highlighted sustainability as a future trend that needs to be addressed within ES and it is a major focus of the new course at Edge Hill.

“We are currently using more resources than we are able to replenish,” says Nigel. “We now need a massive collective effort to restore the balance and that means finding new ways of heating our homes, growing our food, planning our towns. There is a need for more science-based approaches to understanding the impact of human activity on the planet’s systems and potential ways to reverse the damage.

“Environmental science has the ability to deal with those big future issues because of its multi-disciplinary nature. It brings together aspects of physical geography, geological science, environmental science, ecology, biology, human geography and environmental chemistry to identify, understand and potentially resolve the major environmental concerns of today’s society.”