ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES VEN100

Open Learning Course -Study Environmental Science from Home with our School.

COURSE CONTENT

There are six lessons in this course as follows:

1. Living Things 
   • Classification of plants and animals
   • identifying living organisms
   • using identification keys
2. Basic Ecology 
   • Populations
   • communities
   • ecosystems
   • constituents of ecosystem
   • the ecosphere
   • the web of life
   • habitats and niches
   • humans in the environment.
3. Global Environmental Systems 
   • The Earth’s structure
   • the atmosphere
   • climatic systems
   • Gaia theory
   • the carbon dioxide cycle
   • El Nino
4. Environmental Problems 
   • Deforestation
   • loss of agricultural land
   • loss of biological diversity
   • loss of water
   • loss of non renewable resources
   • environmental weeds
   • the Greenhouse Effect
   • Ozone depletion
   • ozone as a Greenhouse gas
5. Conservation 
   • The definition and goals of conservation
   • the history of conservation
   • natural resources (renewable and non renewable).
6. Acting Locally: Thinking Globally 
   • Humans and water
   • how to minimize water usage
   • energy use in the home
   • reducing household waste
   • domestic transport and its affect on pollution
   • building materials and their environmental impact

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• To understand the binomial system of classifying living things
• To understand the use of keys to identify living things
• To grasp the basics of ecology (the relationships between living organisms and their environment)
• To have a basic grounding in Earth Science and an understanding of global environmental systems
• To understand the Earth’s major environmental problems and how they have come about
• To gain an understanding of conservation and its importance to individuals and the world
• To learn a range of ways to reduce the environmental impact of ones’ actions at home and globally

Aims

• To understand the binomial system of classifying living things
• To understand the use of keys to identify living things
• To grasp the basics of ecology (the relationships between living organisms and their environment)
• To have a basic grounding in Earth Science and an understanding of global environmental systems
• To understand the Earth’s major environmental problems and how they have come about
• To gain an understanding of conservation and its importance to individuals and the world
• To learn a range of ways to reduce the environmental impact of ones’ actions at home and globally

What You Will Do

• Classify a range of living organisms in your locality
• Identify the genus and species names of plants in a nursery
• Compose a food web for your local area
• Carry out basic research into the weather in your area and what affects it
• Carry out in depth research into at least one major environmental problem
• Contact three conservation organisations to determine the issues they deal with
• Survey a building to determine the types of building materials used
• Design an environmentally friendly house

Tips

• Keep your skills up to date!
• Get networking - join networking groups within the field of environmental science
• Get some experience - paid or unpaid experience is highly valued by prospective employers.

Other Courses

ACS offers a wide range of Environmental Studies covering courses in zoology, environmental management, wildlife, botany, waste, earth sciences for vocational careers, self improvement (adult education) or qualifications; available as e learning (on line or CD electronic study) or with traditional printed texts.