Qualification -Certificate In Horticulture (Nature Park Management)

  NATURE PARK MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE

COURSE STRUCTURE

The Certificate in Horticulture (nature park management) is a vocationally oriented and IARC accredited course comprising both studies in both general horticulture and in nature park management.

Certificate in Horticulture involves the areas of work:

• CORE STUDIES -Nature Park Management I and II
• STREAM STUDIES - a further four modules (see below)

CORE STUDIES


Nature Park Management I

1. Introduction to Nature Park Management – the role and scope of nature parks; the importance of indigenous vegetation in nature parks.
2. Basic Ecology – the environment, plants and animals; ecosystem concepts.
3. Soil Management in Nature Parks – soil characteristics and problems; earthworks.
4. Plant Maintenance – basic gardening techniques; natural gardening; plant selection; succession planting; equipment.
5. Design of Nature/Wilderness Parks I – collecting site information; preparing concept plans.
6. Design of Nature/Wilderness Parks II – drawing the final plan; construction estimates; designing animal enclosures.
7. Weed Management – characteristics of weeds; weed control; environmental weeds.
8. Pest and Disease Management – management strategies; chemical safety.
9. Culture of Indigenous Plants – techniques for establishing vegetation; planting design.
10. Tree Management – role of trees in nature parks; tree maintenance plans; pruning and tree surgery.
11. Turf Care – turf varieties in nature parks; lawn preparation, establishment and maintenance.
12. Rehabilitation: Problems and Solutions – aims and strategies; soil problems and solutions in degraded sites.

Nature Park Management II 

1. Natural Environments – preserving natural environments; plant associations and environment rehabilitation
2. Recreation and the Environment – impact of recreation on natural environments
3. Wildlife Management in Nature Parks– impact of park visitors on wildlife; managing wildlife
4. Visitor Amenities in Nature Parks – design; provision of visitor amenities including picnic areas and campgrounds; management of facilities
5. Park Interpretation – interpretative facilities including signs and education programs
6. Trail Design and Construction – designing access routes in parks; designing and constructing walking tracks
7. Water Areas – conserving and managing natural water bodies in Nature Park, impact of humans on water areas
8. Marketing Nature Parks – strategies used to promote nature parks
9. Risk Management I – identifying, minimising and managing natural hazards; safety issues
10. Risk Management II – preparing a risk management plan

STREAM STUDIES

Choose four other modules from anything that is relevant to management of a nature park. Typically these may be any additional four modules from the following courses:

• Ecotour Management
• Ecotour Tour Guide Course
• Introduction to Ecology
• Weed Control
• Wildlife Management
• Conservation and Environmental Management
• Ornithology
• Practical Horticulture I
• Marine Studies I
• Vertebrate Zoology
• Animal Health Care
• Environmental Assessment
• Workplace Health & Safety

Duration: 600 hr

This course is accredited through International Accreditation & Recognition Council

FAQ'S (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q. Are these studies recognised?

A. ACS has an excellent international reputation.

• We have been established since 1979,
• Our tutors are highly qualified,
• We are recognised internationally by IARC,
• We have affiliations with a group of highly credible colleges from several countries,
• We maintain credentials or memberships with a range of professional bodies.

Q. Will this get me a job?

A. We rarely hear of students having difficulties with employment once a course has been successfully completed. Our courses are designed to make you employable! Having said this though; there is always more to getting a job than just study. Plenty of university graduates end up unemployed. We try to develop more than just knowledge in order to help you avoid such situations.

Q. How am I assessed

A. Assessment is holistic (We consider not only exam results, but also assignments, and all interaction you have throughout the course with your tutor). If you don't satisfy requirements, you are always given opportunities to resit exams or resubmit assignments.

Q. What support will I get?

A. Lots more than most colleges. Our priority is to support our students. We have academic staff on duty daily -both in the UK, and in Australia. This means that you can phone or email us and get in touch 16 out of 24 hrs, every working day. Our policy is that student phone calls and emails are given number 1 priority. It is rare that they are not answered on the same working day as when we receive them.

Our academics provide mentoring and careers or business advice whenever requested; at no additional cost to our students.

Q. How can I be sure I choose the right course?

A. We strongly recommend that you use our careers advisory service. Click here

Why Do We Need to Manage Natural Areas?

Why do we need Nature Parks?

Broadly the functions of nature park management include:
• Preservation of natural habitats
• Land rehabilitation
• Wildlife management
• Control of feral pests
• Management of natural hazards
• Visitor management

These issues and others are discussed in Nature Park Management I and Nature Park Management II. The focus of this course is understanding how humans impact on natural environments, and how park management seeks to provide quality recreational and educational experiences without compromising the parks’ natural environment.

NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS

Landscapes and their associated plant and animal life are a result of responses to millions of years of naturally occurring disturbances, such as fire, flood, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, climate changes and changes in sea levels. Living communities have survived and developed because they have the ability to adapt and perpetuate themselves in a constantly changing environment.

The first thing to understand about natural environments is that they are constantly changing. The manager of a nature park is the manager of change.

A nature park manager should not expect, or attempt to stop natural changes, but he/she should exercise control over "unnatural influences" which could cause change faster than the natural environment can adapt to.

Human interference can accelerate change in an environment, causing such things as:
• an increased rate of soil erosion
• changes to water runoff patterns
• salinity
• soil compaction
• soil acidification
• land slips
• weed infestation
• loss of native vegetation
• pollution of soil, air and waterways

Nature parks, in general, attempt to redress environmental problems caused by human interference. In most cases the aim of park management is to preserve natural ecosystems and to stabilise or improve degraded environments. The natural ecosystems that nature parks provide have a diversity of plants and animals; a continual succession of plant and animal populations; recycle energy within the parameters of the ecosystem; efficiently utilise resources; have multiple functions and elements; and demonstrate the principles of relative location.