Fleming College: Learn | Belong | Become

Program Highlights

Here's your chance to protect the environment. As an Environmental Technician, you will work to prevent environmental problems, resolve environmental issues when necessary, and provide education to the public.

Through a wide range of activities and courses, you'll be well-prepared to monitor and improve the natural environment. With access to outstanding environmental training facilities and a biological water treatment system, your hands-on training will be an excellent complement to your in-class courses.

Of course, everyone loves the field school in semester three - off-campus - where you put your skills into practice. You'll learn from Fleming professors who have been very active in the field and possess strong backgrounds in several environmental disciplines. For example, they have been involved in local and international projects including stream rehabilitation and the development of a new, natural biological wastewater treatment system in Mexico. These experiences have led to the development of new course content that guides students to investigate new and natural methods of treating wastewater and practical methods of land rehabilitation.

The Environmental Technician program is currently in the process of introducing "learning competencies" into the curriculum. It is anticipated that students will have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery in selected applications/modules and participate in the validation of  these "learning competencies" on an optional basis. Successful completion of these modules will be recognized by the program.

Our Environmental Technician program has achieved accreditation by the Canadian Environmental Accreditation Commission(CEAC), a standing committee of Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) Canada. Fleming College is one of six post secondary institutions chosen to participate in this pilot accreditation process, and one of only three colleges to achieve this program accreditation to date. "ECO Canada accreditation sends a clear signal to industry that graduates of these programs have the desired knowledge and competence to meet growing needs of the environmental sector," says Michael Kerford, Vice President ECO Canada (July 2010).

Why Choose Fleming?

• There's no other program like it in the country  - your learning experience will be enhanced by the Solar Ecology Wastewater Treatment System (SES), a unique training facility for operating and testing small-scale wetland treatment systems
• You will have the opportunity to utilize the SES as part of your applied learning
• Students may also have the opportunity to assist researchers in the college's Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) - the focus of this nationally-accredited facility is the development of wastewater treatment technologies for use in northern climates
• Graduates of the Environmental Technician Program who successfully complete the Water Treatment and Pollution Control course will have met the requirements of the Ministry of the Environment Entry-Level Course for Drinking Water Operators (which must be obtained in order to be employed as a Drinking Water Operator). This course is delivered by Fleming College in partnership with the Ministry of the Environment and the Walkerton Clean Water Centre  
• Graduates will also obtain four Ministry of the Environment Operator-in-Training (OIT) certificates required for employment in the water and wastewater treatment disciplines
• Students are eligible for a number of environmental certifications including CCEP (Canadian Certified Environmental Practitioner) and CEPIT (Canadian Certified Environmental Practitioner-in-Training) through ECO Canada (Environmental Careers Organization)
• Graduates are eligible for certification as C. Tech. (Certified Technician) through the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT)
• We are the only college (or university, for that matter) to receive provincial funding to establish a simulated landfill site.
• Our grads are highly regarded by employers in the field.

Common First Semester

Students in our School’s diploma programs take the same courses for first semester after choosing and being accepted into one of our programs. This common focus exposes you to a variety of career options and other programs. You will have the freedom to explore and obtain a multidisciplinary perspective, while you acquire a base of knowledge and fundamental skills.

Although students are accepted into a specific program for their first semester, the common first semester allows you to change direction if you find another program or career area is more appealing. Once you have successfully completed the common first semester, you can enter the program of your choice in second semester, subject to enrolment capacity.

Work Experience

Textbooks are not enough when it comes to preparing capable technicians for the field. You'll have plenty of hands-on experience through the use of our specialized facilities, and you will work with others as a team during the field school off-campus. You will also participate in a multitude of field trips to both outdoor settings and industrial/municipal facilities.

What it Takes to Succeed

Obviously, you've got to enjoy working outdoors. Previous experience working for or volunteering with environmental organizations of any kind is an asset. You should also possess:

• good oral and written communication skills
• research skills
• technical writing skills
• attention to detail
• analytical ability
• flexibility in work environment
• interest in the outdoors and protecting/improving the environment

Employment in this environmental discipline often involves wearing specialized equipment (such as chest waders) to carry out specific tasks, lifting (such as outboard motors), working with pumps and motors, walking in rough terrain to conduct wetland evaluation, marsh and forest bird surveys, and working in inclement weather, such as during oil spill cleanup, winter and rainy conditions.

Career Opportunities

Our graduates have found themselves in a wide range of environmental careers, including:

• watershed technician
• environmental technician
• environmental officers
• special environment "Sector Compliance" team
• groundwater technician
• industrial and municipal water/wastewater plant operators
• soil/terrain specialist
• water quality technician

The employment level is consistently very high with recent graduates finding work across Canada and around the world in the public and private sectors. Employers include government ministries/departments, regulatory agencies, environmental consultants, non-governmental or non-profit organizations, and urban/rural planners.

Minimum Admission Requirements

OSSD with the majority of credits at the College (C) and Open (O) level, including: 

• 2 College (C) English courses (Grade 11 or Grade 12)
• 2 College (C) Math courses (Grade 11 or Grade 12)

When (C) is the minimum course level for admission, (U) or (U/C) courses are also accepted.

*Students starting in January are required to attend over the summer semester.

Mature Students
If you are 19 years of age or older before classes start, and you do not possess an OSSD, you can write the Canadian Adult Achievement Test to assess your eligibility for admission. Additional testing or academic upgrading may be neccessary to meet specific course requirements for this program.

Advanced Standing

Are you a university graduate with a Bachelor of Science or Environmental Studies degree? You may be eligible for advanced standing to enter this program in semester three. For details, see:

Environmental Technician - Advanced Standing

Related Programs

Graduates of the Environmental Technician program are qualified to continue their education in the Technology program. You might also want to check out the Ecosystem Management,  Fish and Wildlife Technician or another of our two-year diploma programs. In just two more semesters, you can obtain another Technician diploma, expand your career opportunities and graduate with a dual diploma.

Additional Costs

In addition, plan on spending about $750 in the first year and $525 in the second year for books, supplies and field schools.

University Transfer Agreements

• Athabasca University
• Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
• Royal Roads University - Victoria, B.C.
• University of New Brunswick
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Course	Hours
Semester 1
Environmental Leadership	45.00
Applied Mathematics in Natural Resource Sciences	45.00
Ecology and Environment	60.00
Ecosystem Skills	60.00
Geospatial Techniques	45.00
ONE of: College Communication Skills for Environmental Science 67.00 College Communications for Environmental Science 37.00
Please Note: All students will complete literacy testing in order to determine enrollment in the appropriate Communications course.
Semester 2
Data Management for Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences	45.00
Environmental Principles	30.00
Environmental Techniques	90.00
Introductory Chemistry	45.00
Technical Reporting	45.00
Trees and Shrubs Of Ontario	45.00
General Education Elective
Semester 3
Aquatic Biology	45.00
Environmental Measurement	45.00
Geomatics in Surveying	45.00
Human Relations	45.00
Land Reclamation Principles	45.00
Watershed Management	45.00
General Education Elective
Semester 4
Environmental Issues: The Human Factor	45.00
Air Pollution and Abatement	45.00
Erosion Control	45.00
Field School	40.00
Geomatics for Environmental Engineering	30.00
Statistics	45.00
Water Treatment and Pollution Control	60.00

Semester 1

College Communication Skills for Environmental Science

Course Number: COMM157

This first semester course will introduce students to the essential communication skills required to be successful in their chosen post-secondary program. These skills include reading, writing, speaking, listening and critical thinking. Students, individually and in teams, will improve their overall communication skills through a series of written assignments, in-class discussions based on readings, and lab activities. Emphasis will also be place on developing research skills, with assignments integrated closely with other common first semester courses. This course is equivalent to COMM44, with the exception that students receive an additional two-hour support seminar to ensure foundational skills are in place.

Units: 67.00
Hours: 67.00

College Communications for Environmental Science

Course Number: COMM044

This first semester course will introduce students to the essential communication skills required to be successful in their chosen post-secondary program. These skills include reading, writing, speaking, listening and critical thinking. Students, individually and in teams, will improve their overall communication skills through a series of written assignments, in-class discussions based on readings, and lab activities. Emphasis will also be place on developing research skills, with assignments integrated closely with other common first semester courses.

Units: 37.00
Hours: 37.00

Environmental Leadership

Course Number: NATR008

This course will enable students to develop a personal position and direct their career path within the context of the environmental and natural resource industry. An integrated, community based learning approach will be used to identify and apply a personal understanding of leadership, sustainability and community in the context of natural resource sciences.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Applied Mathematics in Natural Resource Sciences

Course Number: MATH063

This course will enable students to apply specific mathematical concepts and acquire foundation skills important in the Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences. It is designed to complement and reinforce learning within other first semester courses and program areas.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Ecology and Environment

Course Number: ENVR020

Learn how nature works by studying the key components of the ecosystems in the Kawartha Lakes Region. Through field and lab exploration of wild life, landforms, forests, lakes, rivers and wetlands, students will see the connections between themselves, the environment and ecosystems that surround them.

Units: 60.00
Hours: 60.00

Ecosystem Skills

Course Number: ECOS013

This course will focus on three areas of study: identification, field and lab skills. Students will identify and classify the living and non-living components of the specific ecosystems described in the Ecology and Environment (ENVR 20) course. Field skills to be developed include the ability to navigate through the natural environment and use a variety of ecosystem inventory techniques. Special emphasis will be placed on safe work habits in lab and field.

Units: 60.00
Hours: 60.00

Geospatial Techniques

Course Number: GEOM036

This course is designed around the four pillars of Geomatics: Remote Sensing, Cartography, Surveying and GIS. Students will develop entry-level skills in data capture, surveying, (computer) drafting, principles of remote sensing, air photo interpretation, and in usage of representative Geomatics-related software.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Semester 2

Data Management for Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences

Course Number: COMP461

A complete understanding of how to use data management tools will be gained through hands on work with data from a variety of disciplines in the School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences. The course will cover data entry, manipulation and analysis as well as how to import/export and link data, charts and graphs to documents in various programs.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Environmental Principles

Course Number: ENVR010

This course examines fundamental components and processes in the biotic and abiotic environment. The biotic portion of the course will deal with the forces and patterns that shape biological evolution, the nature of the past and present biota of Ontario, and the emergence of ecological thought and conservation biology in the twentieth century. The abiotic portion will deal with the origin, evolution, and current characteristics of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00

Environmental Techniques

Course Number: ENVR011

This is a lab course that provides the fundamentals and skills required for working in the environmental field. Laboratory work will include hands-on measurement and identification of soil and rock using standard testing procedures. Plant relationships with earth materials will be examined and evaluated. Basic properties of water, introductory hydrogeology and groundwater sampling/monitoring techniques will also be introduced.

Units: 90.00
Hours: 90.00

Introductory Chemistry

Course Number: SCIE062

This course is designed to provide a knowledge and understanding of the principles of chemistry. The following topics: matter and energy, atomic structure, properties and nomenclature of compounds, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, solutions, acids and bases, and a brief study of organic chemistry will be presented

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Technical Reporting

Course Number: COMM034

This course is an introduction to technical writing and speaking for students in the School of Environmental & Natural Resource Sciences. Students will write a formal technical report by applying research skills in the library and on the Internet, writing an outline and an introduction, documenting their sources of information in the CSE name-year style, editing and revising drafts of their reports, writing formal elements of the report, and integrating graphic presentations with text. In addition, they will present their reports orally, using appropriate audiovisual media, write a set of instructions in memo format, and be able to identify several common types of reports.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Trees and Shrubs Of Ontario

Course Number: FSTY050

This course deals with the identification of approximately 100 species of trees and shrubs of importance to those managing the forests resources of Ontario. Throughout the semester identification features for common trees and shrubs in both summer and winter condition are introduced and applied. A number of field trips are utilized to assist students with their identification skills. In the weekly lecture series topics such as tree growth, reproduction, photosynthesis, respiration, forest ecology and uses of trees will be introduced. At the completion of the course students will have a sound working knowledge of dendrology. The skills introduced in this semester may then be used in following semesters when working with Forest Ecosystem Classification, Restoration Ecology, Conservation Planning and other habitat management situations.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Semester 3

Aquatic Biology

Course Number: SCIE006

This course provides an introduction to aquatic biology and limnology. Emphasis will be placed on the identification, sampling, and environmental significance of organisms, including aquatic plants, invertebrates, algae, bioindicators, and exotic species. Successful completion of this course requires that students undertake an aquatic plant field collection.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Environmental Measurement

Course Number: ENVR008

This course is designed to develop student awareness and understanding of various aspects of the environment that are measurable and to relate the importance of these measurements in pollution studies. Students learn how to undertake surface and ground water quality sampling, flow measurement, field and laboratory analysis, data interpretation and reporting. These skills are applicable to lake, stream and ground water quality assessments, microbiological surveys, industrial/municipal inspections and monitoring, watershed studies and pollution prevention/abatement programs.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Geomatics in Surveying

Course Number: SURV018

This course places the emphasis on the fundamental principles of Geomatics as they apply to Surveying. Electronic instruments will be used with emphasis on data loggers to obtain field positions with features and attribute data. These field locations and attributes will be used to create GIS related survey plans. Coordinate Geometry will be used in the computation of boundaries areas and volumes. The GIS features will be implemented using practical field projects and the projects will be related to land information systems.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Human Relations

Course Number: MGMT005

This course examines self-awareness, interpersonal relations, motivation, stress, small group dynamics, and organizational behaviour. Particular attention will be paid to leadership and conflict management in employment situations. Contemporary developments reshaping human relations will be introduced for study and discussion.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Land Reclamation Principles

Course Number: ENVR015

This course seeks to familiarize students with the types of industrially stressed lands that exist. It will outline the problems associated with stressed lands from a land reclamation and rehabilitation standpoint and promote an understanding of what approaches can be taken to rehabilitate land.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Watershed Management

Course Number: ENVR019

This lecture and lab course studies the various components of a watershed (limnology, hydrology, and hydrogeology) and their interactions. Various streamflow sampling techniques and their applications to predictions of flooding and sedimentation will be examined. Attention will be brought to the conflicting demands of use on the watershed and to various remedial options. Legislation under the Conservation Authorities Act and Drainage Act that influences watershed activities will also be presented.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Semester 4

Environmental Issues: The Human Factor

Course Number: GNED015

This course introduces students to the non-technical aspects of environmental issues: historical, cultural, ethical, political, and economic. It is concerned with how environmental issues enter public consciousness and how they are subsequently dealt with in the Canadian and global communities. Students will be encouraged to adopt a balanced, analytical approach as the basis for developing and expressing their own viewpoints as informed citizens and technicians/technologists.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Air Pollution and Abatement

Course Number: ENVR001

This course is divided into two modules. The first module will deal with air pollution and abatement by exploring emission sources, meteorological effects, pollution control technology, monitoring, and relevant legislation. In the second module, students will gain an understanding of the role and function of the federal National Pollution Release Inventory.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Erosion Control

Course Number: ENVR013

In this course, various methods of erosion control practices and appropriate approaches are introduced. Types of erosion, causes, and methods of erosion control will be examined. In this light, erosion control approaches that apply to urban, shoreline and agricultural sectors will be presented. Proper field inspection techniques and control measures, including engineering and biological approaches will be examined.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Field School

Course Number: APST027

Field School provides the opportunity for students to integrate theory and practice in a field setting. It supports knowledge that has been gained during the first year. The field school activity also serves as an opportunity to introduce new field environmental techniques that are integrated into the curriculum over the course of the technician-level education and training.

Units: 40.00
Hours: 40.00

Geomatics for Environmental Engineering

Course Number: SURV019

In this course, geomatics principles are applied to Land Information Systems. Applied field projects are implemented in to existing geographic and parcel based land fabrics. Extensive use of coordinate geometry (cogo) is used to calculate and plot field projects in CAD based systems. Final plans are place into geographic information systems for manipulation and analysis of spatial data models.

Units: 30.00
Hours: 30.00

Statistics

Course Number: MATH025

This course covers data organization, the basic statistical parameters, confidence intervals for means, the normal distribution, hypothesis testing (Chi-square, 'F', 't' and Anova), and regression analysis.

Units: 45.00
Hours: 45.00

Water Treatment and Pollution Control

Course Number: ENVR018

This course examines the step-by-step processes involved in conventional and alternative water and wastewater treatment processes, and also looks at methods of industrial wastewater and home drinking water treatment in Ontario. In addition, relevant legislation, guidelines, water/wastewater characteristics, and process control laboratory tests will be studied. This information will prepare students to take a number of Ministry of the Environment Certificate examinations that are offered at the completion of the course.

Units: 60.00
Hours: 60.00