The course at a glance:

• a Diploma course especially designed for landholders, farmers, land managers, bush regenerators, landcare workers, weeds officers and students of environmental management.
• a three year external course, with study units sent through the mail.
• you can enrol at any time of the year and study at your own pace. Complete the course as quickly or as slowly as you wish. Choose from a range of elective subjects.

The course aims to give you the knowledge and skills you need to:

• assess as a holistic system the condition of the landscape you are working with
• draw up plans for managing and restoring a particular land system for sustainability
• improve your landcare and natural resource management skills for sustainable land use
• work effectively with others on landcare, catchment and natural resource management projects
• understand the safety, legal and policy framework for conservation and natural resource management.

Entry requirements:

There are no entry requirements for this course.

Costs:

Each of the compulsory core subjects costs $250. This equates to $2500 for the full diploma.

What the course leads to:

Your studies lead to a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management. Several universities will grant credit for the Diploma towards a number of university courses.

Is this the course for you?

If you are a farmer, a member of a landcare group managing a community project, a weeds officer, or are employed or have experience in a land management or community facilitator role, you should find that this course meets many of your needs for training. Or you may be able to take advantage of Skills Recognition (see below). The course is also ideal for land owners who want to chart a course of responsible land management for an area of land they may have recently acquired.

Do you need to own land to complete the course?

Ideally yes, but not necessarily. You will definitely need access to land to complete the project parts of the course.

The course is designed to take you through a series of assignments that meet national competencies. To complete these assignments and gain a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management, you need access to an area of land. The land you use for study projects may belong to you, your family, neighbours, friends, relatives OR local councils or some other government agency. You will need permission to carry out studies on land that is not your own. You should gain this permission before you start the course.

At Diploma level, the emphasis is on managing land areas. If you don’t own land yourself, it is difficult to implement land management decisions, so you will need to simulate some situations to demonstrate you are capable of making management decisions. So, if you don’t own or actually manage land, don’t be put off! Explore the options in your local area.

Is the course full-time or part-time?

The course is designed to be completed on a part-time, external basis. Studying part-time is not always easy. That’s why we are as flexible as possible with the course requirements. You may choose to complete the course on a full-time basis. It’s up to you how quickly you complete your studies. There are no residential schools associated with the course.

How can your existing skills and experience be recognised?

Completing the course-work is just one way of achieving the Diploma of Conservation and Land Management. The award we offer is from a National Training Package. The training package enables you to gain qualifications from skills or experience you may already have. This is described as Skills Recognition (sometimes referred to as Recognition of Prior Learning, or even Recognition of Current Competence).

You can gain skills recognition for what you have already achieved through life or work experience, by formal coursework at other recognised institutions or by attending workshops and training activities. You can then prepare a case for recognition with the course coordinator who will submit your evidence to an accreditation committee. You pay a fee for this assessment service.

Because there is a large number of competency units to choose from, you will need to chart a pathway that fully recognises your existing skills and also meets the requirements of the qualification you are seeking. This is best done by consulting fully with the course coordinator, who can also arrange for you to be assessed.

Any other courses available?

The course described here applies to diploma-level studies only, but you may be able to gain a qualification at Certificate III or Certificate IV level by skills recognition. Discuss this option with the course co-ordinator.

Study modules

Ten core assignments provide the project work necessary for a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management. On the completion of the first five, you may choose either an agricultural stream or a bush regeneration stream. Your choice will depend on your circumstances and interests.

Common units

• Assignment 1: Develop a landcare ethic
• Competencies: Group C RTD4811A Provide information on environmental issues and policies
• Assignment 2: Describe a landscape
• Competencies Group A RTD5502A Conduct field research into natural and cultural resources
• Assignment 3: Collect and classify plants
• Competencies Group A RTC5011A Collect and classify plants
• Assignment 4: Survey vegetation
• Competencies: Group A RTC5519A Conduct biological surveys
• Group B RTC5913A Manage data
• Assignment 5: Monitor biodiversity
• Competencies: Group C RTC4504A Monitor biodiversity

Agricultural stream

• Assignment 6A Develop proposals for an area of agricultural land
• Competencies: Group B RTD5517A Propose a negotiated outcome for a designated area of country
• Assignment 7A Prepare a property plan for agricultural land
• Competencies: Group C RTE5516A Develop a whole farm plan (part 1)
• Group C RTE4511A Develop a soil use map for a rural property
• Assignment 8 Develop a revegetation plan
• Competencies: Group C RTD4020A Plan the implementation of revegetation works
• Assignment 9A Set goals and an action plan for agricultural land
• Competencies: Group A RTC5504A Develop a management plan for a designated area
• Group C RTE5516A Develop a whole farm plan (part 2)
• Group B RTC5914A Prepare reports

Bush regeneration stream

• Assignment 6B Develop proposals for an area of bushland
• Competencies: Group B RTD5517A Propose a negotiated outcome for a designated area of country
• Assignment 7B Design a bushland restoration project
• Competencies: Group A RTD5503A Design a natural area restoration project
• Group A RTC5504A Develop a management plan for a designated area
• Assignment 8 Develop a revegetation plan
• Competencies: Group C RTD4020A Plan the implementation of revegetation works
• Assignment 9B Manage bushland restoration programs
• Competencies: Group B RTD5003A Manage natural area restoration programs
• Group B RTC5914A Prepare reports
• Assignment 10 Manage pests in a landscape
• Competencies: Group B RTD5402A Develop a strategy for the management of pests

Enrolment

More information

To obtain full details on the course Studies in Landcare & Natural Resource Management, leading to the Diploma of Conservation & Land Management, you can download the course handbook in PDF format (500K) or contact us to have a hard copy mailed to you.