Are you a landholder interested in upscaling your land management skillset?
As part of their commitment to supporting the private land conservation community, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) is now offering several online courses. A newly released course focuses on conservation land management. This e-learning course is free, self-paced and open to the public. It is especially useful for landholders who manage a BCT site. Created in partnership with the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Tocal College, the content of this course incorporates many modules and complements current conservation policies and guidelines.
Register for the online course here: https://www.bct.nsw.gov.au/elearning
BCT is a not-for-profit organisation within the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. They promote conservation, biodiversity and healthy ecosystems through establishing conservation agreements with landholders. Acknowledging the complexity and work involved in being a landholder, the BCT provides many resources to better support landholders. Support programs for landholders have proved to be helpful in sharing information about local conservation organisations, learning opportunities between peers and providing individualised guidance on finances.
Learn more about the BCT here: https://www.bct.nsw.gov.au/
One of the many available modules in this online course focuses on fire for conservation management. Content centres on both the ecological and cultural importance of fire management on properties. Applications on how this management can be used to enhance diversity is covered. The course highlights the unique history that Australia has with fire through cultural importance, co-evolution with flora and fauna, and land management changes. Within this module, you can learn about the importance of fire in Australian ecosystems, appropriate fire regimes and cultural burning practices.
Various resources are also provided, including fire management guides and hazard reduction factsheets. Other modules that may be of interest include:
- Weed management
- Vegetation management
- Supplementary habitat
- Monitoring
Tocal College specialises in agricultural courses and provide students with hands-on industry experience. Many opportunities are available from Tocal College, including youth education programs to Australia-wide industry qualifications. Learn more about Tocal College below.
Learn more about Tocal College here: https://www.tocal.nsw.edu.au/home
