Portage College is pleased to announce a series of exciting changes, updates, and additions to its Environmental Sciences programming.

Environmental Technologist Diploma

The Natural Resource Technology program has been re-named to Environmental Technologist Diploma (ETD). The refreshed name makes it clearer to prospective students and employers what the course entails, as well as its duration. Along with the name change, there are some changes to the program, including reduced class hours and the addition of a drone pilot’s licence.

Through the ETD program, Portage College will continue to provide graduates with the ecological knowledge and hands-on experience they need to pursue a career in the numerous environmental, industrial, and government opportunities that await them.

“Graduates of the ETD program are field ready,” says Robin Tizzard, Dean of Human Services, Business, and Environmental Studies at Portage College. “The range of careers for an Environmental Technologist is vast and our graduates are prepared with a strong, theoretical background and extensive, applicable skills.”

“With the majority of our labs being outdoors in the environment, one might think the Environmental Technologist Diploma program is a walk in the park, but we have transferability to many universities.  Portage College is a great place to start your environmental career,” says Al Bertschi, Coordinator of the ETD program.

NAWTA Accreditation Renewed

We’re also proud to announce that the ETD program has had its North American Wildlife Technician Association (NAWTA) accreditation renewed for five years. The 5-year accreditation is based on the faculty complement, wildlife-related curriculum, and 400 hours of field labs.

NAWTA ensures that graduates of accredited programs have skills that meet the needs of employers in the field of wildlife and fisheries science and management.

“North American Wildlife Technologies Association is the only accrediting body that accredits diploma programs, and we are fortunate to have both our Program Advisory Committee and the executive of Portage support this accreditation,” says Bertschi.

Portage College Installs Fungarium in Partnership with Alberta Mycological Society

In other exciting news, the Alberta Mycological Society, in partnership with Portage College, has installed a fungarium at the Lac La Biche Campus.

Michael Schulz posing in front of the fungarium.

A fungarium is a physical library of fungal specimens where they are dried, preserved, and catalogued with detailed collection information. It will provide a valuable resource to students and researchers in studying the thousands of species of fungi in Alberta, and current plans are that all specimens will be sent for genetic testing to confirm their identities. Fungi collected in Alberta were previously sent elsewhere in Canada for preservation and study.

The fungarium had to be custom fabricated by Alberta-Based Pulse Metalworks LTD.

Michael Schulz is an instructor with the Environmental Technologist Diploma program and Vice President of the Alberta Mycological Society. He picked up and assembled the custom fungarium at the Lac La Biche campus earlier this year.

“The Alberta Mycological Society fungarium is an important step forward for mycology in Alberta, where our fungi are readily available for study and reference within the province,” said Schultz. 

For more information on these changes, updates and additions, please contact Corporate Communications Department at 780-623-6671 or by email.

To enroll in the Environmental Technologist Program contact Portage College at 1-866-623-5551 or email. You can also fill out a request form.