FdSc Sustainable Land Use Management

Course summary

Sustainable land use management is concerned with the use of land in a manner that enables the continued productivity and economic value of land for the current generation without jeopardising the resource for future generations. It is a broad subject area encompassing the use of the countryside for business, agriculture and forestry as well as considering the use of land as a means of waste disposal.

This foundation degree provides students with the opportunity to consider the sustainable use and development of land including agricultural and forestry practices, global environmental issues, novel developments in biotechnology, biodiversity of natural populations as well as national and international environmental policies that contribute to the sustainable use of our resources.

In the first year this course will provide students with subject specific knowledge and understanding of the theory and practice underpinning the management of land and explore modern cultural issues surrounding the concept of sustainability, socio-economic and cultural influences and how these affect resource use in developed and less developed countries. In the second year students will expand their knowledge and skills through the use of case studies to develop greater in-depth knowledge of specific elements of land management.


Course aims

The programme provides students with opportunities to:

 - contribute to raising the profile of the sustainable land use management profession by raising educational aspirations and achievements

 - attain a sound knowledge and understanding of the principles of sustainable land use management

 - develop an understanding and ability to manage land and other resources in a sustainable manner

 - apply theory to the practice of sustainable land use

 - develop an understanding of the broader scientific, historical, and geographical influences on sustainable resource management and environmental issues

 - develop an understanding of the professional and legal framework of sustainable land use management

 

Core skills

Transferable academic and employability skills are delivered in specialist modules delivered throughout the programme.

Module Framework

Year 1 Module Year 2 Module
Semester 1

Global Environmental Issues

Semester 1 Sustainable Agriculture
The Natural Environment Environmental Law & Policy
Academic & Professional Development Managing in an Organisation
Semester 2 Ecological Principles Semester 2 Resource Management
Introduction to Land Use Management

Sustainable Waste Management

OR

Sustainable Woodland Management

OR

Integrated Landscape Management

Academic & Professional Development Research Methods


 

Year One: Specialist Modules

Module Title: Global Environmental Issues

The twentieth century has seen a dramatic rise in global industrialization, urbanization and the human population. This has resulted in increasing pressure on natural resources from local to global scales with declining water and air quality, land degradation, declining biodiversity and dramatic changes in our climate and the global carbon balance. This unit reviews the historical impact of people on the environment at local, regional and global scales and considers the environmental issues that face us today. Students will be asked to question their own consumption patterns and impact on the planet as well as explore cross-cultural values concerning the environment. What is sustainability and sustainable development and what do these mean for developed and less developed countries and how can sustainable development be achieved?

Module Title: The Natural Environment

In order to manage the environment we need first to understand the world around us. Our natural environment is comprised of a number of interconnected processes and phenomena that includes the lithosphere, the climate and the cycling of essential nutrients and water. Living organisms interact with, and modify these processes and play a key role in the weathering of rocks, soil formation and the residence time of nutrients and water within an ecosystem. 

Module Title: Principles of Ecology

Ecology is essential to our understanding of how to manage the land. Land use policy and practice has often proved disastrous where there has been a lack of understanding of the way populations and ecosystems function at both large and small scales. This has resulted in declines in biodiversity and soil productivity.  This unit reviews the fundamental ecological theory that describes the way in which individuals, populations grow, interact and are distributed. The way in which energy is transferred through ecosystems and impacts on the length of food chains and numbers of individuals at varying trophic levels will be explained. It will consider the manner in which ecosystems alter with time and the influence of living organisms on successional processes.

Module Title: Introduction to Sustainable Land Use

The landscape is multi-functional with rural producers under pressure to remain economically viable and sustain productivity whilst also protecting the natural environment for wildlife, landscape character and public amenity. Land management supports the rural economy both directly through production and indirectly, particularly through tourism. Much of the land is in private ownership and sustainable land management needs to take account of stakeholder needs as well as the needs of wildlife and the public. This unit introduces the value of land in providing ecological services such as water management and flood protection and the incorporation of the principles of sustainable development into land management enabling the preservation of air, soil and water quality whilst supporting rural communities and maintaining our heritage landscape.

Year Two: Specialist Modules

Module Title: Sustainable Agriculture

Building on concepts introduced in first year units, this module offers students the opportunity to study how agriculture has managed to meet the demands of feeding over 6 billion people but question the cost of an environmental footprint that puts ecosystem services under threat in the UK and other parts of the world. With reference to case studies, the module will enable the student to consider the key principles of agricultural sustainability including integrating biological and ecological processes, the minimization of non-renewable inputs in production and off-farm impacts. It will emphasize the multifunctional role of agricultural systems within the landscape and the importance of farms in the socio-economic balance of rural communities.

Module Title: Environmental Law and Policy

The scale of environmental problems may be local, regional or global. A similarly scaled response will therefore be required to tackle these problems. As such, the legislation needed to encourage industry and individuals to act in an environmentally responsible manner will need to be formulated from a range of international to local laws. These laws develop from and are influenced by current principles of environmentalism which may alter over time leading to new laws or amendments to existing laws. They are based on environmental interests in ecology and conservation, the concept of environmental stewardship and responsibility and more recently the idea of sustainability. Substantial environmental law relates to pollution control and will include for example air quality, water quality, global climate change, agriculture, waste management or relates to the conservation of species and habitats and has become a key aspect of UK planning law.  

Module Title: Resource Management

This specialist unit will allow the candidate to develop their skills, knowledge and abilities in the field of managing business resources within a working environment. It will examine in detail the management of physical resources and energy. The potential generation of waste from the use of these resources can then be identified. A programme of change can then be proposed to reduce the identified waste. The candidate will then construct a marketing plan to publicise the benefits achieved through the waste reduction.

Optional Module Title: Sustainable Waste Management

Damaging levels of waste are being sent to land fill and incineration and are adding to the harmful levels of green house gases released into the environment. This, combined with the loss of valuable useful materials, makes waste management a crucial aspect of sustainable land management. This unit reviews the increasing amounts of legislation that are being added to UK law to control waste management and reduce waste going the landfill, which producers have a Duty of Care to comply with. With reference to case studies it will examine how an audit of the waste produced and its disposal methods gives a starting point for a business to become more sustainable. It will go on to consider the need for businesses to develop a sustainable purchasing policy, reducing waste from packaging and surplus materials. The unit will use case studies to question the inputting of organic material to landfill and how this can be used as a soil improver offsetting decline in sequestered carbon.

Optional Module Title: Sustainable Woodland Management

The British Isles has over two million hectares of woodland with about 81,000 hectares held in public ownership and managed by Forest Enterprise. These woodlands form an important part of our historical landscape but a significant proportion of our woodlands are in small, privately held lots with many that may have received no management for thirty years resulting in the declining quality of the woodland. There is clearly an opportunity for sustainable woodland management and rural employment through continued maintenance of woodlands and the coppice restoration of neglected sites. This unit considers the different types of woodland, the interaction between trees and their environment, and different management systems looking at priority management of existing woodlands and the establishment of new woodlands and their aftercare. Woodland management and the law will be studied including SSSIs, preservation orders and felling licenses. This unit is aimed at students who have experience of working in woodlands.

Optional Module Title: Integrated Landscape Management

This unit takes a landscape approach to resource management such as agriculture, forestry and leisure and considers the contribution of landscape ecology to practicing integrated landscape management with reference to multiple use and sustained yield from natural resources. The unit recognises the importance of agriculture for the UK and European landscape and investigates the history of agricultural policy in the UK and Europe and the impact this has had on landscape character, use and wildlife value of rural landscapes. The unit also looks at integrated coastal zone management, the need for managed retreat and EU, national and local strategies. The UK planning process, the role and procedures of Environmental Impact Assessment will be studied.  

 

Teaching, learning, assessment

The student's learning will be led and supported primarily through on-line lectures and discussion forums, exploring subject knowledge including reports from leading organisations and government, peer reviewed journal articles putting theory into practice. This will be supported with formative exercises that encourage the students to explore issues within the teaching schedule, during their study time, and at their work place.

Individual support is available through e-mail, VLE question and answer, telephone and face to face tutorials.

Assessment will take a number of forms including written research reports in which the application of theory within practical work-based scenarios will be explored, as well as oral presentations, essays, exams and reflective diaries and portfolios.

Timetabling

The full-time course is delivered in two semesters, each of 12 weeks duration. Each week requires a minimum of 12 hours online tuition. In addition to this students will need to allow for further time for extended study.  Part-time students study half of the programme's modules each year. The specific modules to be studied are potentially negotiable within the constraints of the timetable.

Work placements

A unique and vital part of the course is the accumulation of 200 hours per year of work experience. This can be either paid employment or voluntary work within the land based sector. This forms an invaluable part of the course offering the student an opportunity to put theory into practice and extend their knowledge and understanding of the subject. This also provides an opportunity to make contacts with potential employers and gain relevant experience that can only enhance the employability of the student.

Tutorial and study support

Students will be offered a combination of pastoral one-to-one tutorials and subject specific tutorials that may be individual or group sessions as part of their programme of study. This can arranged as either face-to-face contact or remotely as necessary.

All students are entitled to two 20 minute individual tutorials per semester with either the Course Leader or the HE Support Tutor. Such tutorials are designed to support individual student needs during which students identify and review their own targets and develop action plans for successful achievement of goals. Individual tutorials will address a students' academic progress or any factors affecting progress as well as career and key skills development. 

The role of the HE Support Tutor at UCS Otley involves providing pastoral support to enable all students to complete their programme of study to the best of their ability. Students with disabilities or learning difficulties will be invited to attend one-to-one tutorials with the Course Leader and HE Support Tutor to discuss how their needs can be met. Students at UCS Otley will also be able to access the Learner Services Team based at Otley College campus for advice on careers, student finance, transport and student welfare. The student services team at UCS Ipswich will also be able to support students with advice regarding student accommodation as well as offer study skills workshops.

 

Opportunities on completion of the course

Graduates of FdSc Sustainable Land Use Management are able to progress on to the UCS BA (Hons) Professional Studies programme. An articulation route is also available at UCS Ipswich on to the BA/BSc (Hons) Individual Studies programme. Details of articulated progression routes are provided in the Student Handbook. Guidance on progression from the foundation degree to other courses and into industry is provided by UCS Careers Office and is embedded in the work based learning modules.

There are career opportunities for graduates in agriculture, woodland management, environmental consultancy, education, waste management and local authorities.