SCU INTRODUCES A SHORTCUT TO FORESTRY EXPERTISE

A short program in Forestry to supplement the basic science degrees of Australian and overseas graduates has just been introduced at Southern Cross University's Lismore campus in northern NSW. The Graduate Diploma in Forestry course - 9 months full-time, 2 or 3 years part-time - involves a selection of key forestry units providing a solid grounding in forest science and management in much less time than an undergraduate degree with relevant majors.

According to the chair of SCU's Sustainable Forestry program, Professor Jerry Vanclay, who recently advised the Victorian Government on the future of that State's timber industry, "Many professional scientists within national parks, land care, soil conservation and like areas find their work requires some knowledge of forestry, and this forestry focus is increasingly steadily."

Professor Vanclay said people could commence at the start of, the year or in July, with two units being available in formats easily accessible to part-time students: "Fire Ecology and Management will be offered externally, as self-paced instruction, supplemented by a one-week practical, while Product Development and Marketing will be offered mid-year as an intensive one-week course. Additional units will be made available in similar flexible formats next year," he said.

The cost is $1200 per unit for Australian fee-paying students ($9600 in total) and A$15000 for overseas students.

"The program will enable professionals to enhance their skills without compromise to their careers," Professor Vanclay added.

"Most units will be supplemented by field trips where students can see at first-hand the different approaches to forest management taken by private and public institutions. The staff who facilitate the Graduate Diploma in

Forestry bring subtropical and tropical forestry in Australia to life, but also offer their experience in Southeast Asia/South Pacific, Central America, and Africa."

He said the course was "Aimed at educating a new breed of forester, helping people who work with diverse aspects of forested landscapes, with environmental groups and with national parks to stay at the cutting edge of forest management and policy."

The new Graduate Diploma in Forestry program is run by SCU's School of Environmental Science and Management, located on the NSW far north coast, a region of varied forest types, including moist blackbutt eucalypt forests, drier eucalypt forests and subtropical rainforest.

For course information, please contact: School of Environmental Science & Management, (02) 6620-3650

The Diploma website is http://scu.edu.au/environment-science-engineering/

For further details, please contact, Professor Jerry Vanclay, Chair for Sustainable Forestry (02) 6620 3147; Associate Professor Alison Specht , 6620 3755, the School of Resource Science and Management, 6620 3650, or

Mr Robin Osborne, Media Liaison, Marketing & External Relations, Phone: (02) 6620 3039 Mobile: 0418 431 484 Email: rosborne@scu.edu.au