Online and Remote Learning

Explore basic science, key approaches and common challenges in the field of environmental management. In this interdisciplinary course, you’ll learn what’s being done in Canada and around the world to mitigate climate change, and manage oceans and fisheries, freshwater resources, forests, endangered species, agriculture, urban environments, mining and energy. Through course readings, online discussions and written assignments, you’ll explore a wide range of environmental issues and emerge better equipped to engage in environmental management at scales from local to global. After completing this course you’ll be able to: Know the history of environmental management and how it has shaped current perspectives. Explore a variety of case studies that reveal the strategies behind environmental management initiatives, outcomes achieved, and challenges faced. Identify the roles of key organizations and bodies in environmental management, planning and regulation as well as the relevant stakeholders. Understand how decision-making should be informed by science, ethics and values. Manage environmental challenges, such as sustainable development and resilience, based on contemporary approaches and best practices.

More than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas,  resulting in ever-larger ecological footprints and stress on the planet. In this course, you’ll examine widely-accepted core principles and a range of approaches and strategies designed to shift urban areas in Canada and around the world towards sustainability. You’ll investigate sustainable forms of development that rely on innovation, and solutions that promote reduced consumption, pollution and waste. You’ll explore promising practices that can enable any urban area, from a small neighbourhood to a major city, become more sustainable. After completing this course you’ll be able to: Appreciate the impact of cities on land, water, air and biodiversity, and the challenges involved in shifting to sustainability. Understand what makes a sustainable city, including key principles, planning approaches and common conceptual models. Examine the global urbanization shift and urban environmental initiatives from around the world. Know how urban form, transportation, water and waste management, green space, biodiversity and energy use contribute to urban sustainability Explore innovative ways to design and implement policies and strategic approaches, including partnerships and local initiatives.

Risk assessment is a critical element of environmental management. However, the term “risk” does not have a single, unambiguous definition. In this course we begin by examining the definition of risk in the context of environmental management, and factors that can alter a person’s perception of risk. We discuss ways in which risk is measured and evaluated, including introducing concepts such as exposure and consequence assessment, analysis models, risk regulation, management, and communication. One module examines the challenges of ecological risk assessment. Building on this background, we spend four modules exploring specific environmental risks: those related to food, climate change, human health, and energy production. Finally, the course will end with suggestions on how we can manage environmental risks as they become increasingly complex, thereby promoting sustainability.  Risk assessment is a very broad and deep subject; each topic covered in this course could easily be the subject of a full course on its own. As such, this should be considered a survey course, which introduces students to the major elements of risk assessment. Students with professional experience in this area are encouraged to share their experience with the class when it is relevant to the topics being covered. After completing this course you’ll be able to: Define and critique the concept of risk from an expert’s perspective. Identify critical factors that influence how laypeople define or perceive risk. Describe different decision-making options within the field of environmental risk assessment, including ecological risk assessment. Evaluate the importance of risk communication. Apply key concepts to real world risk questions in peer-to-peer discussions and through independent research.

Our planet is undergoing dramatic, far-reaching change, much of it caused by human activities. In this course you’ll explore global-scale environmental issues such as climate change, destruction of marine ecosystems, degradation of freshwater resources, tropical deforestation, desertification, and biodiversity loss.  You’ll explore the obstacles and challenges being faced around the world, and assess strategies to address problems and find workable solutions. You’ll emerge with a firmer grasp of societal changes needed to limit and potentially reverse the damage to the planet and ensure a more sustainable future. Understand the underlying and proximate causes of global environmental change. Know the impacts on specific environments, such as forests and marine and coastal ecosystems.  Leverage academic and other sources to investigate what societies around the world are doing to respond to global environmental issues– and what more needs to be done  Find effective strategies and workable solutions to ensure a sustainable future.  Probe related ideas and themes, including scientific uncertainty, environmental justice, poverty, and sustainable development.

Governments and corporations around the world are working to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, believing them to be the dominant cause of a warming climate. In this dynamic course, you’ll learn policies and regulations being implemented by different jurisdictions – sometimes very different – with a focus on Canada and its major trading partners. You’ll probe real-world examples, critically assess the performance of climate policies from both regulatory and industry perspectives, and at the end of the course you will apply these learnings to develop a mitigation strategy for a company of your choosing. What You’ll Learn   Identify the physical, regulatory and financial impacts of climate change in North American jurisdictions.   Know how to design and apply a corporate strategy to reduce emissions.   Contrast cap-and-trade with a carbon tax as reduction strategies.   Understand what drives the price of carbon and how it can help finance emissions-offset projects.   Critically assess the level of corporate disclosure and reporting of climate-change related risks.  

Organizations of every size and scope need well-run corporate social responsibility programs. This course will teach how to improve sustainability reporting and manage your organization’s social and environmental impacts. You’ll learn how better public reporting can improve your company’s reputation, keep its workforce loyal and engaged, improve access to capital and increase efficiency through resource reduction. You’ll get a clearer picture of the state of sustainability reporting in Canada and the tools you need to enhance your own organization’s efforts. Know the state of international sustainability reporting, with a focus on Canadian content. Probe widely-accepted reporting frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative. Apply best practices to develop reporting that adds value while avoiding common costly pitfalls. Assess and critically evaluate information in other organizations’ reports. Emerge with tips and tools to launch or improve your organization’s sustainability reporting.

Learn the principles and concepts of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting at both the organizational and project levels. In this course, you will be introduced to the science of climate change and the structure of cap-and-trade and offset schemes, in regulated and voluntary settings. You will learn how to apply the ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-2 standards for the accurate, complete, consistent, transparent, relevant and conservative reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. You’ll gain the confidence and skills you need to develop greenhouse gas inventories for organizations and for emission reductions and reversals. The science behind climate change and the concepts and principles of GHG quantification and reporting The processes applied to GHG accounting and reporting at organizational and project levels applying the ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-2 standards Practice quantifying greenhouse gas emissions using established methods How to develop a greenhouse gas inventory quality control process How to produce a greenhouse gas report and prepare for third-party verification

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be reported in many jurisdictions, and some organizations are also voluntarily reporting their emissions. In this course, you’ll learn the principles and process of GHG validation and verification for organizational GHG emission inventories and GHG emission reduction (offset projects). You will learn how to apply the ISO 14064-3 standard for completing this work, including how to plan validations and verifications, conduct a risk assessment, evaluate evidence and reach a validation or verification conclusion. Fundamental validation and verification (V&V) processes and principles. Planning validations and verifications using a risk assessment and sampling methodologies. Evaluate the sufficiency and appropriateness of validation and verification evidence, including evaluating discrepancies Prepare a validation or verification statement

We will examine the nature and impact of the Nazi and Fascist occupations on Western and Eastern Europe preceding and during World War II and the responses of the people occupied. Our discussions will shed light on the complex dynamics at state, community and individual levels between occupiers and occupied. Drawing comparison between occupations in Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia, etc.) and those in Western Europe (Scandinavia, France, Italy) will help us understand how occupation policies fit in the Fascist and Nazi exclusionary and racist ideologies. Explain and understand Axis occupation policies based on ideologies, racial taxonomy and war contingencies Assess the evolution of collaboration and resistance within Axis-occupied Europe Analyze resistance insurgency campaign and counterinsurgency operations against resistance groups

Middle-graders (ages 8 to 12) are the most passionate readers of all. Now fluent in reading, they delve into books with a hunger for touching pathos, wild humour, and eye-widening surprise. In this course we will explore how the great range of possibilities in middle grade novels (short or long, realistic, fantastic, historical, solemn or side-splitting) all require the same elements to capture an audience—relatable characters and engrossing narratives. A solid understanding of what makes a successful middle-grade novel A full chapter outline based on your own original idea Approximately 20 or more first-draft pages from several scenes as well as an opportunity for revising