Green students are going for environmental science

The issue of waste management may not inspire too many Leaving Cert students to do environmental science, but it is one of the most important ecological issues facing the State at this time. However, the environmental science field is an enormously broad topic, says Professor Emer Colleran, chair of the department of microbiology and acting course director of the environmental science course in NUI Galway. It ranges from straightforward field ecology to environmental legislation and monitoring and environmental impact assessment and so on. "The kind of slant we have taken on it in Galway, and we deliberately did this from the very beginning, was that we wanted to be very much scientific." The "softer" side of environmental science, or environmental legislation, is not what the course is about, says Professor Colleran. "As a result, the students have to take the main common, if you like, first-year subjects - biology, physics, chemistry, maths, earth science. They then take a fairly solid course in botany, zoology and chemistry in second year. Again, the whole purpose is to build up the science in the first two years." Students can be taken aback when faced with the tough first- and second-year scientific courses. In first year, there is an optional one hour a week on environmental topics, which is not examined, however it is only in second year that the students take a course in environmental management. For the first three years of the course, students are taught environmental law by lawyers. This element, would be unusual in science courses, according to Prof Colleran. In third and fourth year, virtually all their topics are on the applied environmental side of the course and students are given flexibility in their latter years to specialise in certain areas.

"We give them solid grounding first in science and then bring in the applications later." However, by the time they reach fourth year, says Professor Colleran, "all of them appreciate at the end why it was necessary to do the basic science first before the real appreciation of environmental science can come in."

It is a long week for students, who have a minimum of 20 to 25 hours of class time. For the first three years there is a practical element to the course. Field studies and collective project work feature as elements of the environmental management part of the course. In the final-year students each carry out an individual research project, which they sometimes start over the summer period between the end of third year and fourth year. "The project is very significant and it's about three to four months' work, a sizeable element of the final year course." Work experience is not part of the course, but says, Prof Colleran "we would regard the project as being equivalent to work experience in the sense that they would be allocated to a particular lab and particular topic." The course has been running for 10 years and can cater for a maximum of 25 students. The class is comprised of students straight out of Leaving Cert, and though mature students have been offered places on the course, they haven't turned up, says Prof Colleran. Not more than one or two students would drop out or transfer courses at the end of first year, she says. The advantage of having a course with small numbers is "it is the same group all the way through; they really learn a lot from each other and there's a lot more cohesion as a group. Obviously with field work there's much greater contact between us as academic staff and them." To have sat any of the science subjects at Leaving Cert is an advantage to environmental science students, but, says Professor Colleran, "chemistry appears to be giving the most problems at first year across the science faculty". She would put the emphasis on chemistry and biology. Environmental science graduates have gone to very diverse areas. Some are working for the Environmental Protection Agency, local authorities, and environmental consultancies. "The majority are working for environmental consultancies or geological surveys or Teagasc. It is quite variable."