Living Green Infrastructure

Since 2003, Gaia College has been offering holistic horticulture education to students all over the world. Our courses integrate essential knowledge of ecology, permaculture and organic gardening to build a solid ecological foundation for your career and/or personal life.

Course Overview

Overview

Living Green Infrastructure Image In this course addressed at planners, policy makers and developers we introduce and discuss the complexity and simplicity of integrated natural solutions – low impact development (LID) and living green infrastructure (GI).The Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls on a swift transition to mitigate the impacts of climate change through green infrastructure:

"Climate change is the single biggest challenge of our time. With municipalities influencing roughly half of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, it's essential to scale up local solutions to transition to a resilient low-carbon future by 2050. Together, we can build a greener and more prosperous Canada—one community at a time." - Federation of Canadian Municipalities Report, 2023.

Great strides are being made on many fronts, but so much more can be done with a better understanding of natural ecosystem processes. No solution can be sustainable if it degrades nature’s ability to sustain itself and us.

All too often, problems are addressed in isolation along budget categories set by administrators. Truly sustainable solutions can only arise from a holistic process, involving interdepartmental collaboration and problem solving. It is not realistic – nor effective over the long term – to address urban forest pests, for instance, without giving consideration to lot sizes, construction practices, water management, pesticide use policy, and ultimately soil quality.

This course is designed to provide the knowledge and tools to assist professionals and practitioners in attaining a proficient level of competence in living green infrastructure, and for implementing these technologies and best management practices throughout the planning, constructing and maintenance phase of land development.

While there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, we hope to provide a deeper understanding of nature’s contribution to the success of human created infrastructure, and to help everyone make better and more integrated decisions for long-term benefit.

Topics include

A deeper understanding of the living components of green infrastructure
Ecological impacts of development
Water catchment and use
Stormwater management
Waste management
Urban forestry
Wildlife / biodiversity
Food security
Environment and community health

Outline

Please download the course outline here: Living Green Infrastructure Course Outline.

Time Expectations

Students can expect to dedicate 6-10 hours per week to successfully complete this course.

As well, our courses are offered in the continuing education realm and are designed so students can complete them according to their own schedule. The work is divided up into 14 weekly topics and students are expected to complete their assigned work and quizzes by the given deadlines.

Our courses do not use online meetings, so we are not using Google Meet, Zoom or other online meeting applications.

If you have any questions about studying online with Gaia College please see our FAQs page

Prerequisites

There are no academic prerequisites for this course.

Students must

be proficient in English (written)
be comfortable with current computer and internet technology, including word processing programs
have an email account capable of receiving a large number of messages for the duration of the course
have access to high-speed internet
have access to a computer capable of running a current version of FireFox or Chrome. Tablets and phones are not supported at this time.

Credits

This program is eligible for Continuing Education Credits (CECs) with the following:

Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA)
Also applies to B.C. Landscape & Nursery Association and Landscape Ontario
Pre-approved: 24 Credits

National Association of Landcare Professionals - American (NALP)
Pre-approved: 24 Credits

International Society of Arboriculture: Certified Arborist
Pre-approved: 7.5 Credits

International Society of Arboriculture: Board Certified Management Arborist
Pre-approved: 5 Credits (Science), 2.5 Credits (Management)

International Society of Arboriculture: Municipal Specialist
Pre-approved: 5 Credits

B.C. Society of Landscape Architects
As per certification renewal guidelines - eligibility of this program has been confirmed

Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc. (MGOI)
Pre-approved: 24 Credits

Canadian Society for Organic Urban Land Care (SOUL)
Pre-approved: 6 Credits

Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC)
Pre-approved: 42 Core LUs