Tasmania’s unique landscape will be the classroom when the University offers a new range of courses for outdoor and environmental educators and guides from 2025.
Three offerings will be introduced, including the nation’s only four-year combined Bachelor of Outdoor and Environmental Education and Master of Teaching.
Students will experience iconic places such as kunanyi/Mount Wellington, Freycinet, Cradle Mountain, Maria Island and the Franklin River with 100 days of field trips to be undertaken as part of the Bachelor’s degree.
“Students will engage in coastal walks, alpine walking, sea kayaking and white-water rafting journeys to enhance their leadership skills in various outdoor environments,” course coordinator Associate Professor Marcus Morse said.
“They will learn in, and with, Tasmania's temperate forests, dynamic oceans and coastlines, Aboriginal lifeworlds and unique island cultures. It is the places and people involved that make the difference.”
A one-year Diploma of Nature-Based Guiding, with 40 days of field trips, will seamlessly fit into the first year of the bachelor’s degree with full credit.
Students combining a Master of Teaching will be able to graduate with two teaching subject areas, helping address a shortage of teachers in Tasmania and nationally.
“All graduates heading to classrooms, indoor and out, will be ready to support students in their future classrooms to think and act in ways that prepare them for the vast and complex challenges facing the world today,” Associate Professor Morse said. “They will be inspiring teachers for a positive future.”
Growth in nature-based tourism is outstripping traditional holiday-making and a strong plank of Tasmania’s tourism strategy, Associate Professor Morse said, so career outcomes will also be strong for those wanting to work in the industry.
Students in the Bachelor’s degree will also be eligible for UniGO, the University’s fully-funded sustainability experience in Indonesia, Malaysia or Vietnam.
“These course offerings explicitly focus on addressing our critical responsibility to educate for, and about, climate change and sustainability,” Associate Professor Morse said.
“Graduates will be confident in their ability to tackle key issues of our times, including climate change, social justice, and living sustainably.”
The courses will be delivered face-to-face in the newly restored Philip Smith Centre on Hobart's Domain, with close access to the nearby bushland and the River Derwent.
Associate Professor Morse, an experienced outdoor guide and keen kayaker, has spent 15 years working in the environmental education space.
“I grew up in lutruwita / Tasmania and have worked around the world in both outdoor education and nature-based guiding,” he said. “I cannot imagine a better place to offer these courses.
“Outdoor and environmental education offers diverse approaches to education that can engage students in and out of schools, and for many, provide inspiration to make a real difference in the world.”
Are you passionate about the great outdoors, making a positive impact on the environment, and eager to lead others on a journey towards a more sustainable future? Check out our new courses in Outdoor and Environmental Education.