
Make a difference in our environment.
Urban sprawl. Deforestation. Air pollution. Water contamination. Invasive species. The demand for sustainable actions is higher now than ever before, and it's only going to grow.
Our courses in Sustainability will equip you with the tools and knowledge to make a difference. From seed saving to rainwater harvesting, these courses will empower you to have a positive impact on our community.
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Stay up to date on current information in the field of restoration and sustainability.
Sustainability programs
Our Restoration of Natural Systems certificate and diploma programs—offered in partnership through UVic's School of Environmental Studies—are designed to give you the knowledge and skills you need to restore habitats to their natural state, as you pursue a career in sustainability.
Our Mapping with Drones micro-credential will show you how to monitor environmental change from above. Develop your analytical skills to identify real world features and structures in ways that allow you to provide detailed assessments of our planet. You will feel like you are soaring over the landscape while interacting with our real world datasets.
The newly launched Climate Action Planning micro-credential is a great opportunity to learn the foundations of planning for climate action. It is well suited for a diverse range of people such as educators, business leaders and community organizers who want to engage with the climate crisis and be climate action practitioners. For those looking for a longer, university accredited program, we also offer the Transformative Climate Action Certificate.
Sustainability courses
From hands-on workshops to walking tours, our community sustainability courses will help you get your hands dirty! Topics include:
- how to harvest rainwater
- how to save seeds
- which plants are native to Vancouver Island
- environment projects in the community
Courses are offered in the spring and fall. View our available courses below.
- Advanced Principles & Concepts of Ecological Restoration
- Bee Friendly! Plant Pollinators this Fall
- Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
- Borders that Break the Rules
- Clean Propulsion Technologies for Vehicles and Marine Vessels
- Climate Change and the Ocean
- Ecorestoration Strategies: Case Studies
- Ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada, and the World
- Environmental Writing Workshop: Turning Knowledge into Feeling
- Ethical, Legal, and Policy Aspects of Environment Restoration
- Expected and Actual Performance of Green Buildings: Lessons Learned
- Field Study in Ecological Restoration I
- Field Study in Ecological Restoration II
- Forest Restoration and Sustainable Forestry
- Galiano Island Field Study
- Gardening for Wildlife- Deer not welcome!
- Gardening with Native Plants
- GIS Skills and Mapping
- How to Talk about Climate Change Without Overheating
- If You Could Only Have One - A Specimen Tree for your garden
- Introduction to Backyard Beekeeping
- Introduction to the Human Dimensions of Climate Change
- Landscape Design for the Pacific Northwest
- Mapping with Drones 1
- Mapping with Drones 2
- Mason Bees: An Incredible Pollinator to Host in your Garden
- Mining Reclamation
- Non-Timber Forest Management and Sustainable Use by Major Forest Zones in BC
- Politics, Policies and Planning for Climate Action
- Principles and Concepts of Ecological Restoration
- Responsibilities and Reciprocity in the Place You are Now
- Restoration of Marine Aquatic Systems
- Science Communication for Ecological Restoration
- Selection and Propagation of Native Plants for Ecological Restoration
- Soil Conservation and Restoration
- Special Topics in Ecological Restoration: Climate Change in Ecological Restoration
- Special Topics in Environmental Restoration
- Special Topics in Environmental Restoration: Climate Change in Ecological Restoration
- Special Topics in Environmental Restoration: Fire Ecology
- Success with Honey Bees: Backyard Beekeeping
- Traditional Systems of Land and Resource Management
- Transformation in Complex Systems
- Urban Restoration and Sustainable Agricultural Systems
- UVic’s Transformative Climate Action Program: What can it do for you?
- UVic's Restoration of Natural Systems Program: What can it do for you?
- What’s Happening at the Sidney Centre for Plant Health?

Summer Arts Series
Annual summer arts series for professional and practicing artists, and UVic alumni.
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UVic on the Peninsula
Each term we offer a selection of lectures and short courses in Sidney, most of which take place at the Mary Winspear Centre.
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Climate Action Planning
The Climate Action Planning micro-credential (CAP) is a great opportunity to learn the foundations of planning for climate action. You will develop the skills needed for you as a professional to put into action at all government levels.
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Ecological Restoration
Advanced ecology training that builds on your knowledge in the field. Courses are offered online, appealing to working professionals as a means to meet their annual professional development requirements or to update their skills and understanding.
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General Studies
This flexible certificate program allows you to customize a course of study to meet your specific learning goals.
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Mapping with Drones
Do you want to take your connection to our planet to new heights? Flying drones gives you the chance to navigate the Earth from above and reach new perspectives like never before.
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Restoration of Natural Systems – Certificate
Knowing where we are headed, from an ecological standpoint, requires an understanding of environmental impacts and recovery strategies. The Restoration of Natural Systems program provides a bridge that connects this knowledge with the practical skills needed to solve complex restoration issues.
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Restoration of Natural Systems – Diploma
The Restoration of Natural Systems program provides a bridge that connects this knowledge with the practical skills needed to solve complex restoration issues. The program’s holistic approach will empower you, as someone who is passionate about the environment, to make a difference in how we connect with the natural world.
View program

Transformative Climate Action
The need for transformative climate action is urgent. An effective and practical response requires significant changes to how we live. The Transformative Climate Action Certificate (TCA) provides the tools needed to make social, cultural and political changes that support diverse, ethical and flourishing communities.
View program
Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this November 2023 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this November 2023 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this August 2022 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this February 2022 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this November 2021 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this August 2021 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this May 2021 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
Read StoryThis year launches the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. It aims to halt the degradation of ecosystems, and restore them to achieve global goals.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, graduation dates, 390 project ideas, COVID-19 notice and more in this winter 2021 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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Upcoming courses, program updates, 390 project ideas and more in this fall 2020 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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COVID-19 update, Upcoming courses, program updates, and more in this summer 2020 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration Newsletter.
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New program video, June graduation dates, program reminders including tax information, and a save the date for an RNS spring celebration!
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There are lots of new additions to our program – read on for details!
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There are lots of new additions to our program – read on for details!
Read StoryThe RNS program is excited and pleased to introduce our new program director, Dr. Nancy Shackelford, who will be joining us in January 2020.
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Plans to restore a Garry Oak meadow in honour of former Metchosin councillor, Moralea Milne—who passed away suddenly in 2018—are being given a helping hand by the division's Restoration of Natural Systems (RNS) students and Program Di
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For his final RNS diploma program project, Todd Redding restored a section of mountain bike trail in the Three Blind Mice trail network near Penticton, BC. Redding planned and undertook the restoration of the trail with the support of the Penticton Area Cycling Association.
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More than half of the earth’s grasslands are degraded from nearly a century of intensive agriculture, resource extraction, and urbanization.
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Our relationship with nature is complex. We usually think in terms of taking from nature. It provides us with our needs and wants. But to be a part of nature we also need to give back. There needs to be reciprocity.
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Julian enrolled in the RNS program in 2002 thinking he’d learn better ways to pull broom, but instead he learned much about planning, and especially the importance of community involvement in ecological restoration. Whenever the courses allowed, he would do his studies and reports about Cuthbert Holmes Park.
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Restoration of Natural Systems Program alumni, Wendy Kotilla, founded the Youth and Ecological Restoration Program (YER) in 2004 based on her own experiences of being surrounded by the healing powers of nature.
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Bringing together ecological restoration and permaculture while also incorporating traditional ecological knowledge held by the Penelakut Tribe is the goal of Adam Huggins’ final project for his RNS Diploma.
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"If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered species: the child in nature." -Richard Louv, 2005
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The University of Victoria offers two programs in ecological restoration benefitting from a partnership that brings together content expertise from the School of Environmental Studies and the sensitivity to adult learner needs and online teaching expertise from the Division of Continuing Studies.
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Ecological restoration depends critically on context. In addition to the ecological perspective, ecological restoration in cities needs to consider social and political layers that have impact on a site as well. Context for the site design is critical for a project to endure. There is no single prescription for restoration. To really work, a design requires that we understand the layers of a site’s past history, current influences — both on- and off-site and future impacts.
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Amanda Evans is originally from Toronto but came out to Victoria in 2003 to attend the University of Victoria. In 2012, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and Geography, and a Diploma in Restoration of Natural Systems.
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Have you ever wanted to design your own credential? Have you ever struggled to find a program that meets your specific interests and needs? Then you might be interested in our newest program: the Certificate in General Studies.
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Like many in her program, Coleman works full time and is five courses into the 12-course program. As a chemist, her day job is analyzing data for an environmental laboratory in Sidney. "I wanted to know more about the environment and systems and how it all fits together," she says. "I thought this program would be a little flaky, like maybe it won't be anything I can use (in life or work). But it definitely is."
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