Environmental Technician

Picture a working week spent measuring stream flow, sampling groundwater and checking air quality across Sudbury’s lakes, forests and industrial sites. Environmental Technician is a two-year Ontario College Diploma, delivered over five semesters at Cambrian College’s Barrydowne campus in Sudbury, that trains you to collect, analyse and report air, water, soil and ecological field data.

Semester one builds your scientific base with Principles of Ecology 1, Biodiversity Fundamentals 1, Water Properties and Monitoring 1, Chemistry Fundamentals 1 and Math I. Semester two adds Principles of Natural Resources Management, Environmental Microbiology & Toxicology 1, Data Management, Intro to Instrumentation 1 and Technical Reporting. In semester three you study Air Properties and Monitoring 1, Soil Science 1, Environmental Chemistry 1, Solid Waste Management, Water Remediation Techniques and Computer-Aided Drafting I, and semester four brings GIS Applications, Ecosystem Restoration 1, Advanced Air Monitoring 1, The Built Environment 1 and Environmental Workplace Safety.

Fieldwork runs through the diploma: students take stream flow measurements, sample water quality, monitor groundwater and carry out tree assessments, with past partners including Conservation Sudbury and Milman Industries. The fifth semester is a Field Placement, a four-week internship with a company or agency doing environmental work or research. You can also earn National Green Check certification and prepare for the Ministry’s Operator-in-Training (OIT) certification test for water treatment and distribution. Transfer agreements offer credit towards a B.A. in Geography at Algoma University or third-year entry to a B.Sc. in Environmental Protection at Atlantic Technological University in Ireland.

Graduates work as environmental technicians, water quality sampling technicians, air monitoring technicians, ecosystem restoration technicians, GIS field data technicians and operators-in-training at water treatment facilities. The Environmental Technician diploma suits people who enjoy being outdoors in every season, handle samples and field records carefully, and want to apply ecology and chemistry to real compliance and remediation projects.