| Unit name | Environmental Impact Assessment, Ecology and Sustainability |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CADEM0006 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Howden |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering |
| Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
Why is the unit important?
The global environment is changing. This unit looks at some causes, consequences, and potential solutions. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is essential to reduce rate of change due to infrastructure and policy development; sustainable activities may offset some adverse changes and other solutions such as large-scale ecosystem manipulation may repair some of the negative consequences. Environmental change is a global issue, and this course seeks to prepare students for some of the developing professional challenges faced by environmental scientists and engineers.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is a core part of the MSc in Water and Environmental Management. It teaches skills in environmental management. It is an optional unit for some engineering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees for students who want to learn how to prepare an environmental impact assessment and how to think creatively about an engineer’s role in sustainable development and resource use.
An overview of content
Students are introduced to the essentials of preparing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), including European and UK Legislation, history of the EIA process, content of an Environmental Statement, and obligate consultations. They are provided with examples of major EIA projects and then assigned the task of researching and preparing an EIA for a fictional, but realistic, development in the Bristol area.
Students will be introduced to the use of the Multi-Agency Geographical Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) which is used to prepare an Environmental Constraints Plan. Accompanied by the unit lecturer, they will visit the site of the proposed development to conduct a field survey to verify the contents of their desk study and to compile additional environmental baseline data about the human environment, flora and fauna, soil, water, air, climate and the landscape, material assets and cultural heritage.
Following the site visit students are instructed in the preparation of an assessment matrix, mitigation design and non-technical summary. The exercise will culminate in the submission of a group EIA, a hypothetical public meeting and a group feedback session.
The second part of the unit looks at theoretical and practical issues that environmental scientists and engineers need to be aware of in the face of global environmental change. It will consider habitat survey (as used in EIA to provide baselines against which ecosystem change can be measured), hydropower planning in the Severn Estuary as a move towards sustainability, the consequences of human population growth, and planetary terraforming as one potential future solution.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will gain an appreciation of practical tools used in EIA and development planning, considering also theoretical aspects of some regional and global environmental issues related to human impact upon the planet and its biosphere. The unit seeks to inculcate a sense of personal responsibility and empowerment regarding these challenges.
Learning Outcomes
At the successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Students will use supporting material from text and video resources on blackboard before attending in-person workshops and field trips. The field trips are designed to replicate the experience of doing a habitat survey and site walkover to inform an EIA. The workshops allow interactive, collaborative, inquiry-based experiences that allow students to explore the complexities of working in environmental science and engineering in the face of global environmental change.
How you will be assessed
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Students will receive general group verbal feedback from the course tutor as part of the workshops and field trips which will help them to complete and refine the group assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Assessment will be a group coursework with a single group mark (Environmental Impact Assessment) weighted at 80% (ILOs 1, 2, 3) and an individual coursework (habitat survey plan) weighted at 20% (ILO 1). Students will submit a peer assessment form as part of the moderation process which will lead to individual marks.
When assessment does not go to plan
Reassessment for the (EIA) group coursework will be a shorter individual (EIA) coursework weighted at 80%.
Reassessment for the individual (habitat survey plan) coursework will be an individual coursework weighted at 20%.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. CADEM0006).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
