School to consolidate environment studies
Over the past two years the ANU has moved to consolidate its position as one of the leading institutions in the field of environmental research and resource management, with a radical overhaul of undergraduate studies in the area. Following approval by the ANU Council in 1996, the School of Resource Management and Environmental Science (SRMES) was formed. A joint Institute of Advanced Studies/Faculty of Science development, the school groups the Departments of Forestry, Geography and Geology with CRES. The School has about 65 academic and 75 support staff, and around 150 graduate and 1400 undergraduate students, engaged in teaching and learning about the environment, its resources and their management. As part of their collective activities, the components of SRMES explore the implications of human activities for the environment, and seek ways to reduce the tension between resource use and environmental protection. It focuses on the management of land and water resources, of forests and other terrestrial ecosystems, and of urban systems and their industrial resource base. The School offers undergraduate science degrees in resource and environmental management (BSc(REM)) and forestry (BSc(For)). The School also offers science degrees (BSc) specialising in geography or geology. Parallel courses are offered at the graduate level by coursework and/or research. CRES director, Professor Henry Nix, said that the restructuring to form the School was not widely known throughout the ANU. He said plans to group all the School's activities in one purpose-built building by late next year would give the school more exposure.