Environmental Studies Department
Carl Sagan once asked, “Who will speak for Earth?”
With this question and the namesake of our college in mind, the Ohlone College Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology was founded in the spring of 2008.
The opening of this LEED Platinum campus reinforced the overall commitment of the Ohlone Community College District not only in providing a first rate academic environment but also its commitment to the community at large.
Learn more about Ohlone College's Environmental Studies Department and its programs.
Ohlone College is a registered provider of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV Entry Level Exam.
Waste Management Partnership
Ohlone College is proud to announce its partnership with Waste Management to examine the potential of using local recycled construction waste as landscape enhancing mulch and compost.
Waste Management of Alameda County analyzed the materials that were ending up in their land fill and determined that wood, concrete, and glass made up a significant amount of the waste stream. When ground and enhanced, these materials can be utilized to amend soil, prevent weeds, encourage drainage, and increase the attractiveness of landscapes.
This will be a great opportunity for the Ohlone College Environmental Studies Department to get students involved in research that will literally affect their surroundings. Look for our experimental plots in the organic garden at the Newark Center.
Environmental Studies Degrees and Certificate
Associate in Arts (A.A.) Degree
Environmental Studies A.A. Degree (PDF) - Designed to prepare students for studying Environmental Studies at most universities. The core courses in the Associate in Arts degree in Environmental Studies will fulfill the lower division requirements for most campuses of the UC and CSU systems. This program will enable students to develop a strong foundation in the life and physical sciences, as well as a foundation in the functioning of living systems including population growth, ecology, toxicology, geologic processes, energy resources, pollution, and human attitudes toward nature. Through these courses students will gain a better understanding of how humans are intimately connected with the environment and how human activities impact and are impacted by the environment. Careers in natural resources, land use planning, business, energy, waste management, pollution control, law, and environmental administration all require knowledge of environmental issues and the functioning of ecosystems.
Associate in Science (A.S.) Degree
Environmental Science A.S. Degree (PDF) - Designed to prepare students for studying Environmental Science at most universities. The core courses in the Associate in Science degree in Environmental Science will fulfill the lower division requirements for most campuses of the UC and CSU systems. This program will enable students to develop a strong foundation in the life and physical sciences, as well as a foundation in the functioning of living systems including population growth, ecology, toxicology, geologic processes, energy resources, pollution, and human attitudes toward nature. Through these courses students will gain a better understanding of how humans are intimately connected with the environment and how human activities impact and are impacted by the environment. Careers in biological consultant, ecosystem and habitat restoration, environmental field or lab technician, environmental health scientist, and environmental manager all require knowledge of environmental issues and the functioning of ecosystems.
Certificates of Accomplishment
- Environmental Stewardship Certificate of Accomplishment (PDF) - Signifies that students have completed coursework in biological, human, socioeconomic, and political principles as they relate to and are influenced by the environment. The courses include an emphasis on a scientific understanding of the environment, social and economic concepts, and an awareness of the behaviors that protect or damage the earth and its resources. On completion of this certificate students will have the ability to better understand their relationship with the planet and obtain an understanding of how their behavior (including energy and natural resource use) affects the environment they inhabit. This certificate provides an excellent background for the various careers in the fields of environmental studies, environmental sciences, public policy, and energy management.
- Natural Resource Conservation and Management (PDF) - Natural resource management and conservation is congruent with the concept of sustainable development, a scientific principle that forms a basis for sustainable global land management and environmental governance to conserve and preserve natural resources. The Certificate of Accomplishment in Natural Resource Conservation and Management is designed to educate students in the art and science of applied ecological knowledge to aid in managing natural resources, energy, and agriculture. Courses in the program dedicate portions of the class to field trips, lab exercises, and demonstrations of field techniques.
- Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Certificate of Accomplishment (PDF) - Students completing this program will examine strategies to efficiently and cleanly utilize our planet's natural resources to produce energy, food, and urban habitats. This program focuses on living and growing sustainably without degrading the environment so that future generations of all species may thrive. This Certificate of Accomplishment signifies that students have completed coursework in biological, human, socioeconomic, and political principles as they relate to and are influenced by energy. The student will acquire knowledge and skills in the design and operation of energy systems, energy policy, with an emphasis on non-renewable and renewable energy systems. These skills may assist or enhance their work in areas such as energy management, the design of small to medium size energy systems, sustainable development and renewable energy research. The courses include an emphasis on a scientific understanding of the environment, social and economic concepts, and an awareness of the behaviors that protect or damage the earth and its resources. On completion of this certificate, students will have the ability to better understand their relationship with the planet and obtain an understanding of how their behavior (including energy and natural resource use) affects the environment they inhabit. This certificate also provides an excellent background for the various careers in the fields of environmental studies, environmental sciences, public policy, and energy management.
Additional Information
Review a sample listing of Courses in this area of study. Review academic requirements in the Catalog and in the Curriculum Guides. All students are encouraged to meet with a counselor to review academic program requirements and/or have questions answered.
Apply for a Degree or Certificates
Are you finishing your associate degree or certificate? Please review How to Apply for a Degree or Certificate.
Ohlone College Environmental Studies in the News
- Ohlone College completes HERO Grant, June 2013 - Ohlone College has completed a three-year Home Energy Retrofit Occupations (HERO) grant funded by the Community Based Job Training Act as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The HERO population served dislocated and unemployed workiers, incumbent workers and returning veterans. The HERO program aimed to fulfill the need for training workforce in the home performance industry, improve both local and regional economic development and sustain and grow current and future program activities. Ohlone College offered nine courses serving 148 participants.
- Career Voices: An Ohlone Professor Explains Explains The Abundance Of Green Career Options, February 18, 2011, BrainTrack - Interview with Narinder Bansal, Professor of Geography/GIS/Environmental Studies of Ohlone College.
- Foundation for a Green Education, January 21, 2011, NewarkPatch - On Monday, students at Ohlone College's Newark campus will learn more ways to become green beyond fashionable tote bags or fancy metal water bottles. Ohlone College is offering a new class that explores texts, publications and events that have affected the environment’s identity. The class, Urbanization: Green Community, reviews various sustainable communities and how to construct them.
- Green Encore Solar Suitcases for Haiti Relief, January 19, 2010, Encore Careers - There was a nice footnote to the Green Encore Solar Training, when several of the participants spent the day on Saturday building mobile solar-electric systems that will be taken by doctors traveling to Haiti to provide emergency health care. The earthquake in Haiti came right in the middle of the weeklong Green Encore Solar training at Ohlone College.
- Training the Encore Solar Trainers, January 12, 2010, Encore Careers - The carpenters, electricians, factory workers and others who are getting a crash course in solar energy at Ohlone College in Newark, Calif., this week are testament to the promising encore opportunity to create jobs for all ages in the emerging green economy.
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