Environmental Conservation Degree Program
View Images
Background:
Fort Scott Community College (FSCC) is part of a watershed that is located in the Southwest corner of Fort Scott on the fringe between the city and rural areas. FSCC has a strong agricultural program and a strong rodeo program. Consequently we have a lot of livestock on campus in addition to the usual building rooftops, asphalt and gravel parking lots, and other aspects of urban runoff.

Until recently, little thought and care went into the treatment of runoff water from the campus. Consequently, the runoff carried many nutrients downstream which affected neighboring ponds. Because FSCC's Environmental Technology Department has long been training people for both freshwater plant operation and wastewater plant operation, the expertise was available to develop a model water quality project that can demonstrate and teach storm water management for both urban and rural settings. This also opened an opportunity for the College to create a curriculum that would bridge the gap between agriculture and the environment. As a result, the Environmental Technology department is now offering an option in Environmental Conservation.

Over the last three years the college, with assistance from many different agencies and individuals, has developed a fairly extensive demonstration of best management practices (BMP's) to cleanup the pollutants in the storm water runoff. FSCC is also in the process of creating a trail that will encompass the project and offer many environmental education displays for the people that use it. The result will be an outdoor classroom to utilize not only for Environmental Conservation but for many other classes as well. The trail will serve surrounding schools, groups in the community, and the general public, educating those students and others about storm water management.


Requiremnts:
Requirements include 8 hours of Conservation and 6 hours of internship, Ag Orientation, Principles of Soil Science, Introduction to Computers in Agriculture, Utility& Program Management, and approved electives totaling at least 60 credit hours for an Associate's of Applied Science degree.

Expectations:
Job opportunities would include working for various city, state, or federal government agencies, or working in private industries that are agriculturally or environmentally based.

Job responsibilities would most commonly be field oriented with some consulting opportunities.