Forestry education in Australia - The challenges of change

Authors: Ian Ferguson
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2013, Issue N.Z.J.For. 58(2) 2013, pp 31-34, Aug 2013
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

Abstract: This article provides a brief history of the principal Australian institutions involved in forestry education. It then reviews recent developments which are likely to reshape forestry education over the next decade and offers some conclusions. Much of the article is based on presentations at the Institute of Foresters of Australia Conference in Canberra in April 2013. A brief history The School of Forestry in Creswick was established in 1910 as an in-service school of the Forests Commission, Victoria for training in a three-year course to serve in the parent organisation. Most graduates proceeded to the University of Melbourne after some field experience and completed a Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree involving two further years of study. In 1981 the Creswick School was integrated and merged with the University of Melbourne School and course, offering a four-year Bachelor of Forest Science degree and postgraduate research degrees.