In the last few decades, land managers across the country have faced serious problems in managing natural ecosystems, including the loss of native species, invasion by exotic and invasive species, the interruption of natural fire regimes, alteration of soil hydrology and stream channelization, to name a few. Ecological restoration describes a set of strategies that managers and scientists use to understand problems and implement solutions. An important part of this new strategy is developing an understanding of the condition of these landscapes before European contact and how and why they changed. From this basis, managers try to repair as much of the damage as possible by restoring native plant and animal populations.

What is the Ecological Restoration Certificate Program?

The ERCP is the first-ever educational program of workshops designed around the practice and philosophy of ecological restoration and the natural history and science that supports restoration. Completion of the Ecological Restoration Certificate Program requires attending 15 one-day workshops including ten required workshops (required workshops are donoted with an asterisk*). In addition, a participant must take one plant identification workshop, two wildlife ecology workshops, and two electives (which may include additional plant identification or wildlife ecology workshops). For more information, please contact Tom Simpson
(815) 678-7644, tsimpson@mccdistrict.org.

View the listing of summer or fall programs.

 

Most classes will take place at Wiedrich Education Center, 6316 Harts Road in Ringwood.
To register, call McHenry County College at 815-455-8588 and reference the Class ID number.

 

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