The Undergraduate Certificate in Ecological Restoration and Nature-based Engineering (ERNE) helps students prepare for emerging jobs in the fields of ecological restoration, environmental consulting, civil and environmental engineering, agriculture, wildlife sciences, and landscape design. Specifically, students will gain in-depth knowledge and experience with nature-based solutions (NbS), ecological restoration, natural infrastructure and nature-based engineering.

The interdisciplinary knowledge and applied skills students develop through this certificate will aid in addressing many major challenges of the 21st century. Restored and engineered ecosystems protect vulnerable cities and defense installations from flooding, safeguard communities and crops against droughts, buffer cities from extreme heat under increased urbanization, and increase the resilience of built landscapes and infrastructure to extreme weather events. Natural systems are also among the most effective and sustainable methods of sequestering atmospheric carbon to combat climate change. In addition, the power of nature to improve human mental and physiological health is increasingly well-understood, creating increased demand for engineered natural spaces, especially in urban areas. Under the collective umbrella of NbS, interest in and funding for approaches like these are a rising tide presenting great opportunities in the state of Georgia and beyond. 

To earn the Certificate in Ecological Restoration and Nature-based Engineering, students must complete 15-19 credit hours including a Foundations course in Ecological Restoration and Nature-based Engineering (3 credits); an Extension course that will expose them to relevant content outside of their major (3-4 credits); a project-based, service-learning Capstone course (3-4 credits); and 2-3 elective courses in ecology, engineering or related fields (6–9 credits).  

This Certificate Program was collaboratively developed and is jointly run by the Odum School of Ecology and the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia, which are both united by the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, an interdisciplinary group that specializes in engineering resilience through nature-based solutions.  

The following four student learning outcomes are principal objectives for the ERNE certificate.

• Student Learning Outcome 1: Understand the core concepts and approaches of Ecological Restoration, Restoration Ecology, Nature-based Solutions, Ecological Engineering and Engineering with Nature, the distinctions between them, or the contributions of those disciplines to ecological restoration and Nature-based Solutions projects.
• Student Learning Outcome 2: Integrate concepts, approaches and vocabulary from ecology, engineering and ecological restoration for written and oral communication, project management and decision-making.
• Student Learning Outcome 3: Apply interdisciplinary knowledge and innovative skills to key collaborative processes in project management, including planning, testing, data collection, implementation and monitoring.
• Student Learning Outcome 4: Build collaboration and leadership skills to work productively as part of an interdisciplinary project delivery team.