Live Life in the Green With a Bachelor of Science in Forestry Degree

Climate change and green revolution is one of the most important issues that people talk about in this era. Accepting that our planet undergoes changes and regeneration is one step to understanding the value of our ecosystems. Residents of highly urbanized cities and states, especially in the first world countries, continue to struggle how to adapt with climate change as they are the most affected due to the denudation and gradual disappearance of forests in their areas.

Forestry in the News

The National Geographic recently reported that there are two remarkable countries in the world that managed to keep forest gardens in the midst of their bustling and robust modern communities. These are Brazil and Singapore. Singapore is very aggressive in its plan to build a “city within a garden,” transforming all their blueprints into one huge ecosystem with the plants and forests dominating the whole landscape of the state-city.

And for every endeavor with a magnitude of this, educated foresters are needed along the way. Most people misunderstood forestry. They assume that it is just a crash course without a degree. But they are very wrong.
A Bachelor of Science in Forestry is a complete four-year degree course that deals with the scientific protection, preservation, management and development of forests. It also covers the study of natural habitats, natural resources, biology, and related knowledge needed for the creation and implementation of effective systems to sustain forest life.
A whole bachelor’s degree in forestry is required by private companies, agencies and industries to hire a forester although the Federal Government of United States has a policy of crediting years of actual practice in exchange of degree credits.

Foresters Licensing

Foresters also get license to practice the profession. In at least 15 states of US, one needs to pass the mandatory licensing before getting a title as forester. There is also a governing body that regulates the curricula standard for forestry. The Society of American Foresters (SAF) ensures that the curricula cover the required standards for objectives of the program, the right faculty and administration, the parent-institution support, the availability of resources and facilities.
Related studies under the curricula include communication skills, information and technology, mathematics and various sciences. Several electives also include water analysis, best management practices, wildlife conservation, statistics, parks and recreation and more.

Projections for Foresters

The continuing challenge among large and rich nations is to grow trees and plant faster than their natural growth so we could cope with climate change. Thus, there is a growing clamor for developing strategies for adaptation and assisted migration. Lack of appropriate procedure manuals, guides, techniques in assisted migration of forest species could be a limitation to reforestation. Aside from this, there are also other concerns as regards the management and protection of our remaining forests around the world.

Therefore, there are a lot of opportunities for forestry graduates to explore and develop. The US Department of Labor says that forester jobs continue to grow from 2008 to 2018. They pegged this growth at 12 percent per year.
The foresters can eye the US Federal government and the state governments for jobs while there is an increasing need for wildfire management. The prevention and mitigation of wildfires across the country has become a priority concern to the Federal Government. Wildfires caused billions of dollars in losses in the past years, not citing lives and private properties.

There are also other job opportunities like investments on conservation and carbon credit programs, logging industries, large-scale plantations and nurseries.

How Much Money is to be Made?

The US Occupational Outlook Handbook cited that the average income of foresters is $53,750 per year while conservation scientists earn about $58,000 per year.

The best schools that offer Bachelor of Science in Forestry are the following: University of California (United States), Wageningen University (Netherlands), Cornell University (United States), University of Wisconsin-Madison (United States); Texas A&M University United States, Purdue University (United States), University of Queensland (Australia), Oregon State University (United States), Pennsylvania State University (United States), and Iowa State University (United States), and Kyoto University (Japan).