Sustainability Statement

In partnership with the National Centre for Sustainability, the WA Horticultural and Environmental Science Skills Centre is working towards unified goals in all areas of education for sustainability. 

The Centre runs its training and developmental programs in accordance with the UN World Commission on Environment and Development's sustainable development philosophy – meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.

The Centre is the largest primary industry trainer in WA. It is the only WA TAFE college to run all streams of the national horticulture package at all of its levels and for all parts of Western Australia. The package contains training in many aspects of sustainable natural resource use and the conservative use of agricultural chemicals (pesticides as well as fertilisers).

Examples of the Centre's commitment to sustainability in Western Australia are as follows:

• Operates using energy and resource-efficient buildings such as the Environmental Science building at Murdoch Campus, and the laboratories at Rockingham Campus - the facility also acts as a major resource in environmental science training and research.
• Forges partnerships, committee and executive memberships with industry environmental policy groups such as Parks and Leisure Australia, Irrigation Association Australia, West Australian Farmers Federation, National farmers Federation, Nursery and Garden Industry Association WA and the Turf and Landscape Industry Association WA.
• Maintains membership with the Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme, Australia - an industry best practice and continuous improvement certification system where membership is conferred on the basis of effective management of the dieback organism Phytophthora, water, nutrients, agricultural crop protection products and the work environment.
• Maintains a partnership with the Department of Agriculture WA (DAWA) in formal training delivery of a conservation earthworks program with plans to extend the delivery to broadacre revegetation training.
• Conducts research and training for the Oil Mallee Association and the forestry industry nurseries.
• Forges partnership with community revegetation groups.
• Maintains partnerships with Murdoch University and Notre Dame University in delivery of an articulated Environmental Science study program.
• Maintains a partnership with DAWA in bioprotection programs.
• Delivers Conservation and Land Management study programs aimed at practical urban and rural natural resource stakeholders.
• Participates in national and state national training package studies and reviews by industry and Australian National Training Authority.
• Delivers Applied and Environmental Science study programs from basic to advanced levels.
• Runs industry up-skilling programs, employment-based training and part-time study programs that achieve an extremely high level of penetration into the land-use and water industries, both urban and rural.
• Develops flexible learning materials for pesticide application technology and regulatory compliance training and works with WA Health Department.  
• Participates in the planning for a national conference on sustainability of urban horticultural practices in consultation with sustainability drivers within Premiers and Cabinet.
• Works with community to develop workskills and employment orientation in special interest groups – the physically and intellectually disabled, Youth at Risk, remote communities and remote learners and indigenous communities. We run Rural Operations traineeships and institutional delivery specifically constructed to ensure continuous employment in rural towns.

The Centre has also recently launched a Diploma of Sustainability for currently enrolled Diploma students across all study areas.