Certificate Program

What is a Stewardship Ecologist?

Each of the five certificate programs described in this Official Bulletin help build foundations for sustainability in life and vocation. What is true for the one leading to the Stewardship Ecologist Certificate is similar for the other four. An Au Sable Certified Stewardship Ecologist completes the requirements for the Stewardship Ecologist Certificate. It is both for people who are enrolled in college and for those who have completed a college degree and use credits from the home college to meet certificate requirements. In addition to benefitting from the program itself, the person becomes a Certified Stewardship Ecologist (under a program licensed by the State of Michigan Department of Education)- a designation that for many will be helpful in their lives and vocation.

An Au Sable Certified Stewardship Ecologist completes a solid program of academic study and practical experience that is basic for a sustainable society, a sustainable biosphere, and a fruitful Creation. This is achieved through college courses given in day-long time blocks at the Institute in which environmental studies are integrated with long-standing Christian values- in which deep and reflective study is integrated with re-creation and worship. It is also achieved through weekly Au Sable Integrative Sessions- full-day interactive meetings in classroom and field during which all faculty and students participate in community to address critical environmental problems and issues in the context of Christian environmental stewardship. This is a Christian community where serious work is done to practice principles of Christian living, environmental sustainability, Creation's fruitfulness, and environmental stewardship.

An Au Sable Certified Stewardship Ecologist also is able to interpret the biological and physical landscape, understand the processes which sustain it and has insight on assuring its continued fruitfulness. This includes ability to identify, interpret, and appreciate various land forms, plant and animal species, biotic communities and ecosystem types. It includes ability to put this knowledge into the practical context of current environmental problems.

At Au Sable, a Certified Stewardship Ecologist develops a stewardship perspective on the land and its life that promotes its proper care and keeping. The Certified Stewardship Ecologist also develops the ability to integrate knowledge of Creation into their life and the communities of which they will be a part- church, school, business, government, hospital, home, and neighborhood.

The Stewardship Ecologist Certificate does not replace the major field of study taken at the home college. Rather, it complements the major and college degree program, providing for it a rich context of Christian environmental stewardship- in a world that must increasingly strive for sustainability, conservation of biodiversity, restoration of Creation's fruitfulness, and reconciliation of all things.

For presenting their credentials, a Certified Stewardship Ecologist is identified not only with their college and major field, but also with the Institute and its certification. The degree and major are strengthened by the Institute Certificate, particularly where students wish to amplify their environmental interests, knowledge, and commitment. Certification by Au Sable is a way of saying to a prospective employer or graduate school that you have completed the requirements of the college, and more. The "more" is environmental knowledge and stewardship preparation that is so critically needed in today's world.

Finally, the Au Sable Certified Stewardship Ecologist puts the Creator first in work and life. While knowing what other ecologists know, they also have come to know the One through Whom all life is created and upheld. Thus the Au Sable Stewardship Ecologist goes beyond scientific explanations and solutions to advocate and bring restorative conversion and reconciliation to people, land and life.

< back to stewardship ecologist certificate