“The program provides a primer, and solid scientific underpinning to broad-ranging and interconnected theories of conservation, restoration, and planning, as well as exposing participants to a range of real-world examples and lessons. It allows me to exchange and engage in dialogue on the most up-to-date and recent literature on the subject matter.

 

The live sessions are well run, engaging, and use examples from student submission which allow them to be dynamic and personal. The content is also well thought out, and extremely engaging - there is not enough time in the week to digest it all, although I wish there was. This is a real commitment, it will take time to truly benefit from this course, however, your level of commitment can be tailored to your needs - which means for working professionals this can be a great after-work personal development course. In the end, the program exposes you to a wide range of critical skills and theories that are at the forefront of the global biodiversity, climate, and other agendas, which are crucial to understand and thrive in the space.”

“The programme is incredibly insightful! I feel I am making progress already after a few months in my daily work. I learned planning tools that I can directly use, and each week brings both new practical and academic knowledge. The capstone course is a unique opportunity to focus on my project and has already led me to gather all project partners around the table so that we can consolidate a common vision and move forward all together.

 

The courses cover an incredibly vast array of subjects, yet we can dig quite deep into each issue thanks to the live session and the possibility to exchange with the lecturers. I am sincerely amazed by the diversity and the quality of the students’ backgrounds and the exchanges we have. The cohort itself is a wealth of information!”

“This is a practical, hands-on course focusing on the application of knowledge, skills, and techniques rather than just the theory itself. I am finding the course interesting and immensely useful and relevant to my current role at the FAO. The course has made me think more critically about the tools and strategies I use on a daily basis and how they can be applied in a more effective way.

 

The flexible learning arrangements, the support from the program mentors, and the quality of content provided by the instructors have been outstanding, allowing me to effectively balance my work commitments and studies. The course instructors have extensive field experience and real-life insights! They are not just academics. They are also very easy to contact and very personable. Despite it being a distance learning course, which requires greater self-motivation, the weekly live sessions and the blended learning allow greater interaction among students and the faculty. I highly recommend this course for any environmental professional looking to take the next big step in their career.”

“The instructors have done a remarkable job showing us every tool in the toolbox: from ecology, biodiversity, and soil health to land tenure, governance, and community-based conservation to stakeholder analysis, research design, and monitoring programs.

 

The integration of this knowledge and my capstone project has dramatically improved the clarity, organization, and precision of my work restoring tropical dry forests in Thailand.”

“This program presents relevant content in a very practical fashion. The courses allow us to learn about and discuss the relationships between people and tropical forests, including people from different cultures.

 

Overall, the program encourages us to analyze and address the many social issues around people and inclusion in conservation projects.”

“This program is very beneficial for those who want to learn about conservation activities and the strategies of landscape restoration.

In addition, the lectures and case studies in the program are really valuable and eye-opening.”

“For me, diversity is what captures best the essence of this fascinating program.

 

That diversity is reflected in the lively discussions of multidisciplinary approaches which suit the complexity of the topics at hand. All this makes the program a truly rewarding experience!”

“I knew based on the Yale School of the Environment's reputation that the content of the program would be excellent. However, as we have worked through the different courses of the program, I am continuously impressed by the flexibility of the ELTI program.

 

The effort each week can easily be adapted based on interest in a topic, workload outside of ELTI, or anything else that comes up. It has made me feel like I am learning for the sake of learning and not just completing assignments to meet deadlines or professor expectations.”

“I decided to join the program as a way to refresh my knowledge on forest governance regimes, reforestation, and landscape restoration. I did not expect the courses to go deep into very scientific topics such as forest disturbance and soil science.

 

The lectures, readings, discussions with my cohort via the weekly reflections and the live sessions with the instructors are very useful to clarify these concepts.”

“In spite of having my entire career related to conservation and restoration of tropical forests, I had never pursued formal training in the area.

 

“After working in agriculture, clean energy, and carbon for ten years straight out of college, it feels great to be back in a rigorous learning environment at ELTI.

 

Engaging with the instructors and students from around the world has been a highlight of the ELTI course thus far.”

“This capacity building, which is in line with the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) to which Cameroon is committed to restoring 12 million hectares, will be of great importance for the improvement of my knowledge on restoring degraded landscapes. From a general point of view, this program has allowed me to distinguish between restoration and aspects of reforestation and afforestation which only represent part of the operations of a restoration project. This training is also very beneficial in the sense that it exposes you to the management of a conservation project.

 

The capstone project of this training has caught my attention because of all the tools you learn. I have learned to carry out a SWOT analysis and develop multi-stakeholder radargrams based on the strength, capacity, motivation, and mandate of many different actors. I have also learned to identify the threats to conservation and contributing factors while proposing strategies to be implemented to mitigate these threats and develop a real project that will benefit communities.”

“In this program, I am broadening my understanding of how restoration strategies can impact the landscape whilst taking into consideration how important people are in this scenario. The program has enabled me to speak to stakeholders and other partners in a comfortable manner on the challenges that Barbados is currently going through. It will furnish me with the knowledge of building out a larger conservation and food security project in my country.

 

The live sessions every week along with the assignments and instructors have been beneficial and outstanding thus far. They grow my knowledge and challenge me weekly to think through my proposed Capstone project. Overall, the courses allow for the digestion and assimilation of knowledge at a pace that is thrilling and challenging. Prospective applicants should be aware that this is a serious commitment. I spend roughly 6-8 hours a week with readings, viewing the lectures, case studies, and of course attending class. However, the sacrifice of time directly affects my knowledge and ability to follow the systematized way of thinking through the context of my landscape, its history, social behaviors and intrinsically the nature of post-colonial societies.”

“Protecting forests is to me one of the most efficient and best ways forward to combat climate change. One of the biggest yet rewarding challenges that we have as an organization (Rainforest Alliance) in this field is working globally with indigenous and local communities to increase their capacity for forest management and enterprise development.

 

I am leading the Rainforest Alliance's public engagement work, and I developed my career in this field as I believe that what is going to make us change and click as humankind is proper informed storytelling. I joined this online certificate program to be able to understand the causes and the effects of deforestation and, in detail, how we can effectively reverse the direction that our world seems to be heading towards. My personal challenge is to understand all the complex nuances of this work and make sure that I am educated enough to distill the key message and connect it to people's everyday life and everyday choices. I love to translate complex topics in a simple (yet not simplistic) version that can connect with people, and I was provided now with a great and important platform to tell a great story.”