By Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
April 7, 2011

Canadian students are flocking to environment-related programs as experts predict a boost in green sector jobs.

The latest figures show enrolment in university programs such as land-use planning and conservation biology have risen dramatically in recent years.

Environment-related college programs have also seen a slight increase in enrolment.

Meanwhile, experts say the country's burgeoning green economy holds many opportunities for graduates willing to step off the beaten path.

While it still represents fewer jobs overall than other fields, the green sector "is an emerging part of the economy that's growing at a faster rate than the traditional pieces," said job expert Alan Kearns, founder of CareerJoy.

Graduates who can market themselves in that economy are likely to be in demand, whether they end up working in a green start-up or co-ordinating a more traditional company's sustainability efforts, he said.

The number of students enrolled in environment-related university programs went up roughly 40 per cent between 2000 and 2007, according to a report released last year by ECO Canada, a non-profit organization focused on the environment industry.

Enrolment in similar college programs rose less than one per cent between 2000 and 2005, the report reads.

In Ontario, however, there's been a boom in green-economy college programs, with 35 new diploma or certificate programs introduced in the past three years, including 14 last fall alone.

Alexandra Birtwistle, 23, decided to specialize in green architecture after hearing her teachers talk about the opportunities it offered.

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