The paper provides an understanding of the types of environmental assessments used to assist decision-making and inform policy implementation. It develops students' knowledge of environmental pressures with the means to assess those and provide a policy response. The paper comprises two Modules: Module 1- Environmental Impact Assessment, and Module 2 - Environmental Policy and Decision-Making. Modules are run concomitantly. The first Module covers all steps involved in current practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Aotearoa-New Zealand and internationally. The second Module is designed to enable students to work in teams to learn to apply a range of tools and techniques to appraise environmental impacts using a real location facing a real issue (e.g., coastal hazards, floods, major infrastructure development, water quality). Taking a systems perspective (ecological, social, economic and cultural aspects), students learn to identify and evaluate beneficial and adverse effects of different alternatives to minimise or mitigate negative impacts and optimise positive ones. Students also develop their understanding of the policy, planning and decision-making processes in Aotearoa, including the preparation and implementation of policy frameworks addressing environmental issues.