Read the Eco Schools Quest Newsletter - April 2010 (PDF, 550KB)

Visit the MEEG website at: www.meeg.terapad.com

The Manning Environmental Education Group (MEEG) aims to encourage local residents to develop an awareness and appreciation of their natural environment.

What is MEEG?
The Manning Environmental Education Group (MEEG) was founded in 2006. The team consists of individuals who share an enthusiasm and passion for the natural environment; including community volunteers and staff members employed in the field of environmental education.
This group is a local representative of the larger environmental education network operating in New South Wales. The network groups that fringe this area include the Hunter Environmental Education Network to the South and the Mid Rivers Group of Environmental Educators to the North. he group is currently auspiced by Manning Valley Neighbourhood Services.

Goals and Objectives of MEEG
MEEG was founded to form a support network that would work cooperatively to encourage the residents of the Manning Valley to develop an awareness and further appreciation of their natural environment.
In line with the Australian Governments Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: National Action Plan, MEEG aims to encourage all members of the community to raise their level of awareness about the environment, acquire new perspectives, new values, knowledge and skills. MEEG also supports the local community through the formal and informal processes leading to changed behaviour in support of an ecologically sustainable environment.

ECO SCHOOLS QUEST 2008
The MEEG project during 2007 was Magnifying the Manning. Interested community groups, schools and other learning institutions were asked to record through writing, diary, journal, illustration, drawing, painting, photography, video or sound recording the changes they observe in one aspect of their local environment over a period of time. The entries were exhibited locally and judged in September. The feedback was extremely positive and schools in particular (forming the largest group of participants) identified their interest in participating in the 2008 MEEG project.

In recognition of the majority of participants last year and in support of the Department of Environment & Climate Change’s (DECC) Eco Schools Program, 2008 will see MEEG focus on promoting and rewarding environmentally thoughtful schools. The 2008 MEEG project will give local schools the opportunity to involve their students and community in developing and implementing environmental management projects.

The overall objective of the Eco Schools Quest (inspired by DECC’s Eco Schools Program) is to support communities through schools, to develop best practice in environmental education and innovative solutions to environmental issues.

ECO QUEST 2008 will see schools challenging themselves and competing against other schools to become accredited Eco Schools.

OUTCOMES
Students
• to promote the development of students' knowledge, values and behaviour that supports environmental sustainability
• to promote participation of some or all students in identifying, designing, implementing and monitoring solutions that improve the quality of the school and local environment.

Teachers
• to assist teachers to integrate school environmental management projects into school programs and therefore maximise student learning
• to enable project related professional learning for teachers to gain practical and pedagogical skills and knowledge about the environment.   

School development and management
• to encourage a whole of school approach to sustainable management of school operations
• to fund schools to utilise the natural and built environment to facilitate student learning
• to encourage schools to link with the local community (including other schools) to undertake activities which address local environmental issues.

Environment
• to promote more efficient resource use and  improve the quality of the local environment
• to enable schools to address community and government environmental concerns and priorities

Launch of MEEG in 2007

More Information

For more information or to get involved, contact MVNS or Erin Masters at Greater Taree City Council.