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Participation
in AMEA
Participation
in AMEA is open to all sectors of marine
education. It is an alliance of marine organisations,
institutions and individuals that have marine
environmental education as part of their
legal objective. Members include education
authorities, publishers, Marine Discovery
Centres and Aquariums, education organisations,
State and Federal Government departments,
consultants and educational suppliers.
AMEA Vision 2003
AMEA links organisations, industries and
practitioners involved in marine environmental
education, so as to present a coordinated
and unified voice. Such a coordinated approach
will assist all organisations in working
more effectively towards the protection
of the marine & coastal environment
for future generations.
Goals of AMEA 2003
To
be recognised as the peak body that provides
broad representation and advocacy for the
growth of marine environmental education
in Australia.
To promote networking opportunities for
marine environmental education organisations.
Desired outcomes for AMEA 2003
1
Increased understanding and support of governments
and industry for the role and value of marine
environmental education through:
Inclusion of a marine environmental education
expert on the NEEC and other relevant government
advisory boards.
Establishment of AMEA as the peak body in
relation to marine environmental education
issues.
2 Development of a National Marine Environmental
Education Strategy, incorporating:
Inclusion of marine environmental education
content as a core element in all state/territory
syllabus documentation.
Preparation of a content list of current
issues that pertain to marine environmental
education.
Promotion of the inclusion of measurable
outcomes in marine environmental education
programs and projects.
Promotion of the utilisation of evaluation
results in the development of further marine
environmental education programs and projects.
Promotion of marine environmental education
in industry programs and projects.
Development of community education strategies
for marine conservation (including MPA™s
and state marine emblems, etc).
3 Growing the scope of marine environmental
education in Australia through:
Establishment of a national network and
strategy for enhancement of marine environmental
educational institutions (including Marine
Discovery Centres, aquaria and alike).
Increased funding for coastal and marine
environmental education.
Alignment of marine environmental education
opportunities to current government priorities.
Listing possible funding sources and programs.
Lobby for the inclusion of marine environmental
education in industry training packages.
Engagement of key organisations with an
interest in marine environmental education.
4 Promotion of the role of Australian marine
educators nationally and internationally
through:
Promotion of the value of membership of
marine environmental education organisations.
Why
AMEA?
The
challenge for environmental education today,
is to not only ensure the community is well
informed about environmental problems, but
that the community also has the understanding,
knowledge, and skills to recognise such
problems and to contribute to their solutions.
Environmental education can facilitate partnerships
within and between local communities, governments,
local businesses and local industries, as
they actively work together to improve their
local environments. Environmental education
can foster and encourage creativity and
ingenuity to facilitate the discovery of
better environmental solutions or preventative
measures.
In
the past, most marine education projects
have been initiated by very talented, experienced,
motivated, and enthusiastic marine educators,
who were volunteering their time and skills.
This has resulted in some very good ad hoc
projects.
To date there have been issues of duplication,
undirected effort, an inability to identify
critical gaps in supply and no sound reference
point against which to measure or define
effectiveness of marine education projects.
Additionally,
general environmental surveys show that
students are leaving school with an understanding
of environmental problems, but with little
understanding of how they, as individuals,
can contribute to environmental solutions.
The general community currently has an increased
level of awareness of many environmental
issues, and large sections wish to actively
contribute to environmental solutions and
want to see on-ground outcomes.
With
this challenge in mind, the formation of
AMEA has facilitated a common vision and
a strategy for coordinating the conduct
and outcomes of marine environmental education
nationally. Marine educators, either individually
or as groups, can develop projects that
are consistent with AMEA's strategic plan
and identified priorities, which will assist
them securing a competitive position in
an increasingly competitive marketplace
for environmental education resources. By
working together, marine educators will
optimise their efforts in achieving protection
of the marine environment for future generations.
Formation
of AMEA
Twelve
key representatives from a broad cross section
of marine educators came together to hold
a workshop in February 2000. The purpose
of the workshop was to initiate a more strategic,
coordinated and structured approach to marine
education nationally, and to establish and
build on partnerships between various groups.
The major outcome of the workshop was a
clear recognition of a common purpose that
could be more readily and effectively reached
by working together. To this end the participants
agreed to the formation of the Australian
Marine Education Alliance (AMEA) and developed
a strategic plan
2000-2003.
Contacts
Convenor:
Angela Colliver, Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Authority
Phone: (07) 4750 0850
Email: a.colliver@gbrmpa.gov.au
Secretariat:
Barbara Jensen
Email: bjensen@nor.com.au
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