Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre works in partnership with teachers, schools, advisers and the wider community to provide specialist environmental education programs, professional development, advice and resources that meet the ongoing curriculum needs of students.
At Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre we support student learning in the following ways:
- We offer learning opportunities for students from prep to year 12 and TAFE in line with relevant curriculum documents.
- We travel throughout the Sunshine Coast region to deliver day and camp programs.
- We provide exciting, enjoyable, challenging, first hand environmental experiences.
- We provide clients with site specific and age specific risk management plans.
Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre operates out of the Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary at Bli Bli on the Sunshine Coast. We deliver some programs onsite, however many of Sunshine Coast's Environmental Education Centre day programs are run at off-site locations around the region (depending on the school’s requirements).
The Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary is an excellent site for curriculum delivery particularly suited to water quality and mangrove ecosystem studies. However, there are constraints due to heat and mosquito numbers which determine that most site based programs occur here in Term 3.
Staff
Teachers must have acquired an expertise in teaching marine and coastal environments, including littoral forests. Residentials at sites remote from the Sunshine Coast base are part of the Centre's functions so staff must be free to attend these programs outside of the region. Waterwatch, Integrated Catchment Management and Coastal Care are the focus of many program offerings and staff should show a deep knowledge of and commitment to these areas. Current First Aid and CPR certification is essential. Accreditation in Canoe Instruction is highly desirable, as are a number of other industry based units of competence. A thorough knowledge of Workplace Health and Safety as applied to risk management is essential.
Students
Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre staff work with 7000 students each year. Year levels taught range from P-12 and TAFE (tertiary entrance). The majority of these students are from the Nambour and Mooloolaba districts although students on Residentials in the Sunshine Coast area often access Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre for day programs. All Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre clients are from the state school sector.
Community
Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre office is located in 'Bilai House' which is leased from the Sunshine Coast Council at the Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary, Sports Road, Bli Bli. Facilities are shared with the Maroochy Wetlands Support Group and the Sunshine Coast Council. The three groups communicate and collaborate to provide up to date education and information regarding the Wetlands Sanctuary.
Curriculum delivery
The Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary is an excellent site for curriculum delivery particularly suited to water quality and mangrove ecosystem studies. However, there are constraints due to heat and mosquito numbers meaning that most site based programs occur in term 3.
Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre staff travel more than 20,000 km a year to more than 100 different sites in the Sunshine Coast region and beyond to deliver programs at venues which are appropriate, relevant and immediate to the client schools. More than 72% of Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre programs delivered are at sites other than the Wetland Sanctuary. Due to the span of delivery sites, staff must have an in depth knowledge of the Sunshine Coast environs and be adept at site specific risk assessment and management. Increasingly, the Sunshine Coast Environmental Education Centre is expanding on-campus program delivery.