Biennial Conference on Environmental Education comes to UOW in September

UOW’s Dr Peter Andersen is one of the chairs at September’s AAEE conference, at the University of Wollongong from September 25-27,

Tell us about yourself and how you came to specialise in Sustainability Education.

I am the Head of Students and Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. My journey towards becoming an environmental educator, specialising in Sustainability Education, began when I was a schoolteacher. I realised that while my students were hearing lots of bad news about the environment, and their futures, they were not given many opportunities to lead environmental change in their schools and communities.

My subsequent teaching and research have been underpinned by my philosophy that adults need to do all in their powers to support children to become environmental change agents. Young people need to have a voice on environmental issues that so profoundly impact on their lives.

The AAEE conference is coming to town – what is it and why is this a big deal?

The Australian Association for Environmental Education is Australia’s peak professional body for environmental educators. We promote exciting national and international environmental initiatives; support our members to become effective environmental educators and build inspiring, collaborative networks.

This is a big deal for AAEE and Wollongong, as it provides us with the opportunity to bring to Dharawal country environmental educators from across Australia and overseas to Listen to Country, Learn together and Transform our future – this year’s theme. The University of Wollongong, and Wollongong itself, is nestled under the ‘learning mountain’, Geera – Mt Keira, and represents the nexus of industry, innovation, Indigenous culture, multiculturalism and a shared greener future.

What are some of the highlights?

The highlights will be our amazing invited and workshop presenters and field trips on Country. We’ll be bringing speakers and guests from around the country and overseas including keynote presentations from Tim Flannery, Costa Georgiadis, Tanya Plibersek, Daniella Tilbury,
Gina Chick and many more!

We have some incredibly pertinent sessions including Cynthia Houniuhi (Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change): Taking climate change to the world’s highest court; Dr Angela Lunda (University of Alaska): I’m a Killer Whale – The process of cultural identity development from the perspectives of young Indigenous children; Nicole Maher (Murrumbidgee Landcare): Connecting young people with nature.

Who is welcome to come along?

We welcome anyone who is passionate about caring for Country and our shared future. I began my journey as a novice environmental educator.
I was inspired but I didn’t have a community for support, strategy and creative problem-solving. After many years of teaching, I attended the AAEE NSW conference in Coffs Harbour and it just lit a fire in me that still burns strongly today.

I would encourage local educators from across community, schools, pre-schools, university, government and the private sector to come along to connect with like-minded people and deepen their understanding of sustainability, climate action, connecting to country and First Nations’ perspectives. The other great thing is that money raised at the conference goes straight back into supporting environmental education programs and networks across the country, such as Sustainable Schools NSW and SeaWeek Australia.

What local projects will you show visitors?

On the Monday of the conference the field trips will be a fun and interactive way to stretch our legs.

These tours offer opportunities for our participants to walk on Dharawal Country, experience natural beauty, culturally significant locations and meet local environmental educators. We’ll have tours with Warrawong High School’s ‘living classroom’ student permaculture garden, the Green Connect Farm Tour, Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation, a bird-watching session and more.

Check it out: www.aaeeconference.org.au