Monash University > News and Events > Monash Memo

Contributing to local learning

17 September 2008

Dr Amy Cutter-Mackenzie

A commitment to environmental education and sustainability has earned Monash lecturer Dr Amy Cutter-Mackenzie a prestigious award.

Dr Cutter-Mackenzie, from the Faculty of Education at the Peninsula campus, was one of seven Monash academics recently awarded an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.

She received her citation for implementing programs at primary schools in the Mornington Peninsula area that involve Monash student teachers conducting environmental education and sustainability workshops and lessons with school students.

Dr Cutter-Mackenzie, who has implemented the programs since joining Monash in 2005, said student teachers learned more effectively about environmental education in school classrooms than lecture theatres.

"Environmental education is ideally taught in a real-life context such as a school, dealing with real community environment issues," she said.

"Teaching in a lecture format on campus for a subject such as environmental education has far less impact."

Dr Cutter-Mackenzie and Monash student teachers have worked with primary school students on a range of projects that contribute to local environment.

The projects have included Frankston Primary School students monitoring their local water catchments and developing strategies to improve water quality, and Carrum Primary School students planting trees.

Other projects have included building and maintaining school vegetable gardens, investigating alternatives to plastic shopping bags and staging environmental-community fairs.

"My approach to environmental education goes beyond mainstream environmental issues such as climate change, having a significant focus on the way in which human beings interact with the environment and nature," Dr Cutter-Mackenzie said.

As a result of Dr Cutter-Mackenzie's work, all Monash early childhood and primary teaching students will undertake core subjects in environmental education from next year.

Find out more about the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Bachelor of Primary Education at Monash.