Communicating beach management: educators; coastal engineers and local governments collaborating to create successful education programs

Abstract

Through partnership between The Griffith Centre for Coastal Management and the City of Gold Coast a very successful education program “CoastEd” was created since 2001 with a focus on the coastal environment. Complimentary educational sessions are delivered to schools, community groups and residents. Topics range from beach health, coastal processes and tourism, to mangrove environments and climate change. The school programs match the Australian Curriculum and community programs are increasingly popular. The unique collaboration between a city council and a research centre has resulted in improved communication to the community as all programs are delivered by industry professionals with an extensive teaching background. The award winning program has been operational for 15 years and is highly respected in the community. CoastEd is a knowledge hub for queries the local community may have with regards to coastal protection. This paper will highlight some of the successful techniques we have used to increase awareness on certain pressing topics such as climate change, coastal protection and biodiversity.