About Us - Manly Environment Centre - Manly Environment Centre

Partnerships

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The Manly Environment Centre working in partnership with community groups and the broader community including:

Environment Groups & Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
Sydney Harbour Federation Trust
Department of Education & Training (DET)
Taronga Zoo
National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS)
Diving industry
Australian Water Network
Universities & TAFE Colleges
Sister Centres
Members of Parliament
Sydney Observatory
Powerhouse Museum

Achievements in conjunction with others:

The listing of Manly’s Little Penguins and Bandicoots as the first common threatened species population in Manly.
Establishment of Cabbage Tree Bay, as the first Marine Sanctuary in Sydney
Establishment of North Head Sanctuary
Working towards the restoration of Manly Lagoon
Listed as one of seventeen Wetland Education Centres in Australia by the Australian Wetlands Information Network
Initiating the successful replanting of Manly’s Norfolk Pines with the planting of the 'Turnaround Tree'
The formation of a human sign involving thousands of people at the national launch of Manly Solar Surf Clubs and Clean Energy For Eternity.

Representing the Community on Committees of

Regional, State & Federal Government Departments
North Head Community Advisory Committee
The Penguin Recovery Team
The Bandicoot Recovery Team
The Manly Lagoon Catchment committee
Local Councils
Community Environment Committee
Executive of the North Head Sanctuary Foundation
Quarantine Station
Section 22 Committee
Storm Water Industry
International Erosion Control Association (IECA).

Winners of major Awards:

Rivercare
Keep Australia Beautiful 2000
Triple M Environmental Citizen Awards
2 Day FM
Excellence in Partnership, University of Western Sydney

Celebrities, Politicians and World Leaders: What they say about the MEC

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“I am so proud of you all. Your actions are part of a global movement to protect a future for all life. Thank you and congratulations.”
- Professor David Suzuki, Canada

“The Centre has been a superb example of what can be done locally and have a national influence. Congratulations.”
- Robyn Williams, ABC Science Show

“The wellbeing of our world requires citizens to act; to be advocates, defenders and restorers of our precious environment. Such welcome actions are necessary for a genuinely sustainable society.”
- Peter Garrett, President, Australian Conservation Foundation

“The kids, companies and creeks project has snow-balling and far-reaching effects beyond the local area…the hundreds of young people who move on after their school days continue as ambassadors because they know that they have the power to influence decisions and improve their world”
- Dr. Mary White, Paleoecologist and author of “Listen our Land is Crying”

“I congratulate the Manly Environment Centre on ten years of service to the environment. The Centre’s hard work and innovative projects like kids, companies and creeks makes it a model for community based environmental projects across the country. The Federal Government has been happy to support the Manly Environment Centre over the past decade and looks forward to working with the Centre in the future”
- Senator Robert Hill, Minister for the Environment

“Follow your instincts, walk your own path and plan to win”
- Kate Hughes, Olympic Co-ordination Authority

“The Manly Environment Centre is about meeting the demands of the people. It gives hope and pride to the people who live in Manly”
- Professor David Bellamy, United Kingdom

“Good effective environmental protection is based on great visions, creative concepts, credible actions and expert competence of those who are untiringly engaged in the realisation of ecological projects. In this sense the team at Manly Environment Centre has always been a competent partner in environmental matters. They have shown a pioneering spirit for sustainable development and a future worth living for and made their centre a meeting point for the exchange of information and knowledge which lead to actions. We need more of this long-sightedness and courage on the local level, that ultimately on daily life the still existing reservations and prejudices towards ecological objectives can be overcome. Manly Environment Centre practices communication in the best possible way by pushing awareness of all groups of society. Happy tenth anniversary to Manly Environment Centre from Berlin. May all your efforts be recognised on every political level.”
- Reinhard Peglan, senior Scientific Officer on Environmental Management, Federal Environmental Agency, Germany

“You are bringing about necessary change in every creative way. Thank you very much for letting us learn from your approaches.”
- Shin-ichiro Yoshida, International Education Resources and Information Centre Tokyo, Japan

“Manly Council and the Centre have provided an invaluable training ground for our students on important environmental issues. They have learned how to deal with problems in economics and environmental science at the grassroots level.“
- Professor Geoff Waugh, University of N.S.W, Prime Minister’s Award for the Australian University Teacher of the Year, 1999

“We all share a common responsibility for the causes, prevention and control of soil erosion.”
- Doug Wimble, Vice President, International Development, International Erosion Control Association

“The importance of achieving ecological sustainability cannot be overstated. The future of our children and countless living species depends on it. And achieving sustainability depends on people knowing the facts and understanding the issues. For its outstanding role in environmental education, the Manly Environment Centre deserves our support and congratulations.”
- Professor Michael Archer Director, The Australian Museum

Our History

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In the late 1980’s, the intense pressure of development, tourism and pollution resulted in a huge groundswell of concern from the local Manly community. This was translated into a unique form of positive action when this group sought to work with the Manly Council towards their common goals.

Manly Council’s Community Environment Committee recognised the importance of resourcing community education on environmental issues and obtained local corporate sponsorship for a small shop front in Manly’s retail area. With Judy Reizes as the driving force, along with members of the community, the Manly Environment Centre (MEC) opened in March 1991 and was staffed entirely by volunteers for the first 12 months.

This unique example of council, community and corporate co-operation has continued to expand into its fourth set of premises. In 1997 in a great leap forward Manly’s new centre for the environment, the MEC, moved into a high-profile two storey building at 41 Belgrave Street along with the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Manly Food Co-operative, Greenline Consulting and the Surfrider Foundation.

The new premises provided an environmental meeting and training hub where a wide of variety of services were provided. The office boasted three full time staff members funded by Manly Council. Judy Reizes headed up the Centre along with a full time Waste Education Officer and a Catchment Liaison Officer. The MEC’s continued growth and a desire to be a model of information and a community resource on behalf of Council, has seen it implement programs and awareness raising events which have led to the furthering of common goals.

The Manly Environment Centre has undertaken many varied projects over the years including Waste Expose, Ocean Care Day, the Green Canteen and many more. In 1994, an eco-operation between local schools, Oz G.R.E.E.N (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network Australia started by Sue and Col Lennox), Blackmores Ltd and the MEC initiated the highly successful education program, Kids, Companies & Creeks . This won numerous awards for the MEC as well as others involved in the program and is used as a 'best practice' case study by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) .

Campaigning successfully on behalf of the community and under the new Threatened Species Legislation, the MEC worked hard to get the first two common species in the world,the Long Nosed Bandicoot and the Little Penguin, listed as threaten populations in Manly .

In March 1998, to assist in the long term vision for Manly and to develop community action strategies to reach these appropriate long-term visions, Manly Council launched “The Manly Conservation Strategy” .

Over the years the information available through the Centre has continued to grow. An estimated 10,000 resources including brochures, kits, videos, DVD's, audio tapes along with policies/strategies research materials on all points of view are now easily accessed by all sectors of the community and most are available as free copies. The MEC website provides information which can be easily accessed worldwide. This mass distribution of information extends from MEC events and the local environment of Manly, to the ever growing and changing global issues affecting us all.

21 years on, the Manly Environment Centre continues its work at the same shopfront location. Judy Reizes remains the driving force - inspiring the next generation to care for and protect Manly's unique environment.