The Committee of Heads of Environmental Sciences (CHES) is the collective voice of the environmental sciences and related programmes in higher and further education. CHES plays a leading role in the Higher Education Environmental Science community and lobbies on their behalf.

CHES is an active networking organisation and serves to enhance the quality of outcomes for all colleagues throughout environmental education. It aims to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between relevant bodies within the UK and internationally.

CHES works closely with the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) and also has links with similar organisations in North America and Europe. We are a member of the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES SC) Advisory Group.

There are currently 37 university departments making up the membership of CHES. Our accreditation scheme covers 59 individual degree programmes. New members are welcome, and are not restricted to the environmental sciences. Please refer to our membership pages for details.

Key activities include:

• Accreditation scheme for environmental science higher education degree programmes in collaboration with IES
• Developing new avenues of international co-operation within the environmental science community
• Networking between university departments and linking with relevant professional bodies

 

LATEST NEWS & EVENTS

New Members
The Committee would like to welcome the Universities of Derby, East Anglia, Newcastle and Northampton as the newest members of CHES.

Journal Published
In collaboration with IES the latest Environmental Scientist journal, entitled 'Education: A journey through environmental science', has been published. This edition focuses on education in environmental sciences, tracking the path from primary through higher and further education to continous professional development. The journal features some exciting contributions from CHES members and addresses the key ideas of how and why education provides inspiration and opportunutes for environmental scientists to prosper. For more information, or to request a copy please download it.

Next Annual Conference and AGM
The next CHES AGM will be in Southampton in 2012. Date and venue are still to be confirmed. The CHES Committee meet every three months. If you are interested in particpating in our next meeting please contact us here.

CHES Annual Conference 2011 and AGM
This year’s CHES Annual Conference was held on 12th and 13th April 2011 and hosted by the University of Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). The conference was run in collaboration with MMU’s annual Countryside Management conference on Woodland Management in the UK. The event was an opportunity for participants to hear from leaders in the field, network and update their CPD.