At the start of 2022 the Committee decided that their name CHES (Committee of Heads of Environmental Sciences) did not capture the diverse representation of the Committee members, in both their academic roles and disciplines, and therefore voted on a change of name to Community for Environmental Disciplines in Higher Education (CEDHE – pronounced as ‘seed’).
CEDHE provides leadership to the environmental education community, with a core aim to enhance the quality of education in the environmental disciplines, which in turn will positively impact graduate outcomes. Most recently members of the Committee have played an influential role in revising the ES3 Benchmark (published in March 2022). This has in turn led to the review of our own accreditation standards, which now reflect the strengthened focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Sustainability and Employability.
An area of particular interest for the Committee is in improving Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the environmental sciences sector. Drawing on initiatives from our accredited institutions, we aim to compile a register of best practice, enabling our member institutions to embed actions within their programmes that promote EDI, leading to the development of an environmental sector that better represents our diverse society.
Over the coming year we also aim to grow our international representation within our accreditation scheme, which will further facilitate connections between members, and enable new avenues of international co-operation within the environmental science community.
If you would like to be involved in the work of CEDHE, we currently have vacancies on the Committee and are looking for members who want a unique opportunity to contribute to – and shape the future of – the environmental sector from within education. For more information about the role, what we are looking for, and how to get involved, please see our ‘Join Us’ information pack.