What is Special Forever?
Established in 1993 as an education initiative of the Murray–Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and Primary English Teaching Association, Special Forever aims to:
- involve students in becoming critically aware of their environments locally, and across the Murray–Darling Basin;
- assist teachers in developing programs that enable students to communicate their understanding of environmental issues effectively; and
- produce and publish a range of student texts focusing on local environmental issues for a range of audiences.
Who is it for?
The target audience of Special Forever is primary-aged students who live in the water catchment known as the Murray–Darling Basin. The Catchment spans four states—New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland—and the Australian Capital Territory. The Murray–Darling Initiative calls for the cooperative management of the Basin by six governments in partnership with the community. Under a consultancy agreement with the MDBC, Primary English Teaching Association is responsible for project management, implementation and material production.
How to become involved
Each year, eligible government and non-government schools in the Murray–Darling Basin, are invited to participate in the project. In December of each year, an anthology of children’s writing and artwork arising from the project is published and distributed to participating schools as well as being available to Primary English Teaching Association members to purchase. You can enrol your school in the project via the Special Forever website.
More information
More information about Special Forever is available through the Special Forever website.
To find out about the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and the Murray-Darling Initiative, visit their website.