Leading consulting firm, Sinclair Knight Merz has thrown its support behind a group of Year 10 students from Loyola College at Watsonia in Melbourne who will represent Australia at the International finals of Future Problem Solving in the United States.

At this prestigious international competition for gifted students, the students will present a unique Environmental Management System they have developed for schools and other community groups.

Future Problem Solving is an international organisation, based at the University of Lexington, in Kentucky, that was initially established some 30 years ago as a think tank for gifted students.

It now involves up to one million students from countries such as the United States, Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore Malaysia and South Africa.

The Loyola College students will be presenting the findings of a project relating to the protection of the environment in their school area.

Their presence in Georgia has been made possible through the support of a number of organisations, including Sinclair Knight Merz, which is providing financial assistance.

Sinclair Knight Merz is Victoria’s largest professional services consulting group with more than 2,500 employees in offices in major business centres across the globe.

The Loyola students have developed a Total Environment Care System (TECS) that encourages a collective responsibility for the care of the school environment involving all relevant groups in this case students, staff, parents and others.

The students found that this is a model is easily transferable to other community groups.

They initially focused their attention on the problem of litter in school grounds, but found that other aspects such as soil erosion could also be addressed.

The basic premise that underlies the Project is that the environmental issue will only be addressed in an ongoing way if it is enshrined in the policies and processes of the organisations that have the power to influence people to maintain commitment.

This requires a major shift in community thinking.

The Loyola students hope to take the Model to the local Banyule City Council for Council to promote in the municipality.

Loyola won the right to represent Australia at the International Finals following a National competition at Deakin University in the Community Problem Solving (CmPS) section.

The Australian office of Future Problem Solving, established 11 years ago, is based at Deakin University, and involves about 6,000 students of all ages from across Australia.

Mr Geoff Linke, Manager of Catchment Management Services at Sinclair Knight Merz, said the Loyola students should be commended for their initiative.

"This model for environmental management is an excellent example of how the community can make a difference in their local community," Mr Linke said.

"We’re delighted to be providing this support and wish them well at the international finals in Georgia," he said.

Sinclair Knight Merz is a leading provider of a range of innovative services to clients in the environmental, buildings, infrastructure, energy, mining, industrial, advisory and spatial markets