Mrs Egan is the 2015 recipient of the Brock Rowe Award offered biennially by the Geography Teachers' Association of NSW and the Geographical Society of NSW.

She joins an elite group of recipients who have "demonstrated consistently, over a period of time, excellence in the teaching of geography in schools".

The 2015 award also recognises Mrs Egan's establishment and co-ordination of the Distance Education Geography Network and Dubbo Regional Geography Teachers' Network.

The former has encouraged a more collegial approach to teaching geography among teachers working in the state's seven distance education schools while the latter has delivered professional development close to home.

New teachers and those working in small rural schools are among the beneficiaries of Mrs Egan's efforts.

"It gives me a lot of joy to know that people out there doing the same thing are supporting each other," she said.

The teacher of secondary students in Australia and overseas enjoys sharing her passion for geography that is "not just about places on the map".

The interaction of people and their environment are at the core of the subject that Mrs Egan refers to as "sunshine geography", a title reflecting her optimism that "understanding our environment helps us make better decisions for the future".

Mrs Egan travelled to Sydney for the presentation of the award for which she was nominated by multiple albeit unnamed people.

"I feel very humble really because I know there's a lot of wonderful things going on out there and great teachers doing great things," she said.