Meurk attended high school at St Andrew's College, Christchurch, graduating in 1965.

Between 1970 and 1981 he completed a doctorate at the University of Otago, with his thesis analysing the production rate of plant biomass in tussock grassland at the southern end of the South Island.

[1] In his role as a research fellow at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research he assisted in creating landscape models for creating ecological restoration plans across large areas, as well as a project to restore the ecology of the Waipara wine-growing region.

[3] He has advocated for the creation of a predator free eco-sanctuary within the residential red zone, similar to the Zealandia project in Wellington.

[2] In 2022 he ran for a seat on the Christchurch City Council in the Fendalton ward, but was not successful.