10. Biodiversity

Message to our students and staff

The operational directives of the Sustainability Team play a key role in supporting Charles Sturt University's corporate strategy. Listed within it are these biodiversity targets:

• Achieve a 20 per cent allocation of land to biodiversity by 2015 (achieved in 2016)
• Improve the biodiversity value of allocated land 'year on year' from 2015 (ongoing)

Biodiversity reports were commissioned for each major campus to help staff to identify areas of existing biodiversity value, as well where Charles Sturt University can protect and enhance connectivity between these areas.

Sustainability at Charles Sturt aims to include the majority of the areas identified in these reports in our biodiversity targets, though occasionally natural or human-made factors prevent this. Two examples include:

• The requirement to provide a buffer area between buildings and vegetation areas for bushfire protection.
• The need to set aside land for future campus development. Where infrequent clearing occurs, Charles Sturt University follows the local council development approval process and offsets this clearing through significant tree planting.

Resources

• Biodiversity Factsheet [PDF 92KB]
• Biodiversity Action Plan [PDF 431KB]

In the community

Sustainability at Charles Sturt recognises the monitoring contributions from our partner community groups including the Friends of Grasslands (ACT), Dubbo Field Naturalist and Conservation Society, Summer Hill Creekcare, the Woolshed Thurgoona Landcare group and the Hastings Bird Watchers at Port Macquarie.

Volunteer biodiversity monitors at Wagga Wagga Kirra Molony, Agricultural Science student with Tina de Jong from Murrumbidgee Landcare.

Charles Sturt University's biodiversity monitoring program was boosted by Environmental Science & Land Management student Trevor Osborne at Albury-Wodonga. Pictured with Division of Facilities Management's Richard Overall with the map showing the location of the 13 photo-points.

Progress toward best practice

This framework was first benchmarked in 2015 and revisited every year. The below graph illustrates our progress towards best practice across the eight (8) activity areas.

Sustainability at Charles Sturt acknowledges the Wiradjuri, Ngunawal, Ngambri, Gundungurra, Ngiyeempaa and Biripai (or Biripi) peoples who are the traditional owners and custodians of the Country’s in which our campuses are located and with whom Charles Sturt has an association, and we pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.