Bracken Ridge State High School is located within a rich and diverse wildlife corridor that students and staff hope to sustain now and well into the future.
As part of the construction of the New Learning Centre (NLC) and carpark upgrade, a commitment has been made to conserve all flora and fauna affected due to the removal of some trees in the area. This is particularly relevant as we have a locally refined koala habitat to the north of the carpark as well as a broad range of wildlife living in and amongst the mature trees on our campus.
The NLC Project Manager Alder Constructions invited staff and students to be a part of the installation of habitat boxes. The group were briefed by members of the Wildlife and Fauna team on the project and watched as the boxes were installed in various spaces throughout the school grounds. These boxes will house a number of flora and fauna, namely small gliders, brush-tailed possums and parrots.
The wildlife and fauna team shared the importance of protecting the various species on site, and the students then watched as six boxes of varying sizes were installed throughout the trees by the crew.
The process of tree removal is quite comprehensive. A Fauna spotter is onsite for the duration of the removal to see if there are any hollows. There are also a number of environmental reports carried out as part of the planning stage – firstly an arborist report and tree survey are completed, as well as an ecology report and cultural heritage assessment. The ecology report identifies all flora and fauna present on the site and discusses the existing environmental and cultural overlays to ensure there is no impact on the area. This information is then taken into account to provide a concept overlay of the works which avoids building over any environmentally or culturally significant areas. The design has retained as many trees as possible.
There will be 26 new trees planted and 37 new large/middle storey shrubs planted as part of the project upgrade.