Successful 2011 CSU Sustainability Grant applications

Applications from University staff and student were invited for projects, up to a maximum of $15,000, to further the sustainability values and commitments of the University.

Successful applications from 2011 are outlined below. (Successful applications from 2010 are available here).

In 2011 eight applications were selected. Details of these projects are provided below.

Project Title Team
CSU sustainable film festival

Flexible Learning Institute (Albury-Wodonga), School of Communication & Creative Industries (Bathurst), and Albury-Wodonga Campus Environmental Committee
Clean waste resource management at CSU catering outlets

Food and Beverage Services (Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst and Wagga), Division of Facilities Management (Wagga), and Albury-Wodonga Campus Environmental Committee
Fauna friendly fencing

Division of Facilities Management (Wagga), School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences (Wagga), and CSU Farm (Wagga)
High visibility rainwater harvesting Division of Facilities Management (Bathurst)
Revegetation and rehabilitation of Village Creek Bathurst Campus Environmental Committee
Fire exclusion zone management

Albury-Wodonga Campus Environmental Committee, and Division of Facilities Management (Albury-Wodonga)
Student gardens

EcoActive (Wagga), Division of Facilities Management (Wagga), and Student Services Office (Wagga)
Native nursery for teaching and biodiversity

EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (Wagga), and School of Agricultural & Wine Sciences (Wagga)

 

Project descriptions

CSU Sustainable Film Festival

Team:

  • Natasha Hard (Flexible Learning Institute, Albury-Wodonga)
  • Bruce Fell (School of Communication & Creative Industries, Bathurst)
  • John Rafferty (Albury-Wodonga Campus Environmental Committee)

Amount awarded: $14,000

Project summary: This project will explore the sustainability issues of importance to staff and students at CSU through the running of a Sustainability Film Festival. Students and staff will be invited to submit short films which highlight their concerns, suggestions and ideas of sustainability relating to their engagement with CSU.

The winning entries will be exhibited through an online and on-campus Film Festival. A written and film synopsis of the project and submissions received will also be developed as a resource to help guide the strategic direction of sustainability initiatives at CSU, and market CSU's sustainability initiatives more broadly.

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Clean waste resource management at CSU catering outlets

Team:

  • Bruce Clark (Cleaner, Albury-Wodonga)
  • Brett Russell, Joleen Wright and Adrian Bowden (Food & Beverage Services, Bathurst)
  • Toby Perry (Food & Beverage Services, Wagga)
  • Tom Hogan (Food & Beverage Services, Albury-Wodonga)
  • Edward Maher (Division of Facilities Management, Wagga)
  • John Rafferty (Alburt-Wodonga Campus Environmental Committee)

Amount awarded: $11,000

Project summary: This project is a pilot to replace the non-recyclable 12 and 16 oz take-away coffee cups currently sold at CSU catering outlets, with 100% biodegradable alternatives. The pilot will be across Food and Beverage Outlets at CSU's five main campuses (Ablury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga). A promotion and communication campaign will be run in parallel with the project, to raise awareness among consumers, with the intention of reducing the incidence of contamination of the co-mingled recycling stream.

A formal assessment of the pilot will be completed, and recommendations made about the viability of extending the principles of the program to other packaging materials. This would include an assessment of the financial viability of covering the increased cost of using environmentally responsible packaging, through a change in the price point of relevant products.

Click here for the Final Report for 'Clean waste resource management at CSU catering outlets' project (pdf). 

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Fauna friendly fencing

Team:

  • William Pollack and Simon Cole (Division of Facilities Management, Wagga)
  • Brian Alston (School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, Wagga)
  • Jim Mellor (CSU Farm,Wagga)

Amount awarded: $15,000

Project summary: This project will involve the removal of barbed wire from approximately 10 km of priority fences across the Wagga campus. Barbed wire is problematic for native fauna, such as eastern grey kangaroos, flying foxes and squirrel gliders, as it can cause injury or death when animals attempt to cross the fence and become tangled in the barbs.

This project will replace the barbed wire with plain, high-tensile wire. The two upper wires will also be spaced in a manner that reduces the propensity of animals to become tangled. All barbed wire that is removed will either be reused in suitable alternative applications, or recycled. The use of fauna friendly fencing will be ensured in the long-term through inclusion of the requirement in CSU Standard Operating Procedures and Fencing Policies.

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High visibility rainwater harvesting

Team:

  • Mark Adams and Jim Marks (Division of Facilities Management, Bathurst)

Amount awarded: $15,000

Project summary: This project will involve the installation of three rainwater tanks adjacent to Building W9 at CSU's Bathurst Campus. The tanks will save an estimated 245,000 L of potable water every year, through the use of rainwater in the building's toilets and urinals, and for irrigation of lawn and garden areas adjacent to the building.

The tanks will be installed in a prominent location, directly adjacent to Research Station Drive. Signage will further increase the prominence of the rainwater harvesting scheme, and create greater awareness among passing students, staff and visitors.

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Revegetation and rehabilitation of Village Creek (upper tributary of Hawthornden Creek)

Team:

  • James Elibank-Murray, Hedy Bryant, James Kelly and Donald Alexander (Bathurst Campus Environmental Committee)

Amount awarded: $6,600

Project summary: This project aims to enhance the biodiversity of the Village Creek riparian zone, while rehabilitating and preventing further erosion. The area, located between John Oxley Village and the new residences on the Bathurst Campus, is currently overgrown with weeds and used as a refuse for student litter. The goal is to improve the visual amenity of this area by planting native shrubs, grasses and trees. The site will be prepared beforehand with logs placed as habitat and refuge. The lower part of the gully will be filled just above the road between the two villages to prevent further erosion.

Involving students in the planting, maintenance and publicity of the project will educate students as well as creating cultural change in the way they treat the area, with the hope that they will take ownership of the area and take pride in looking after it. The project aims to take a collaborative approach, with broad community engagement through involvement of the Boundary Road Landcare Group, the Sustainability Manager for the Flannery Centre, the Jacques Park Group, Bathurst Regional Council and the Soil Conservation Service. The project will also be linked to projects in the upper and lower reaches of the Hawthornden Creek, to ensure an integrated, whole of catchment approach.

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Fire exclusion zone management

Team:

  • Peter Jones (Albury-Wodonga Campus Environmental Committee, and Division of Facilities Management, Albury-Wodonga)
  • Richard Overall and Ian Hume (Division of Facilities Management, Albury-Wodonga)

Amount awarded: $14,000

Project summary: This project aims to improve the management of the remnant forest and native grassland site on the western boundary of the Albury-Wodonga (Thurgoona) Campus. Due to the undulating topography, and the lack of fences and gates, the site is currently managed by chemical spraying and burn-offs, to control the significant fire risk presented by the site. Furthermore, construction of the new Childcare Centre will result in stormwater being directed at high speed through the remnant area, creating significant erosion issues.

This project aims to realign gates and fences to enclose the area, and create swales to divert the overland flow to the dam, thus allowing the site to be managed by strategic grazing. The nearby rainwater tanks will also be plumbed into the swales, to top up the dam during dry seasons. The project will significantly reduce fire risk, minimise erosion, allow native grasses to re-establish, assist with weed control, and slow and clean the water before it passes into the main water course.

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Student gardens

Team:

  • Gemma Hawkins (EcoActive, Wagga)
  • William Pollack (Division of Facilities Management, Wagga)
  • Peter Bell (Student Services Office, Wagga)

Amount awarded: $7,095

Project summary: This project will involve a vegetable garden and a social Community Hub space. The garden will provide vegetables for students, encouraging healthy eating and getting students, staff and the local community involved in educational garden activities. A rainwater tank will be connected, and a volunteer Garden Gang established to plant and maintain the garden.

The Community Hub will provide a space for workshops, club meetings, club meetings and social events, where people can learn about sustainable issues and solutions, and work together to make their visions of a more connected and fulfilling future a reality.

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Native nursery for teaching and biodiversity

Team:

  • Deirdre Lemerle, Peter Orchard and Toni Nugent (EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Wagga)
  • Geoff Burrows (School of Agricultural & Wine Sciences)

Amount awarded: $15,000

Project summary: This project will develop a native shrub, grass and herbaceous legume nursery that will be used for tertiary and secondary education teaching purposes, to provide material for biodiversity plantings across the campus, to train local landscape managers and farmers on the range of native species available, and to develop a supply of seed for locally useful species in collaboration with the local Aboriginal community.

Up to 60 different plant species will be grown under glasshouse conditions, and assessed for adaptation to abiotic stresses such as salinity, acidity amd heat. A communication strategy will be developed, incorporating elemenets such as field days, information sheets and environmental education programs with local schools.

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