Laser cleaning processes for Roads and Maritime Services bridges. This project aims to develop innovative laser cleaning processes to conserve the structural integrity and iconic status of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. New laser technologies offer the opportunity to remove lead-based paint and clean the bridge’s metal structures and granite pylons offering advantages unavailable with current techniques. The expected outcomes will be new best-practice laser conservation techniques usable for both ha ....Laser cleaning processes for Roads and Maritime Services bridges. This project aims to develop innovative laser cleaning processes to conserve the structural integrity and iconic status of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. New laser technologies offer the opportunity to remove lead-based paint and clean the bridge’s metal structures and granite pylons offering advantages unavailable with current techniques. The expected outcomes will be new best-practice laser conservation techniques usable for both hand-held and automated systems to preserve one of the most iconic bridges in the world. This will reduce maintenance frequency and cost, restore the beauty of the bridge, retain its engineering significance and provide a baseline process for cleaning of other historical large scale metal and stone heritage objects.Read moreRead less
Snails to the rescue! Conservation of Australia’s island invertebrates. This project aims to deliver an exemplar industry network model for conservation on Australia’s islands which are hotspots both of biodiversity and of extinctions. Protecting species on islands is therefore key to securing Australia’s biodiversity. We will secure Norfolk Island's 60 species of land snails via in situ and ex situ conservation with six key industry partners. The project expects to unite conservation actions ac ....Snails to the rescue! Conservation of Australia’s island invertebrates. This project aims to deliver an exemplar industry network model for conservation on Australia’s islands which are hotspots both of biodiversity and of extinctions. Protecting species on islands is therefore key to securing Australia’s biodiversity. We will secure Norfolk Island's 60 species of land snails via in situ and ex situ conservation with six key industry partners. The project expects to unite conservation actions across research, governments, and industry. Expected outcomes of this project include Norfolk Island emerging as a leader in global conservation. This should provide significant benefits such as a model for conservation that is applicable to thousands of isolated, range-restricted invertebrate species across Australia.Read moreRead less
Upscaling genetic management of wildlife populations. Earth’s biodiversity is in crisis: many species are threatened with extinction and need our help. Genetic management helps to stop extinctions and promotes the health and continued existence of our wildlife. This project aims to understand how to use genome science to support preservation of four endangered species in changing climates and apply these learnings to help other species to survive and thrive. Anticipated outcomes include innovati ....Upscaling genetic management of wildlife populations. Earth’s biodiversity is in crisis: many species are threatened with extinction and need our help. Genetic management helps to stop extinctions and promotes the health and continued existence of our wildlife. This project aims to understand how to use genome science to support preservation of four endangered species in changing climates and apply these learnings to help other species to survive and thrive. Anticipated outcomes include innovative approaches to aid conservation decision-making, automated analyses of genome data, and improved conservation training. The expected benefits include larger, healthier populations of four species, new ways of saving other species, and the provision of important resources for conservation managers.Read moreRead less
More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full s ....More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full suite of benefits derived from protected areas. The framework will provide a robust evidence base for the range of benefits provided by private protected areas. This will be vital to manage and grow Australia’s protected area network to reduce biodiversity and environmental declines, and meet international commitments.Read moreRead less
Everyday Heritage. This project aims to uncover everyday but overlooked forms of Australian heritage. Working collaboratively to bridge academic and industry practice, it seeks to develop innovative methods with outcomes expected to include enhanced collaboration between heritage, digital humanities, and historical research, and new resources for communities and the heritage sector. This should provide significant social and cultural benefits such as more inclusive forms of heritage, and broader ....Everyday Heritage. This project aims to uncover everyday but overlooked forms of Australian heritage. Working collaboratively to bridge academic and industry practice, it seeks to develop innovative methods with outcomes expected to include enhanced collaboration between heritage, digital humanities, and historical research, and new resources for communities and the heritage sector. This should provide significant social and cultural benefits such as more inclusive forms of heritage, and broader intellectual and practical understandings of shared history and citizenship. The project will promote public debate on the role of the past in modern Australia through a range of new forms of history and heritage, digital resources and heritage management tools.
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Using pollinators to optimise plant conservation translocation. This project aims to address the low success rate of conservation translocations of threatened orchids. While pollinators are critical for plant reproduction, they are very rarely considered when establishing new populations of endangered species. Our innovative approach to conservation translocation involves using pollinators in site selection, developing strategies to mitigate risks of hybridisation, and optimising plant reproduct ....Using pollinators to optimise plant conservation translocation. This project aims to address the low success rate of conservation translocations of threatened orchids. While pollinators are critical for plant reproduction, they are very rarely considered when establishing new populations of endangered species. Our innovative approach to conservation translocation involves using pollinators in site selection, developing strategies to mitigate risks of hybridisation, and optimising plant reproduction through planting design. The key outcome will be best-practice protocols to fast-track the establishment of self-sustaining populations. Due to their novelty, the approaches we develop will benefit plant translocations worldwide, and lead to enhanced conservation outcomes at reduced financial cost. Read moreRead less
Heritage of the air: how aviation transformed Australia. This project aims to generate new understandings of how aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, and how the technology of global mobility has shaped people, cultures and communities. Whilst aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, its heritage is under-appreciated and at risk. The project will build a partnership between the aviation industry, community groups, museums and a ....Heritage of the air: how aviation transformed Australia. This project aims to generate new understandings of how aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, and how the technology of global mobility has shaped people, cultures and communities. Whilst aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, its heritage is under-appreciated and at risk. The project will build a partnership between the aviation industry, community groups, museums and a multidisciplinary academic team to develop fresh insights from under-utilised sources of aviation heritage, communicate their unique stories to the public through innovative exhibitions and publications, and help conserve it for future generations. As a result, the project will make an important contribution to culture and society by enabling community access to neglected and at-risk sources of aviation heritage, and engage the public’s fascination with aviation through new interpretations of its extraordinary social and cultural impact.Read moreRead less
Cryobiotechnology innovations to help fight the Myrtle rust pandemic. This project aims to mitigate the impacts of Myrtle rust, a disease affecting >380 Australian taxa in the family Myrtaceae, by developing advanced techniques to conserve susceptible species. The project is expected to generate the biotechnology advances necessary to conserve multiple taxa on the brink of extinction, including species important to our emerging native botanicals industry. Expected outcomes for the project includ ....Cryobiotechnology innovations to help fight the Myrtle rust pandemic. This project aims to mitigate the impacts of Myrtle rust, a disease affecting >380 Australian taxa in the family Myrtaceae, by developing advanced techniques to conserve susceptible species. The project is expected to generate the biotechnology advances necessary to conserve multiple taxa on the brink of extinction, including species important to our emerging native botanicals industry. Expected outcomes for the project include novel protocols for initiating and maintaining sterile tissue cultures and advanced techniques for cryopreservation of susceptible species, providing insurance against extinction and sources of ex situ material for re-establishing the species in safe sites and for research into disease resistance. Read moreRead less
Photogrammetric Reconstruction for Underwater Virtual Heritage Experiences. This project aims to enable significant underwater cultural heritage sites such as shipwrecks to be recreated in immersive underwater virtual heritage experiences. Photogrammetric 3D reconstruction techniques will be used to generate complex digital 3D models of shipwreck sites from hundreds of thousands of underwater images. This will allow vivid experiences to be created which explain the stories of these wrecks. The p ....Photogrammetric Reconstruction for Underwater Virtual Heritage Experiences. This project aims to enable significant underwater cultural heritage sites such as shipwrecks to be recreated in immersive underwater virtual heritage experiences. Photogrammetric 3D reconstruction techniques will be used to generate complex digital 3D models of shipwreck sites from hundreds of thousands of underwater images. This will allow vivid experiences to be created which explain the stories of these wrecks. The project will conduct audience engagement studies to recommend the most appropriate methods to implement underwater virtual heritage experiences for Australian audiences. The sites which will be used as test datasets are some of the most significant Australian shipwreck sites, including HMAS Sydney (II) and HMAS AE1.Read moreRead less
Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining ....Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining rehabilitation sites. Expected outcomes include clear industry guidelines that refine seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration for current and future climates. This should provide significant benefits for improved ecological restoration outcomes when using native seed today and into the future.Read moreRead less