Last week, tens of thousands of Australian students marched out of their classrooms and into the streets to demand that their lawmakers take action on climate change.
Meanwhile, some higher education providers are taking action against climate change in their own way.
Last week, Western Sydney University (WSU) was lauded for its research that shed light on the coal mines that caused water pollution in the local community.
Other universities are also making waves.
Professor Mike Xie from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) was also recognised for his efforts in the field of architectural engineering. Professor Xie, who serves as the director of RMIT’s Centre for Innovative Structure and Materials, was given a multi-million dollar grant to boost the Centre’s research program on sustainable and free-form architecture.
By playing with the designs of a structure, Professor Xie found it can be possible to not only minimise the negative environmental effects of the building but also improve its efficiency, especially if it uses energy.
Professor Xie specialises in crafting innovative software to improve the efficiency of the designs. With the grant, the Centre can now upgrade its programs in the coming years to boost their efficiency.
“The magnitude of support and the international profile that comes with this grant are immense and will allow our research program to attract top talents around the world and achieve even greater impact through our work,” Professor Xie said.
Looking out for nature
The University of Tasmania was recently recognised for its research on introducing Tasmanian Devils, an endangered animal, in Maria Island.
The team – led by School of Natural Sciences researcher Calum Cunningham – earlier feared that this could in turn endanger the local possum population in the island, especially when possums are the key prey of the Tasmanian Devils.
“In response to extinction fears, devils were introduced to Maria Island, where their abundance rapidly increased,” Cunningham said.
What the researchers found instead, is that possums were able to adapt to the presence of Tasmanian Devils within three years, successfully putting a balance of prey and predator in the island.
“This was really important for safeguarding the Devil’s future, but it also provided a unique opportunity to research how apex predators structure ecosystems,” Cunningham said.
On Wednesday, James Cook University announced they would examine the population boom of Chital Deer in Queensland, which can pose damage to crops as well as competition to cattle in the coming dry season.
The five-year study received partial funding from the Australian Research Council, which gave a $400,000 grant.
Implementing changes
While some universities focus on research, other institutions are looking into reducing their own carbon footprint.
Last April, Flinders University announced that it had set a carbon positive goal by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and reducing carbon in the atmosphere as part of the University’s Sustainability Plan. With a $2.4m fund, Flinders is set to build a solar carpark to sustainably generate their own electricity.
The new project will see some 6,000 panels installed on the carpark and rooftops.
The University said they will be rolling out electric car charging stations, reducing single-use plastic for utensils, and ramping up their reuse and recycle initiatives.