Sustainability and Environment

Aitken College Biodiversity Audit

Earlier this year students at Aitken College undertook a comprehensive biodiversity audit of the school. The data collected will assist Aitken College maintain its Biodiversity module (RSS), raise awareness as well as educate the community of the importance of Biodiversity and improve Aitken College’s Biodiversity in the future.

The chart below shows how Aitken College achieves a Biodiversity Score of 85

Attribute	Description	Ranking	Score
Number of Trees/ha =	< 10 trees / ha	Red	0
number of trees/number of hectares in the school	10 – 20 trees / ha	Yellow	5
	> 20 trees / ha	Deep Green	10
Number of Habitat Trees/ha =	No large trees	Red	0
number of habitat trees/number of hectares in the school	< 5 habitat trees/ha	Orange	2
	5 – 10 habitat trees/ha	Yellow	5
	> 10 habitat trees/ha	Light Green	7
	> 10 native habitat trees/ha	Deep Green	10
Understorey and Vegetation Structure Underline when present:	< 5% understorey cover in the school ground	Red	0
Understorey: Shrub (1-5m), Small Shrub < 1m, Tall grass > 1m, Scrambler/climber	5 –15% understorey cover in the school ground	Orange	7
Herb-layer: Fern, Moss/Lichen, Orchids, Native Grasses < 0.5m, Other	15 – 25% understorey cover in the school ground	Yellow	13
	> 25% understorey cover in the school ground	Light Green	19
	> 25% native understorey cover in the school ground	Deep Green	25
Environmental Weeds	No action taken to identify or remove weeds	Red	0
	Weeds present - some action taken to manage weeds	Yellow	8
	No weeds present	Deep Green	15
	< 25% cover of organic litter in gardens	Red	0
	25 – 49% cover of organic litter in gardens	Orange	2
Organic litter includes leaves, twigs, small branches, tanbark and mulch < 30 cm circumference	50 – 74% cover of organic litter in gardens	Yellow	5
	75 – 99% cover of organic litter in gardens	Light Green	7
	100% cover of organic litter in gardens	Deep Green	10
Logs and Rocks/ha =	No Logs or rocks	Red	0
number of logs and rocks/number of hectares in the school	3 – 5 logs or rocks/ha	Yellow	3
	> 5 logs or rocks/ha	Deep Green	5
Soil Management	Soil issues present, no action or plan to manage these made	Red	0
	Soil issues present, some attempt made to manage these	Yellow	3
	Soil managed effectively	Deep Green	5
Habitat Extras Composting area, vegetable garden/orchard, lids on bins, indigenous plant propagation,	0 enhancements underlined	Red	0
Lizard lounge, wetland, plan to decrease rubbish, bird bath, nesting boxes, animals, Indigenous food garden, plants in school ground identified and labelled, native plants naturally regenerating	< 3 enhancements underlined	Orange	5
	3 – 6 enhancements underlined	Yellow	10
	7 – 10 enhancements underlined	Light Green	15
	> 10 enhancements underlined	Deep Green	20
TOTAL (out of 100)	Aim for score > 75		85

Recommendations to further improve Aitken College’s Biodiversity include:

Install nesting boxes for native animals
Develop habitats for endangered species specific to the area – Golden Sun Moth, Growling Grass Frog
Plant more trees along school entrance – connect to wildlife corridor, increase tree canopy, reduce erosion and pollutants
Plant trees in Dunhelen area – provide shade for students
Continue phase 3 of Melbourne Water creek revegetation project – help reduce environmental weeds
Install bird baths around the school
Expand the number and variety of plants in the Indigenous food garden

Mr Dwayne Ganci

Sustainability Coordinator