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