Urban development often comes at the expense of biodiversity. The GPT Group’s voluntary actions at 865 Boundary Road in greater western Melbourne show how a natural capital approach can strategically inform the protection and restoration of Australia’s biodiversity.
In 2019, GPT purchased an exgrazing greenfield development site at Truganina, 22 kilometres west of Melbourne’s CBD. The acquisition and planned development provides a tangible example of delivering on elements of GPT purpose, “We create experiences that drive positive impact for people, place and planet.” The logistics hub will support new jobs and services for a growing community on Melbourne’s western fringe. The facility has been designed to provide exceptional environmental performance, including 5 star Greenstar and upfront embodied carbon targets.
The 32.8-hectare parcel is home to patches of high value native grasslands and wetlands, and habitat for several significant species including the Growling Grass Frog, Striped Legless Lizard, and Golden Sun Moth. The site is also a place of cultural significance for the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin nation and in collaboration with Balarinji and Boon Wurrung Senior Elder, Aunty Carolyn Briggs, the development has been named Djeembana, which means “community”. This case study outlines GPT’s efforts to account for biodiversity values at a site scale, to effectively identify, prioritise and manage biodiversity risks and opportunities from our development.
Balancing growth and biodiversity
According to the 2021 State of the Environment Report, at least 19 Australian ecosystems show signs of collapse, mostly due to habitat modification or destruction.
“Greenfield developments present challenges as land within urban growth corridors is also often habitat for high value ecological communities and species,” says Phil Martin, GPT’s Biodiversity Performance Manager.
GPT is utilising the mitigation hierarchy to manage impacts from greenfield development which may include:
• Habitat loss and fragmentation
• Pollution – air, water, noise and light
• Invasive species introduction, and
• Urban heat island effects.
Greenfield development, however, also presents an opportunity to accommodate our growing cities with high performing business districts and housing supply – critical assets for growing local communities within Australia’s urban fringe.
“If carefully managed, greenfield development can limit ecological impacts while also supporting urban development” Phil says.
Djeembana falls within the Victorian Government’s West Growth Corridor, one of four growth corridors which are expected to accommodate half of Melbourne’s new housing and much of the city’s future supply of industrial land over the next four decades.
To offset the impact of development on threatened ecological communities in these growth corridors, the Victorian Government committed to establishing a 15,000-hectare Western Grassland Reserve and a 1,200-hectare Grassy Eucalypt Woodlands Reserve by 2020. As of early 2024, the Victorian Government had not met its commitments, with 80% of the land required for the reserves still under private ownership. Delays in acquiring land, and continuing threats of degradation, pose significant challenges both to the reserve program, as well as to developers with ‘net positive’ biodiversity objectives who require high quality biodiversity offsets to effectively mitigate their negative biodiversity impacts.
The big questions
How does GPT understand its interface with nature and what is our role in protecting biodiversity values and ecosystem services?
In August 2023, GPT commissioned an independent ecological contractor to undertake a flora and fauna assessment of 865 Boundary Road to assess the site’s ecology, and to propose strategies for salvage, restoration, and ecologically sensitive asset design and construction solutions. Ecologists assessed each square metre on foot, identifying remnant habitat, including habitat for state and federally listed threatened species. This included potential habitat for the Golden Sun Moth, Growling Grass Frog, Striped Legless Lizard and Tussock Skink.
“We now have a biodiversity ‘account’ for the site, which informs us on the site’s biodiversity dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities,” Phil says. “While there weren’t any threatened species identified from the assessment, we are now better able to manage our impact on the site. This means, for instance, that as rock is moved and dams drained, we have a zoologist present in case we need to salvage any animals. We can then move those animals to areas where they can be protected.”
Several recommendations were derived from the assessment, all of which have been adopted by GPT. These range from control and removal of weed species, to translocation of species to Skeleton Creek, to salvage of native grass seed to protect genetic diversity of key species.
Some recommendations will inform the design of buildings at Djeembana. The Golden Sun Moth and various migratory birds, for instance, are sensitive to light pollution, so GPT is investigating low-impact fauna sensitive lighting solutions.
The assessment also found the site held isolated patches of remnant native grassland parcels suited to seed collection.
“We’ve collected enough seed to generate around 5,000 tussocks of Kangaroo Grass – a species that is structurally important to support the site’s grassland community,” Phil explains. The seeds have been dried and stored; they will be cultivated as tubestock at a wholesale nursery for use by GPT in revegetation activities.
To support the Growling Grass Frog’s habitat condition and extent, the assessment advised placing rock piles and logs adjacent to the banks of Skeleton Creek. Additionally, by implementing simple biosecurity protocols during construction, GPT can also prevent the spread of pathogens lethal to the frogs.
Another recommendation includes using indigenous species within the asset’s proposed garden beds to support the local ecology. This offers additional benefits beyond biodiversity. Indigenous species cost less to establish and maintain, are resilient to drought, heatwaves and fire, protect local landscape character, are culturally sensitive, and when incorporated into urban sensitive water design features, reduce water and nutrient runoff.
GPT has established working relationships with a range of environmental practitioners, including ecologists. Actions to protect biodiversity at the Boundary Road site are helping to upskill our development teams and build capacity across the entire property and construction value chain.
“Our ‘natural capital account’ helps us understand the biodiversity dependencies, impact, risks and opportunities of our development at Boundary Road, and how to strategically allocate resources to improve biodiversity outcomes, including restoring native grassland communities adjacent to Skeleton Creek.” - Phil Martin, Biodiversity Performance Manager, The GPT Group.