Training Proposal for Environment and

Sustainability Program
Toohey Forest Environmental Centre
Griffith University, Australia

Prepared for: Carelink Asia Training &

Xavier High School

International Business Development Unit

Tel: +617 3735 7091, Fax: +617 3735 5980
http://www.griffith.edu.au/international/international-business-development-unit
PART 1 – Proposal

Griffith University
At Griffith, we believe in, strive for and celebrate the Remarkable
The remarkable people who better our world, the
remarkable experiences that transform people
and communities, and the remarkable
contributions that change the future forever.
We know success often comes from being an
exception to the norm—challenging convention,
adapting and innovating, creating bold new
trends and pioneering solutions ahead of their
time. At Griffith, remarkable is the norm.
Since we started teaching over 40 years ago, we're deeply connected to our region, socially conscious
and environmentally aware, an integral part of the community and heavily industry focused. We’ve also
become a comprehensive, research-intensive university, ranking in the top 3% of universities worldwide.
Our teaching and research spans five campuses in South East Queensland and all disciplines, while
our network of more than 200,000 graduates extends around the world.
We believe in the potential for all people to become remarkable. Remarkable is earned.
Griffith University is one of Australia’s most innovative and dynamic public universities located in the
nation’s fastest growth region, the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor. Griffith University is ranked in the top
400, which places Griffith in the top 5% of institutions worldwide (Academic Ranking of World
Universities, 2012).

It is home to approximately 43,000 students studying one of 268 undergraduate or 382 postgraduate
programs. Griffith is Australia’s 9th largest higher education institution by student load and 14th by
research income generated through 32 Research Centres. Consistently ranked among Australia’s top
ten research institutions, Griffith is committed to developing research centres of national and
international significance.

Ranking in the top three per cent of universities worldwide, Griffith offers degrees in: medicine; dentistry;
paramedicine, nursing, midwifery and allied health; business and government; criminology and law;
education; engineering and information technology; environment, planning and architecture; humanities
and languages; music; science and aviation; and visual and creative arts.

With a focus on industry connections and hands-on experience, Griffith University’s global perspective
is preparing graduates for tomorrow’s international job market. Griffith’s teaching excellence has been
consistently recognised by prestigious Australian Learning and Teaching Council Grants awarded to
academic staff for Teaching Excellence.

International Business Development Unit

The International Business Development Unit specialises in the professional management of
international projects, delivering a wide variety of flexible, distance, online and traditional based
education projects on budget and on time, made possible by an adherence to standard project
management methodologies.
With over 27 years’ experience, our team combines world-class education with our leading expertise in
international project management to deliver professional development courses.

Contact details:
Ms Helen Bulle, Manager, International Business Development Unit
Griffith International
170 Kessels Road
Nathan, Qld 4111
Australia
Email: h.bulle@griffith.edu.au
Website: https://www.griffith.edu.au/international/international-business-development-unit

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Toohey Forest Environmental Education Centre @ Nathan Campus
Toohey Forest Environmental Education Centre (TFEEC) is a Department of Education, Training and
Employment facility located in the sustainably designed Griffith University EcoCentre. The facility is
located at the Nathan Campus, approximately ten (10) kilometres south of the Brisbane CBD,
surrounded by the natural backdrop of Toohey Forest.
At 640 hectares in size, Toohey Forest is one of the few remaining ‘green lungs’ of Brisbane and
provides a vital habitat for many native plants and animals once common across South East
Queensland. In particular, Toohey Forest is home to more than 75 species of birds, including the rarely
seen Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua).
Toohey Forest has an extensive network of paved walking tracks which provide for wheelchair access.
The walking tracks meander through predominantly open eucalypt forest and heath, and isolated
pockets of vine forest and closed scrub located along the creeks and gullies.

PART 2 – Program Content

The program will take place over a two-week period at Griffith University’s Nathan campus.
It will involve ‘hands on’ activities in Toohey Forest and the academic program will be interspersed with
local excursions and cultural activities.

Academic Activities
Planning and Design for Sustainability
Planning and Design for Sustainability is a whole day program introducing students to the social,
economic and environmental considerations for sustainable development. The program enables
students to develop an appreciation of the links between resource use, conservation and environmental
sustainability.
Students make and test predictions of energy consumption of a variety of household appliances using
energy data loggers (PowerMates). This assists students to learn about their own energy consumption
and financial and environmental benefits of reduced energy use.
A self-guided tour of the EcoCentre is undertaken by students to identify the environmental benefits of
a range of passive and active sustainable design features (e.g. rammed earth walls, natural ventilation,
solar energy generation and water conservation). Students also visit the Sir Samuel Griffith Centre at
Nathan Campus to see Australia’s first zero-emission, self-powering teaching and research facility. The
building has been given a 6-star green rating and runs on hydrogen and solar power.
Students apply their new knowledge in small groups to construct a sustainable house. Groups consider
various features and budget constraints in an effort to reduce their resource use and environmental
impact. After constructing their house, students justify and discuss their decisions.
Sustaining Biodiversity
Sustaining Biodiversity is a whole day program focusing on human induced environmental changes that
challenge the biodiversity within Toohey Forest. Throughout the day students will consider the cause
and consequence of environmental change both in the past and present as well as consider a preferred
and probable future for the forest.
At the centre students use aerial photographs, dating back to 1936 to identify land use changes and
their impact on the biodiversity of Toohey Forest and the surrounding area.
Whilst in Toohey Forest students will undertake a quadrat study and create simple annotated digital
photos Topics investigated include habitat loss, fragmentation, changing biodiversity, urban
development, fire, litter, erosion and introduced plant and animal species. Examples of both positive and
negative human impact on the forest are explored.
To conclude the program students work collaboratively in small groups to develop a future development
plan for Toohey Forest. The plan designates areas best suited to development, recreation, research and
education. Students consider the impact each activity will have upon the environment when justifying
their decisions.
Ecosystems
Ecosystems is a whole day program providing an insight into the interrelationship between biotic and
abiotic factors that make up freshwater and terrestrial (land) ecosystems.

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In carrying out their fieldwork, students will utilise a variety of equipment and data collection techniques.
In small groups, students measure and record abiotic components for each ecosystem and make
connections on how these may impact on and influence biotic components. They will also have the
opportunity to collect and classify live specimens using a variety of equipment (e.g. sweep nets, stereo
microscopes) and taxonomy tools.
At the completion of their fieldwork, students will analyse the data collected from the different
ecosystems to assist them to draw conclusions on the condition of the ecosystems, as well as propose
management strategies for the future.

Cultural Excursions
Brisbane Cultural Precinct
Science Centre and QLD Museum
Housing permanent and changing exhibitions the Science Centre provides in-depth education
experiences and innovative Science Theatre shows. The QLD Museum is a museum of natural history,
cultural heritage, science and human achievement that tells the changing story of Queensland.
Part of Brisbane’s Cultural Precinct, the Science Centre and Museum are within walking distance of the
Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Performing Arts Centre and the State Library of
Queensland. The Cultural Precinct sits alongside South Bank, a vibrant mix of parkland, recreational
and commercial space on the Brisbane River across from the Central Business District.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary with over 130 koalas. Hold
a koala, hand feed kangaroos and meet a large variety of Australian wildlife in beautiful, natural settings.
Rochedale Landfill
Brisbane City Council has one world-class, engineered landfill site at Rochedale, where waste from
Brisbane residents is buried if it can't be recycled or reused. Waste is taken from the disposal area at
each resource recovery centre to the landfill site. This site is also where Council’s Towards Zero Waste
Education Centre is located and it is a major generator of green energy.
The Rochedale Landfill began operating in 1993 as a world-class facility with landfill gas recovery,
leachate collection and treatment, plus a comprehensive range of environmental monitoring.
Waste from ‘the pit' in the disposal area at each resource recovery centre (previously known as transfer
stations or rubbish tips) is compacted before being transferred in large semi-trailer trucks to the landfill
site. The semi-trailers are weighed before emptying the waste onto the landfill ‘tipping face’, where it is
evenly distributed, compacted and buried in engineered landfill ‘cells’.
Each cell has a liner of thick clay just under a metre thick as well as a 1.5mm layer of high density
polyethylene plastic. This liner creates a barrier between the waste and the natural environment to
prevent contamination of the surrounding area. A drop of liquid would take 300 years to pass through
this liner.
Once a cell is full, it is capped with clay similar to the base of the landfill and then topped with a thick
layer of soil and, finally, resurfaced with turf, bushes and trees. As each cell is filled up, the waste is
delivered to a new cell within the Rochedale landfill site.

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Sample Program Schedule - Week 1

Morning session Afternoon Session

Day
9am-12noon 1-3pm

Sunday Arrive and Transfer to Accommodation

Cultural Activity
Orientation
Monday Indigenous Workshop
Program Induction
and Boomerang Throwing
Campus Tour

Tuesday Toohey Forest Environmental Education Centre

Planning and Design for Sustainability

Wednesday Cultural Excursion

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Thursday Toohey Forest Environmental Education Centre

Sustaining Biodiversity

Cultural Excursion Mount-
Friday
Cootha and Botanical Gardens
Cultural Excursion
Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium
Visit

Saturday
Free Day

Sunday
Free Day

Free time Academic Activities Cultural Activities

* This proposed program schedule is subject to change. Any changes

necessary will be further notified.

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Sample Program Schedule - Week 2

Day Morning session Afternoon Session

9am-12noon 1-3pm

Green Energy Lab

Monday Engaging Students in Scientific Queensland Urban Utilities
Investigations Relating to Sewage Treatment Plant Visit
Renewable Energy

Tuesday Cultural Excursion

Gold Coast

Wednesday Toohey Forest Environmental Education Centre

Ecosystems

Thursday Rochedale Landfill Visit

(Towards Zero Waste Centre)

Friday Program Wrap Up Free time

Departure Briefing Pack and prepare for departure
and Graduation

Saturday
Departure

Free time Academic Activities Cultural Activities

* This proposed program schedule is subject to change. Any changes

necessary will be further notified.

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Part 3 – Quotation

Program
Program costs are dependent on a group of a minimum of 10 participants with a minimum age of 15
years old in 2018 based at Griffith’s Brisbane campus.

Program
Quote Price: AUD$3,550 per participant (price based on a minimum of 10 participants and
is inclusive of GST)
AUD$35,300 Total program costs (inclusive of GST)

This cost includes (Program):

• Program delivery as outlined in schedule

• Program development fee
• Administration fees
• Airport transfers on arrival and departure
• Local transportation fees between accommodation and Griffith University
• Transfers for site visits and site visit fees
• Welcome function
• Graduation ceremony and farewell afternoon tea
• Certificate of Program Completion
• Excursions as outlined in the schedule
• 2 weeks homestay accommodation for accompanying staff members

Cost does not include:

• Flights and Visa costs

• Travel Insurance
• Health Insurance
• Sim Cards

Homestay
Homestay Accommodation includes:

• Homestay Placement Fee (including GST)

• Homestay Accommodation in double placements (2 students at the same house)
• 3 Meals per day

***Important note: The minimum age for the homestay Accommodation is 15 years of age.

The following payment policy will apply:

One payment of 100% of the total program cost will be made on invoice after the contract is signed and
prior to workshop delivery.

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