Backyards for Biodiversity SEQ – School Program
A Discussion Paper for South-East Queensland Schools
Schools occupy thousands of hectares of land across South-East Queensland.
Collectively, they represent one of the largest networks of publicly managed green space in the region. Yet much of this land currently consists of buildings, sports fields, hard surfaces and low-biodiversity lawn.
This discussion paper proposes the concept of Schools for Biodiversity SEQ, a regional initiative encouraging schools to increase biodiversity across the lands they manage while simultaneously enhancing educational outcomes, student wellbeing, community engagement and school reputation.
The concept is simple:
Every school can become both a place of learning and a place of conservation.
Rather than viewing biodiversity as an occasional classroom topic, schools can actively participate in restoring local ecosystems while providing rich educational opportunities for students from Prep to Year 12.
Schools don't just educate children—they shape the landscapes that children come to regard as normal.
The Big Picture
South-East Queensland is one of Australia's biodiversity hotspots.
The region supports:
- More than 300 bird species.
- Hundreds of butterfly species.
- Thousands of native plants.
- Unique ecosystems including:
- Coastal heath
- Wallum
- Eucalypt forests
- Rainforests
- Wetlands
- Grasslands
- Mangroves
At the same time:
- Urbanisation continues.
- Habitat fragmentation increases.
- Children's contact with nature declines.
- Schools face increasing pressure to provide authentic learning experiences.
Schools sit at the intersection of these challenges.
Every school ground can become:
- Habitat.
- Outdoor classroom.
- Citizen science centre.
- Community demonstration site.
- Climate adaptation project.
What Might a Biodiversity School Look Like?
Not every school will be able to do everything.
The aim is not perfection. The aim is continual improvement.
Examples might include:
- Native garden beds planted with local native plants.
- Butterfly gardens.
- Native pollinator gardens
- Indigenous ‘Bush Tucker’ gardens
- Bird and insect ‘baths’.
- Nest boxes – mammals, birds. Bat Boxes.
- Native bee hotels.
- Frog ponds.
- Food forests.
- Recognition and removal of weed [exotic] plant species and replacement with native species.
- Native grass meadows.
- Learning gardens – identified and labelled plants.
- Wildlife monitoring projects. Citizen Science projects on site such as iNaturalist, Ebird, Butterflies Australia.
- Significant tree planting on site
- Ecosystem restoration projects on site or adjacent.
- Wildlife corridors.
- Wetland construction.
- Community biodiversity hub.
- integration of on-site resources into curriculum
schools for biodiversity checklist
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Ten Easy Things Every School Can Do!
Schools for Biodiversity SEQ Checklist
1. Plant local native plants.
Choose plants native to your local area. They provide the best food and habitat for local birds, butterflies, native bees and other wildlife.
2. Create a diversity of habitats.
Plant trees, shrubs, grasses, vines and groundcovers. A diversity of habitats supports a diversity of wildlife.
3. Reduce unnecessary lawn.
Where practical, replace areas of lawn and exotic plantings with native gardens, meadows and habitat corridors.
4. Provide water for wildlife.
Bird baths, frog ponds, wetlands and rain gardens can become valuable habitat while creating exciting outdoor learning opportunities.
5. Create homes for wildlife.
Retain logs and rocks where safe to do so, install nest boxes and insect hotels, use mulch, and create places where wildlife can shelter and breed.
6. Let nature be a little wild.
Not every corner of a school needs to be neat and manicured. Small areas of natural vegetation provide important habitat and become living classrooms.
7. Protect wildlife.
Manage pets where relevant, reduce hazards to wildlife, minimise window strikes where practical, and make the school grounds a safe place for native animals.
8. Reduce chemical use.
Minimise herbicides, pesticides and unnecessary chemicals wherever practical. Healthy soils, native plants and natural ecological processes often provide safer, longer-term solutions.
9. Learn, discover and share.
Encourage students to explore nature through citizen science, wildlife monitoring, outdoor learning and environmental stewardship.
10. Inspire your community.
Every biodiversity project can inspire students, families and the wider community. By creating beautiful native landscapes and thriving wildlife habitats, schools help make biodiversity the new normal.