Research and projects
We develop and showcase innovative and wholistic nature-repair solutions at terrestrial and aquatic living laboratories, working from local- to landscape-scale and informed by Indigenous perspectives.
Research themes
The Australian Harmony Centre for Ecosystem Futures (the Harmony Centre) has three core research themes:
- Connecting landscapes
- Enabling species recovery
- Fire-resilient landscapes and post-fire recovery
- Identifying climate refugia
- Invasive species management
- Landscape and seascape restoration
- River and wetland recovery
- Biodiversity-sensitive urban design
- Equity and access to nature
- Nature-based solutions (carbon, water, pollution)
- Nature connection, human health and well-being
- Sustainable development
- Urban planning with nature
- Big data, machine learning and AI
- Decision-support tools
- Investment and governance policy
- Natural capital accounting
- Sensor technologies and Internet of Things
The Wallumattagal Living Lab
The world is becoming increasingly urbanised, with more than 60 per cent of the global population expected to live in cities by 2050. Due to the impact of development and pollution, highly urbanised areas have a significant detrimental impact on ecosystems, biodiversity and human wellbeing.
In its first stage, the Harmony Centre will activate a unique urban living lab that aims to enhance nature within the social and built environment of a city. The living lab is centred on the nature-rich Wallumattagal Campus of Macquarie University, with connections to the adjacent Lane Cove National Park and surrounding green network and waterways. The living lab’s research theme is ‘catchment to coast’, encompassing landscape-scale management for nature protection, connection and repair, based around the interconnecting thread that is the Durumbura Dhurabang (Lane Cove River).
With strong links to the Indigenous Dharug Nation, the adjacent Lane Cove National Park and the thriving Macquarie Park Business District, the Wallumattagal Living Lab is uniquely positioned to connect researchers and educators with:
- Indigenous custodians
- community groups
- industry
- local governments.
Together, we will work toward a new future, in which healthy and prosperous urban communities throughout Australia and the world live in harmony with nature.
The Durumbura Dhurabung Alliance brings together the communities, human and more-than-human, who live within, across, and are neighbours of Durumbura Dhurabang – the Lane Cove River. Led by Dharug custodians, the alliance consists of:
- researchers
- local councils
- community groups
- National Parks and Wildlife
- Macquarie Park businesses.
Together, the alliance works to support Dharug values and recognise our obligation to care for Country (Ngurra).
Through research and education, we will support the revitalisation of Dharug cultural practices, such as cultural burning, that have sustained ecological harmony in the Durumbura Dhurabang Valley for tens of thousands of years. Shared recognition of the river as a Living Being is the basis for collaboration between Dharug people and allies to nurture wellbeing of the lands, waters and skies that sustain all life and to provide a site of healing for those who need to reconnect with nature.
Learn more about the Durumbura Dhurabang Alliance
Image credit: The above image has been provided by Parryville Media.
Project team
The effects of anthropogenic climate change and urban development have devastated the terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems that sustain life and nourish our communities.
Our work within the Wallumattagal Living Lab aims to reverse the habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation of native ecosystems through ecologically-informed design and scientific evaluation of artificial, human-modified and restored habitats. Our team – already at the cutting edge of artificial habitats to support biodiversity – will apply advanced audio and visual monitoring techniques to further refine the ways that artificial habitats can be used to restore lands and waterways in urban settings. Our work within the Durumbura Dhurabang Valley will serve as a model for using sophisticated technologies to build a world in which nature and human communities thrive in harmony.
Within the Living Lab we will build on innovations such as:
- ReHabitat Pods and Plant Pods – biodegradable emergency shelters protecting wildlife from invasive predators after events such as bushfires; and cardboard tree guards with inbuilt wildlife habitat
- Living Sea Walls – eco-engineered habitat panels supporting biodiversity on harbour walls and human-made marine structures
- Frog Saunas – groundbreaking ‘frog saunas’ improve resistance to chytrid disease, a deadly fungal infection that threatens amphibian species worldwide.
Project team
- Professor Melanie Bishop – ecofriendly shorelines
- Dr Alex Carthey – habitat pods
- Dr Caragh Threlfall – bat hollows
- Dr Anthony Waddle – frog saunas
Vibrant urban green spaces support thriving ecosystems and provide sites for communities to connect with each other and the natural world. Current approaches to urban greening, however, fall short of meeting global liveability, sustainability and nature-positive goals.
A team of urban ecology, horticulture, plant ecology and social science experts are building on a University of Melbourne initiative that has expanded to include Macquarie University and the University of Sydney. Together, we are working to discover ways to:
- optimise the design of urban plantings
- quantify how increased native plant trait diversity can deliver benefits to both nature and people.
Within the Wallumattagal Living Lab we will evaluate a new approach to creating diverse urban plantings, using Australian native woody meadows. Installed in publicly accessible sites across the country, including at the Wallumattagal Living Lab, these plantings will:
- improve the appearance and function of public landscapes
- provide biodiversity-friendly habitat
- increase opportunities for community engagement with nature.
Research findings will be translated into an online decision support tool to facilitate implementation by landscape architects, urban ecologists, engineers and educators. Ultimately, our work will provide a model for biodiverse urban green spaces for communities across Australia, and globally.
Image credit: The above image has been provided by Kur-ring-gai Council.
Project team
Rivers are the arteries of the landscape. They are the link that connects catchments to the coast. For millennia, rivers have provided innate cultural, social, health, wellbeing and economic values to society, yet the health and resilience of rivers globally is increasingly threatened by climate change pressures coupled with ongoing anthropogenic disturbance and development. The maintenance and restoration of the structure, function, biodiversity and human utility of rivers is now more critical than ever.
The Macquarie University rivers research team, based within the Wallumattagal Living Lab, works closely with First Nations, industry, government and NGO partners to:
- develop nature-based and science-informed solutions for implementation in-place
- inform policy on the state and future of river and water management, domestically and internationally.
Working from inland regions to the coast, across Australia’s diverse rivers – including Durumbura Dhurabang – our world-recognised team will collaborate across ecology, geomorphology, hydrology, social and applied environmental sciences. We will combine Indigenous knowledge with cutting-edge science to:
- identify the causes of change
- understand how and where rivers can be restored to maximise environmental and cultural benefits
- improve biodiversity
- build environmental and societal resilience and recovery.
Project team
Clean urban waterways are essential to the wellbeing of natural ecosystems and human life. Improved riparian biodiversity empowers diverse communities to experience the benefits of these important blue spaces for human connection, recreation and exercise, including the immersive experience of wild swimming.
It is now time to build on the success of previous efforts, such as the Sydney-based ‘Make Parramatta River swimmable again’, the successful transformation of many international sites, including the Seine in Paris. In applying this work to the Durumbura Dhurabang, we will take a culturally grounded, community-led approach, built around the Indigenous totem for the river, the Wullumai (Black Snapper Fish).
Ultimately, we will transform expectations of urban waterways. We will demonstrate to the world that when our river systems are nourished as places for nature and the community, both humans and the natural world can thrive in harmony.
Project team
Light pollution is a rapidly emerging consequence of urbanisation. Artificial night-time light disrupts the natural world: it poses significant health risks to humans and wildlife through disruption of normal behaviours, circadian rhythms and natural cycles. Moreover, light pollution obscures the night sky and disrupts the practical and cultural connection to the stars that is common to Indigenous peoples worldwide.
Working within the Wallumattagal Living Lab, our team is taking a novel sensory-based approach to develop innovative tools to understand and manage light pollution. We are developing novel sensors capable of mapping both the brightness and spectral (colour) composition of light pollution and simultaneously deepening our understanding of animal light perception. Within the Living Lab environment, we will refine these sensors and create a field-ready system to map light pollution, particularly in areas where light disrupts habitat connectivity. Combining these fine-scale measurements with satellite imagery, we can identify and enhance potential dark infrastructure corridors.
Together, we will:
- deliver an innovative toolkit to tackle light pollution
- provide a model to manage other sensory pollutants
- empower urban planners around the world to design more harmonious, nature-rich cities.
Project team
Related research: Discover how coloured concrete improves Sydney marine life.
Prosperous economies rely on a sustainable, liveable environment. Globally, industry and governments must urgently adapt to our changing climate to withstand threats such as:
- climate-driven natural disasters
- the degradation of ecosystems that support economic activity
- the erosion of workplace health.
Natural capital accounting, which involves assessing the value of natural resources within a given ecosystem, demonstrates the close links between ecosystem health and economic and wellbeing outcomes. It empowers community leaders, governments and businesses to make nature-positive decisions. This standardised approach enables consistent tracking of environmental change and quantifies ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity, which are critical for informed urban planning and investment.
To date, natural capital accounting projects have largely been positioned outside urban centres. However, cities have a vital role to play in ecological restoration and resilience. Through a comprehensive assessment of natural capital within the Durumbura Dhurabang Valley, our team will:
- develop tools for urban natural capital accounting
- explore ways to embed natural capital into policy and governance frameworks.
This work will create opportunities for communities, industry and governments throughout both Australia and the world to engage in restorative activities that promote the health of both nature and people.