Environment & Sustainability

Environment & Sustainability

About

The ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society is one of the few places where economists and hydrologists, historians and ecologists, foresters, geographers, political scientists and climatologists work together on the environmental challenges and opportunities facing us.

Ranked #1 University in Australia for Natural Sciences (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024), we are a major focus for integrated environmental research and training. Through links to other ANU schools, external research organisations and the policy community, we bring our skills and perspectives to bear on issues such as biodiversity loss, water, energy, drought and climate change.

We offer perspectives on complex environmental and sustainable development challenges, drawing on decades of quality empirical and applied research. Research focuses on understanding environmental changes across a range of scales in time and place, enabling the school to provide past, present and future narratives to guide science, policy and management.

The School has a particularly strong track record researching long-term environment and sustainability issues and challenges, and has extensive national and international networks with governments, NGOs, research organisations and the private sector, offering significant longitudinal expertise, knowledge and influence.

Of particular importance to us is our capacity to encourage sound policy and governance outcomes that support sustainability. We offer this guidance through a number of avenues: by providing professional development for policy leaders; training for environmental leadership; partnerships with practitioners; and offering support for those holding governance roles at local, state, territory, federal or global levels.

Facilities

Kioloa Campus

The 348-hectare ANU Kioloa Coastal Campus is one of Australia’s premier field stations, offering a diverse ecology which encourages research across all scientific disciplines.

View the facility
A group of people attentively watching a demonstration of 3D printers in a workshop setting.

The ANU MakerSpace is an initiative by the Research School of Physics and Engineering, where we know people learn by doing.  

View the facility
National Arboretum Canberra research site

The National Arboretum Canberra research site provides researchers with a unique environment to investigate climate variability, climate change, water use and precision measurement of trees and forests.

View the facility
A row of large server cabinets decorated with colorful nebula imagery in a modern data center.

The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) is home to the Southern Hemisphere’s most highly-integrated supercomputer and filesystems, Australia’s highest performance research cloud, and one of the nation’s largest data catalogues—all supported by an expert team.

View the facility
A laptop, microphone, headphones, and audio mixer on a textured gray surface, suggesting a podcast or recording setup.

The CPAS Podcast Studio is open to staff and students throughout ANU (not just scientists!) to record and grow podcast series. Your success is our success: we want to help you make the biggest and best podcast series in the world.  

View the facility
Science precinct

Our new $240-million science precinct on the ANU campus has state-of-the-art biological and chemical research laboratories, as well as a teaching hub.

View the facility

News

Building facade.

We know feral cats are an enormous problem for wildlife, but pet cats are wreaking havoc too.

Read the article
Molly Folkard amongst ferns at the Botanic Gardens.

As part of an internship at ANU, Molly Folkard has just made an important contribution to Australia’s food waste waste strategy – while still an undergraduate.

Read the article
Damon Hall/Unsplash, CC BY

Are you feeling anxious or irritated during the coronavirus lockdown? Do you constantly want to get up and move? Maybe you need a moment to engage with nature.

Read the article
Prof Nerilie Abram holds up a coral core in the lab.

Scientists across Australia will get the chance to show the nation how their work is for the public good, under a new partnership between ANU and the ABC.

Read the article
Child holding up rainbow painting

We’ve entered a new reality. It’s not great, but it has something going for it: we don’t know how this one ends. Yet.

Read the article
Ecologist, Kate Grarock.

How does it feel when your 'happy place' is razed in the summer fires? And where do you go to from there?

Read the article