Home and Land > QLD > Brightwater
Sustainability
Brightwater named as a finalist in the UDIA Sustainable Development Awards
Stockland's Brightwater project was recently named as a finalist in the 2011 UDIA Queensland Boral Awards for Excellence, a coveted industry award for excellence in environmentally sustainable development.
The Brightwater Translocation Project, which saw the successful relocation of more than 12 hectares of rare and threatened coastal vegetation, was a joint venture between Stockland, the University of the Sunshine Coast and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. It resulted in 12.2 hectares of total health ecosystem - including native plants, topsoil and small animals - being relocated from the Brightwater site to degraded land at the University in Sippy Downs.
The translocation was one of the largest ever undertaken in the southern hemisphere and the community has continued to demonstrate sustainable development since the project was completed. Construction of the community's central lake is showcasing methods for dealing with acid sulfate soils while more than 60 per cent of new homes at Brightwater now feature some form of solar energy system.
True: sustainability is a journey we'd like to share with you
At Stockland, we believe a truly sustainable community is about protecting the natural environment and more. We think it is also about how people live their daily lives - from being connected to friends and neighbours around them to supporting the local economy and respecting the environment by choosing to build a sustainable home.
We may be Australia's biggest residential developer but we know we have not got all the answers on how to make this happen. We know sustainability is a journey and we would like to share it with you. We have started by making sure we take care of bushland, biodiversity and conserve water wherever we can.
We have also built shared BBQ areas and community parks at Brightwater so you can connect with the people around you. We would like to help you build a sustainable home that will save you money on bills and be good for the environment. While it is nice to see these and other efforts already recognised, being named as a Top 100 sustainability company globally and a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, our most important goal is to work with you to build a truly sustainable community, now and into the future.
Download Brightwater's Sustainability brochure (pdf 597kb)
Vegetation Translocation
As part of Stockland's overall planning for the new community of Brightwater, it engaged specialist environmental scientists who conducted a 20-month flora and fauna study of the area and its locality.
During the course of the study it was determined that Stockland would conserve two major parcels of land in order to avoid adverse impacts to certain species of flora and fauna found on the site.
The first conservation zone is a 25 hectare area fronting the Sunshine Motorway and the other is a 21 hectare area on the eastern side of the site fronting the Mooloolah River.
In addition to retaining these two large parcels of native vegetation, Stockland will also translocate another 12.2 hectares of native vegetation, including rare and threatened plant species, to a 15 hectare site at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Carefully selected seeds and cuttings from the site will also be propagated for establishment in alternative locations.
Stockland has a commitment to provide corporate responsibility and sustainability in all of its residential communities across the country and Brightwater is no exception.
