Greening Australia, with help from RPS

Greening Australia is a national not-for-profit organisation focused on solving the complex environmental challenges faced by Australia’s unique and diverse landscapes. Through large-scale ecological restoration they are rebuilding ecosystems and restoring Australia’s iconic flora and fauna. Their vision is to have healthy and productive landscapes where people and nature thrive. 

A proud corporate supporter, RPS has recently renewed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that guides our contributions to Greening Australia’s mission via corporate donation, volunteering, and pro-bono consultancy.

Pro-bono spatial support

While getting our hands dirty on local planting days is all part of the fun for RPS volunteers, the pro-bono work that our geospatial team is doing is one of the more unique ways we’re helping Greening Australia maximise its impact in 2024.

“Greening Australia relies on geospatial information coming in from lots of different users to plan planting areas, implement planting lines, and measure the impact of all of this work,” said RPS Senior Spatial Analyst and project lead, Robert Suansri.

“It’s a bit like social media for geospatial information systems (GIS) – the community is providing a constant stream of ‘user generated’ spatial data from all over the country every day. This is an incredibly powerful model, but it can present challenges when it comes to maintaining data accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.

“What is the best way to ensure anyone in the field can contribute ‘clean’ data quickly and easily? How do we implement a process to validate new data but ensure field teams can see relevant changes as soon as possible? How can you ensure technology is not a barrier for volunteers or landowners who aren’t geospatially trained? And how can we efficiently provide analytics for project managers with minimal input from the in-house GIS team?

“We’re helping Greening Australia to answer these questions through an independent assessment of its GIS systems, processes, and technologies. Where necessary, we’ll make recommendations to ensure its geospatial strategy is fit-for-purpose, now and into the future,” Robert explains.

Other exciting opportunities for the year ahead are the connections that RPS can forge between clients with site rehabilitation or landscaping requirements and Greening Australia’s native seed banks.

Susan Farr, RPS Executive Director – Place and Environment, and executive lead for sustainability under our corporate social responsibility (CSR) program said:

“Our clients are always looking to create positive impact through the work that they do, and what better way to do that than by incorporating native seeds sourced from a trusted supplier.

“This isn’t just great for the biodiversity of individual sites. The spend that organisations make on sustainable seed products goes even further as it supports Greening Australia to reinvest in its native seed bank network, along with other ecological restoration programs.

“We’re looking forward to another year supporting Greening Australia to achieve its goal of restoring Australia’s diverse landscapes and protecting biodiversity in ways that benefit communities, economies, and nature,” she said.

Keen to join a team that gives back? Check out our latest opportunities here!