Two swift parrot chicks sit in the hands of an ecologist.

Biodiversity & conservation

The Fenner School is a world-leading centre for interdisciplinary research on the conservation and management of Australia’s distinctive biodiversity.

About

The Fenner School is a world-leading centre for interdisciplinary research on the conservation and management of Australia’s distinctive biodiversity.

Our innovative research is helping to stem the rate of species endangerment and extinction by informing best practice management and policy for long-term biodiversity conservation.

Groups

An eastern bettong.

We are a lab group at the Fenner School of Environment and Society researching conservation in the context of rewilding, genetics, translocations, and species coexistence. Led by Professor Adrian Manning, we aim to understand and restore ecosystems, prioritising species that shape landscapes and promote biodiversity.

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Two researchers doing field work on a forest floor in Tasmania.

The Difficult Bird Research Group (DBRG), led by Prof. Rob Heinsohn at the Fenner School, ANU, seeks to promote understanding of the ecology and conservation of Australia’s rarest and most elusive threatened bird species. Such species are often hard to find, occur in wild and rugged terrain, and move around the landscape, and are consequently put in the ‘too hard basket”; however the DBRG develop new cutting edge techniques that address the challenges posed by these species, and apply the knowledge gained to manage them more effectively.

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A researcher kayaks down a river in a yellow inflatable raft.

It's crucial that we as a society communicate the huge importance of this system, celebrate its majestic wonder - and continue efforts to preserve and encourage river stewardship for future generations.

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A student takes notes at the edge of a dam with eucalyptus trees and kangaroos in the distance.

Sustainable Farms draws upon research programs across the Australian National University, focussing on three key research topics: Healthy Farms, Healthy Farmers, and Healthy Profits.

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Projects

Researchers at the Fenner School have been working in the Tumut and nearby Nanangroe regions west of Canberra for 25 year. The work is exploring the impacts on biodiversity of plantation establishment on semi-cleared farmland.

Student intake

Open for Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD students

People

This research looks at the identifying the costs and benefits of different trade off options so that governments in particular, and societies more broadly, can take better informed decisions around water use in China & SE Asia.

People

  • David Dumaresq

Members

Academic staff

Photo of Associate Professor Gibbons

Professor

Geoff Heard smiles and holds a lizard

Research Fellow

Photo of Rob Heinsohn

Professor

Peter stands and faces the camera in a blue shirt.

Professor

Professor

Affiliate

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Emeritus Professor

Honorary Lecturer

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Honorary Professor

Honorary Professor

News

Picture of a Kangaroo

Australia needs to overhaul how overabundant kangaroos are managed, rather than letting them starve or be culled as pests, according to an expert from The Australian National University (ANU).

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A group of scientists has written to the state's environment minister, calling for the extermination or removal of all horses in national parks, including Kosciuszko.

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photo of Professor Saul Cunningham

Prof Saul Cunningham spoke to ABC Radio's PM program about biodiversity loss.

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As winner of the 2021 National Young Landcare Leadership Award, Ms Gilbert intends to use the recognition to help promote caring for country methods passed on by her parents.

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Landscape of our hearts book cover and photo of Dr Matt Colloff

As anyone who even just written a short essay can attest, writing a book is no easy task. How’d he do it? A rigidly-self-enforced daily target of at least 500 words a day, walking the dog along Ginninderra Creek, and a deep personal change that came from writing from a growing personal relationship with the land.

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Graphic showing a map to explain how the national scorecard will operate

For the first time, the public will be able to track the health of those two key conservation areas as part of a $10 million program to boost science and park management.

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Events

A serene rural dam with still, dark water reflecting a blue sky and scattered white clouds. The bank in the foreground is edged with dry grasses and reeds, and contains a plastic crate holding a yellow portable pump hooked up by hoses to a floating sampling device resting on the water. On the opposite shore, gently sloping pasture is dotted with eucalyptus and other native trees under a partly cloudy sky
Friday, 22 Aug 2025, 12 - 1pm

Teal carbon ecosystems are freshwater wetlands, like lakes, ponds, farm dams and reservoirs. Equivalent to blue carbon (coastal wetlands), they can regulate greenhouse gases and mitigate the effects of climate change.

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