NTRO’s important work in seeking better environmental outcomes within transport was on display at the recent 2023 Australasian Network for Ecology and Transport (ANET) Conference held in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Georgia O’Connor, NTRO Senior Technology Leader, Asset Performance, was among the presenters at the Conference, hosted by the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) and titled Resilience, Recovery and Restoration: Transport Ecology In A Changing World.
Georgia’s presentation was on wayside vegetation management, providing practical guidelines for local government, transport agencies and private operators.
The presentation - Critical review of current practice in Wayside Vegetation Management: strategies to realise the potential of under-appreciated transport corridors – highlighted the importance of considering vegetation in the design and planning stages of transport infrastructure to maximise total environmental, economic, social and safety benefits.
With resilience a key topic of the Conference, a highlight of Georgia’s attendance was a field trip to see first-hand how the road and rail network in Kaikoura, in New Zealand’s South Island, has recovered from an unprecedented earthquake in the region in late 2016.
Kaikoura is one of New Zealand’s most biologically diverse locations. Restoration had to balance works with minimising the impact on the environment in a region where one of New Zealand’s largest colonies of fur seals resides.
The recovery work uses innovative strategies to enhance the transport network to improve resilience, road anchors, rockfall catch fences, retaining walls and seawalls.
NTRO continues to develop best practice guidance in the sustainable transport space, and has a strong background in the transport asset management and asset performance space.
You can find out more about how we can help local government manage wayside vegetation here
