Edith Cowan University Biodiversity Walk

Welcome, to the Edith Cowan University Walk Trail. This trail has been designed to provide information to visitors on the campus about the biodiversity and sustainable initiatives of Edith Cowan University.

Along the way, there will be information about the variety of flora and fauna, and information about the campus architecture and facilities.

Jarrah struts create the curving form that fans out from the ground, producing an organic structure, framing a new ceremonial open space and reaching up towards the sky.

The Jarrah screen provides shelter, shade and structural support to the assembly of work areas, courtyards, a café and gallery spaces.

The sustainable architecture concentrates air circulation between the timber screen and the main enclosure. Stairways and elevators are located in this shaded zone, drawing cool air into the building and moving it between the floors and wings of the building.

The project has received critical acclaim, being awarded the NZIA Auckland Architecture Award and being shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival.

Architects: FJMT/Spowers

The Path of Honour is inscribed with the names and contributions of extraordinary individuals, groups or organisations from all walks of life. Honourees are recognised at a ceremony to officially unveil the new tile, with friends and family also invited to share this special occasion. All funds received through the Path of Honour program go to the ECU Foundation, which is used to support ECU to fulfil its core mission.

The plant species in this area include:
- Eucalyptus
- Xanthorrhoea preissii (Grass Trees)
This species had a high economic importance to the Noongar people, who named it Balga; using the gum it contains as a glue, the spike for fish spears, and the Bardi grub as a source of food.
- Grevillea
- Callistemon (Bottlebrush)
- Scaevola (Fanflower)
- Patersonia (Purple Flag)


These species have been chosen to create a green path along the main promenade of the campus. This is home to many small bird species, like the New Holland Honey eater and the Wattle bird.

In the face of Western Australia's drying climate, ECU is doing its part to reduce its use of our precious groundwater and reuse water on site.

Facilities and Services received a Commonwealth grant to pump water from the Joondalup campus’ cooling towers into the artificial lake. The lake water is used for watering the University grounds and much of it is supplied from underground bores. The water from the cooling towers is waste water from the air-conditioning system that would otherwise be discharged without being used.

It is estimated that up to 3 million litres of water will flow to the lake from the cooling towers each year, saving the equivalent amount of groundwater from having to be pumped.

You may notice the lake has a blue green artificial colour to it. From time to time dye is put into the water to make it this colour. The dye colours the water, which means that sunlight cannot penetrate it. This dye protects the lake from blue green algae blooms. The sunlight, along with phosphorus from the fertilisers put onto the lawn, allows algae to burst into growth when the temperature is right. To avoid this algae growth, the dye interrupts the sunlight entering the water profile.

In this area you will find many plant species remnant of the original ecosystem.

Getting off the main path not only allows you to get a more intimate view of the lake and plants, but it also brings you closer to the animal life that live in and around the campus.

Plant species list
- Paperbark
- Eucalyptus
- Red Eyed Wattle (Acacia cyclops)
The Red Eyed Wattle is used by Noongar tribes as a food source. The seed was prepared before eating. The bardi grub was also extracted from the plant, which is very nutritious.

Lotus by Nigel Helyer

A floating sound sculpture in the lake on our Joondalup campus. This was installed in December 2006.

Lotus contains ten Haiku; one line of each poem being stored in each upright audio unit. Each unit operates with an individual solar timer and charger. The lines are recited at random moments, delivering an ever-changing random mix; in effect, combining the ten Haiku into a new ‘Mega-Haiku’.

Here are the ten original Haiku:

Heaven and Earth
Convulsing in the same breath
Let fall a tremendous snow.

A giant tree
Rises up into the clouds
On the withered field.

Red dragonflies
Flowing like a ripple
Towards the crimson sky.

A drop of dew
Sits on a rock
Like a diamond.

My mind
Is calm and resigned
As I tread the fallen leaves.

From within the nostrils
Of the colossal Buddha
Comes this morning’s fog.

Like running images
In a kaleidoscope
Humans grow old swiftly.

Coolness
The sound of the bell
Leaving the bell.

Oppressive heat
My whirling mind
Listens to the sound of thunder.

Gargantuan clouds during dog days
Take the shape of a demon
Then change into the Buddha.

Oneness by Ron Gomboc

First shown at the prestigious Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Bondi 2003 and installed in our Sculpture Park in 2005.
Meaning of this artwork - 'being one whilst retaining individuality in unity'. Materials - stainless steel and copper. This work was not commissioned - instead, it was purchased from the artist.

Anne Neil and Steve Tepper's five elegant Seed Pod forms in patinated steel, each with its own one word poem, have already become a much-loved addition to the ambience of the Joondalup Campus since the official opening in April 2002. Positioned within the pines leading down to the lake, they are commanding but integrated. The words on each seed pod have different layers of meaning and subject to the viewers own interpretation. The words are Resonance, Hollow, Lullaby, Murmur and Echo.

Marble Bun by Rodney Glick

Abstract marble sculpture commissioned in 2003 and installed in 2004.
This marble sculpture was based on the machine-made copy of an original, hand-carved block of polyurethane foam. A doppelganger of the absent, hand-carved template, it features an ironic and poetic contrast between the classical and high-art connotations of marble, and the unpretentious ordinariness of the original carved form. A further ironic twist is that the hand-crafted treatment was applied to the cheap industrial material and not the 'noble' traditional medium as one would expect. Typically Rodney Glick! This work was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, prior to being installed in our Sculpture Park on the Joondalup Campus.

Located next to the Health and Wellness Building, you will find many plants that have been used to promote both health and wellbeing.

The Joondalup Pines outdoor cinema, located at the ECU Joondalup Campus, offers a great opportunity to view acclaimed international films in a unique setting during the Perth International Arts Festival, which is held annually over summer.

Edith Dircksey Cowan was born in 1861 at Glengarry, near Geraldton.

Edith, her husband James and their family, resided at 71 Malcolm Street from 1919 for approximately 20 years. It was an unpretentious, traditional home with very few modern appliances, despite Edith Cowan's advocacy for women's liberation. Edith Cowan University purchased the house in 1991 and it was reconstructed on the site with the assistance of the West Coast TAFE.

The reconstructed house was opened on 2nd November 1997 by Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Bolton, AO.

It is now used by the Peter Cowan Writers' Centre; a non-profit organisation which strives to be supportive of new writers.

She believed that education was fundamental to tackling the social issues of the day and further, that it was the key to growth, change and improvement. She fought tirelessly to improve conditions for women, children, families, the poor, the under-educated and the elderly. She promoted sex education in schools, migrant welfare and the formation of infant health centres.

In 1894, Edith Cowan was one of the founders of the Karrakatta Club, which became the centre of a movement for reform, making Edith Cowan the best known woman in Australia during the first 30 years of this century.

Among her many achievements, Edith Cowan was instrumental in obtaining votes for women in Western Australia. She was Vice-President of the Women Justices' Association and the Western Australian League of Nations Union. She helped found the Children's Protection Society, which was the precursor of the Children's Court. She also helped create the Western Australian National Council for Women, of which she was President from 1913 to 1921.

The Guidance of Infants Act (1922), which allowed women to apply to the courts if their husbands left them without adequate maintenance, was amended due to the efforts of Edith Cowan. She also argued that a woman should be legally entitled to a share of her husband's income. In 1923, she was appointed to the Anglican Synod, which was predominately male. The press commended the church for moving with the times.

Her contribution to the war effort was vast. She worked on many committees and on the formation of the WA League of Nations Union. Awarded an OBE in 1920 for her work during the war, she was elected as an endorsed Nationalist, defeating the previous Attorney General. In 1921, at the age of 60, she became the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament. Her most important feat as a parliamentarian was her contribution to the passing of the Women's Legal Status Bill, which became an Act in 1923. The Bill opened legal and other professions to Western Australian women for the first time.

Edith Cowan contributed significantly to the development of education, particularly in government schools. She worked tirelessly to raise funds for students to attend universities in other states, prior to a university being built in Western Australia and obtained government support for her scheme. Her work in this area was acknowledged by naming Western Australia's oldest education institution and newest university after her, as well as her image being added to the Australian $50 note.

Edith Cowan died on 9 June 1932, aged 71. A memorial to her, in the form of a clock tower, was unveiled in Kings Park on 9 June 1934.

The garden outside Edith Cowan's house is typical of gardens of the period in which she lived. Mixing formal hedging with blocks of colour, using plants like Snap Dragons, Daisies and roses, give an ordered but wild feel to the garden.
This area is dominated by the pinus piniaster, or Maritime pine. The Carnaby’s Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) are frequent visitors to the campus in the early evenings. This bird, which is on the Department of Environment and Conservation’s “critically endangered” list, loves to feed on the pine cones found in the remnant plantation pine trees around the lake.

Library building (opened in June 2008)

The striking $35 million complex was designed by JCY Architects and Urban Designers to symbolise the University's commitment to innovation, and its vibrant and contemporary approach to education.

The Library and ICT Building has already won a number of awards, including the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (WA) Best Building in the 2007 Public Architecture Awards, the RAIA for Public Architecture Award and the Royal Institute of British Architects International Award.

The building incorporates sustainable design features, including the use of natural light, energy efficient air conditioning and water-wise bathrooms. Bright coloured aluminium fins wrap around the buildings exterior, creating a stunning visual effect and providing sun protection.