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Ecotechnology Group

Frog 250x250The Ecotechnology Group engages in research and consultancy services in areas related to regional resource management and ecosystem protection. The approach of the Group to these issues is reflected in its motto - "turning wastes into resources by closing cycles locally, visibly and elegantly".

A major guiding principle has been the avoidance, where possible, of energy and chemical dependent processes in system designs. Inspiration for this approach comes from the emerging discipline of Ecological Engineering with its definition "... the design of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with the natural environment for the benefit of both".

A major focus of research has been the development of innovative approaches to the on-site management of domestic wastewater. Specific on-site system projects have included:

  • source control using ecological sanitation (ECOSAN) devices such as waterless composting toilets
  • research and development on secondary treatment devices such as subsurface flow wetlands (reed beds) and vertical flow bio-filters
  • research and development into land application of treated wastewater, emphasizing systems that avoid the use of pumps (gravity fed)
  • field investigation and modelling of soil-solute interactions
  • modelling of hydraulic and nutrient processes
  • field investigation and modelling of plant water use on land application areas
  • community scale decentralised wastewater treatment systems

Other projects have been concerned with:

  • the treatment and reuse of a variety of effluents including municipal sewage, greywater and landfill leachate
  • issues related to the development and modelling of integrated water cycles.

The Ecotechnology Group cooperates with other organisations in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales to present seminars on subjects related to sustainable resource management and ecosystem protection.

Centre Staff

Dr Leigh Davison, Head

Dr Jeff Parr, Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr Antony McCardell, Associate Lecturer

Publications, if available, are included on each of the relevant staff pages.

More Information

Dr Leigh Davison
e: leigh.davison@scu.edu.au

Updated: 11 April 2012