First look at new artist impressions for Mount Gambier’s Forestry Centre of Excellence

New artist impressions have been released of the new Forestry Centre of Excellence being built in Mount Gambier. See them here.

New artist impressions have been released of the new Forestry Centre of Excellence (FCoE) being built in Mount Gambier, previewing the potential design of the facility which is set to be an international leader in forest industries research, education, product and market development.

The forestry centre is a collaborative project between the State Government, the University of South Australia (UniSA) and the forest industry and will be built on the same site as the UniSA Mount Gambier campus, the new Mount Gambier Technical College and the Mount Gambier TAFE, providing a unique opportunity to create an education, training and research precinct.

New artist impressions of Mount Gambier's Forestry Centre of Excellence. (These images are artist impressions only and subject to change) Picture: PIRSA

New artist impressions of Mount Gambier's Forestry Centre of Excellence. (These images are artist impressions only and subject to change) Picture: PIRSA

The State Government has committed $15m over 10 years to fund the new centre, expecting it to become an international leader in forest industries research, education, product and market development and will further enhance the Green Triangle region through building local capacity.

Minister for Primary Industries and Limestone Coast local Clare Scriven praised the collaborative work between the state government, UniSA, the Green Triangle Forest

Industries Hub, the South Australian Forest Products Association and the wider Green Triangle forest industries for making the centre possible.

“These latest exciting steps in the establishment of the Forestry Centre for Excellence will further drive existing and future research, development, and extension activities, covering the social, economic, and environmental aspects of forestry in the Green Triangle region.” Minister Scriven said.

“This centre will support the full forestry supply chain including plantation management, harvesting and haulage and timber processing and will also aim to cover the technical, safety, and training aspects relevant to those sectors, whilst building greater connections with our First Nations people.”

New artist impressions of Mount Gambier's Forestry Centre of Excellence. (These images are artist impressions only and subject to change) Picture: PIRSA

While the centre is still under development, vital industry research is currently underway in temporary facilities and includes projects on structural timber market access; safety improvements; fire detection from cameras and satellites; suppression, recovery and analysis of digital forestry data using artificial intelligence; and immersive data analytics using VR and AR to understand the implications of climate change on plantation growth yield and water use.

Premier Peter Malinauskas was in Mount Gambier today to officially launch the FCoE, and described the Green Triangle plantation forest region as “one of the powerhouses of the Australian forest industry”.

“The South Australian portion of the region contributes more than $860 million to the state’s gross product annually – making it one of our most productive primary industry sectors,” Premier Malinauskas said.

“We are delivering on our election commitment to establish a world-leading Forestry Centre of Excellence to strengthen this already thriving industry.”

The design for the facility is due to be finalised in November 2024 with building construction due to commence in April 2025 and an expected completion in January 2026.