‘It will continue to offer shade and shelter for students well into the future’: CDU’s Darwin City campus to make space for beloved boab tree

The popular boab tree on the Charles Darwin University’s CBD site will be incorporated into the new campus’s design.

THE popular boab tree on the Charles Darwin University’s CBD site will be incorporated into the new campus’s design in a way that secures its future.

Construction of the campus will align with the CDU Tree Protection Plan, with zones to be established on the site to eliminate the potential for damage to trees by excavation and construction.

The boab, which is estimated to be about 140 years old, is also heritage listed and was planted in what was originally the Darwin Adult Education Centre, which previously occupied the site in the 1880s.

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Arborist Bill Sullivan said there would be a lot of strategy behind ensuring the tree remained healthy during the construction stage and was safely maintained on completion of the campus.

“Careful planning will be required at all stages of the project to ensure its historical and cultural values are preserved for future generations,” he said. “Not only will the trees on the site be protected but they also will now be cared for and regularly maintained.”

Mr Sullivan will also look at protecting 21 Bismarckia Palms on the site boundary through the tree protection plan, which he will develop.

Darwin local and CDU student Sevasti Diamandopoulos said students were aware of the importance the tree had to the CBD and wanted it to become a key feature of the education precinct.

“It’s wonderful that the old boab tree will remain a part of the city campus given it’s so important to the history of Darwin,” she said.

Arborist Bill Sullivan, CDU student Sevasti Diamandopoulos and CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman. Picture Glenn Campbell

“It will continue to offer shade and shelter for students well into the future.”

The protection zone around the boab tree will allow for the best environment for the boab.

CDU Vice-Chancellor Scott Bowman said plans for the tree incorporated its long-term health. “Excavation for the main building had been carefully considered around the tree to not disturb the root system,” Professor Bowman said.

“Upon arborist advice, we are going to build a raised wood deck around the tree to reduce soil compaction from foot traffic impacting the root system.”