Campus Tree Walk

The native tree plantings on campus were well established by 1983 when plans for the Keira Green Corridor were developed by The Friends of the University of Wollongong. Up to seven eucalypt species may have occurred naturally on the campus site, with another two species occurring closer to the coast and at least another 15 species occurring within a ten kilometre radius. Pockets of rainforest would have been found in gullies towards the base of Mt Keira. Eucalypt species are identified using bark type and the shape of the leaves, fruit and buds. Rainforest species are usually identified using the characteristics of the leaf and bark as flowers are hard to find.

This guide was produced by staff of the Janet Cosh Herbarium with the support of Campus Environment Management Committee and the Office of Community and Partnerships. 

Species of Eucalypt and rainforest trees are an important landscape feature of the settled areas of Wollongong and form the dominant vegetation of much of the city’s remnant bush. On the Illawarra escarpment, forests provide habitat for many species of animals, but unfortunately the extent of urban development on the coastal plain has resulted in fragmentation and isolation of the forests found there. In 1975 the campus Landscape Supervisor, Leon Fuller commenced a program of propagating and planting indigenous trees and shrubs. This strategy was reinforced by Bruce Mackenzie’s landscape master plan, completed in 1979, and the policy of planting Australian native species has been maintained by subsequent landscape staff.

See Map of Campus Tree Walk (PDF)