A group of University of Melbourne students will measure the carbon footprint of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens as part of the first Melbourne Business Practicum.
The four local and international students from the Graduate School of Business and Economics will take part in the project with the aim of producing a tool that could be applied to gardens across the world to establish their carbon footprint.
Associate professor Brad Potter from the Graduate School of Business and Economics will oversee the team and says students will draw on international best-practice to develop an enduring model which accommodates the various areas of a public garden, from the buildings and the paths to the plants and trees.
The University has partnered with the Committee for Melbourne to create the specialised subject, taking students beyond the classroom. The practicum projects allow both local and international graduate students to polish their skills working on real projects in conjunction with local businesses.
The students will also be able to draw on the extensive archives at the Royal Botanic Gardens and the expertise of the Gardens’ staff.
The next practicum to commence in 2010 will be an examination of the regulation, taxation, cost frameworks and other incentives facing commercial and housing developers in Australia’s cities.
Hosted by the Grattan Institute, the students’ findings will be used to make policy recommendations on how market design can encourage commercial and housing development that matches housing and employment needs.
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