Niche Environment and Heritage (Niche) in June 2020 executed a formal Agreement to support the Australian Department of Defence as a member of the DIP.EHEE Panel (Defence Infrastructure Panel – Environment, Heritage and Estate Engineering) for an initial five year term. As one of Australia’s largest land managers, Defence is responsible for the management of a large, complex, and diverse estate that has…
In November last year, the NSW Government released the Spot Price Index1 for biodiversity credits created using the BioBanking Assessment Methodology under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). Whilst this act has now been replaced by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) and the assessment of biodiversity offsets is now determined…
The NSW EPBC Act1 Bilateral Agreement was amended on March 24, 2020 (Amending Agreement No. 1) as a result of both the NSW and Australian Governments’ commitment to: Streamlining environmental assessments and offsets for projects in NSW and Reducing the regulatory burden on proponents of projects in NSW. The amendment has been anticipated for some…
Niche is open for business. We care about our staff, our support teams and our clients, and we are committed to delivering on our promises. Our communities and our environment have faced quite a few challenges in the past months: bushfires, floods, and now a pandemic. Of course, during the current coronavirus pandemic, there are…
The recent fires across NSW have created challenges for assessors quantifying the impacts of developments on burnt bushland and valuing potential Biodiversity Stewardship Sites. Ecologist and Accredited BAM Assessor Dr Cairo Forrest summarises key points from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE)’s recently released guidelines for applying the Biodiversity Assessment Methodology (BAM) at…
As the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis rapidly evolves in Australia and around the world, Niche would like to emphasise that the wellbeing of our staff, clients and business partners is our number one priority. Since the emergence of the pandemic, we have been risk-assessing all work-related activities and encouraging our team to feel empowered to make…
At Niche, we are experienced in creating information sessions that are individually tailored to the unique natural environment, heritage and history of the areas in which our clients operate. Programs for NSW councils Information sessions can be tailored to suit council staff and contractors who need to have an awareness of your local biodiversity and…
Yogesh is an ecologist specialising in bush regeneration, revegetation and ecological rehabilitation. He has more than ten years’ experience in monitoring, management and planning for bushland restoration projects in the Sydney metropolitan area and across NSW. Yogesh joined Niche’s multidisciplinary consulting team in August 2019. He is based at our Sydney head office, with frequent…
The recent and ongoing bushfires across Australia have caused devastation to our natural environment and cultural heritage values. The entire team at Niche is sincerely grateful to our emergency services, firefighting agencies, and volunteers. It is heart-warming to see the Australian spirit bringing people together to provide support to communities and wildlife affected by the…
Niche was engaged by Tilt Renewables to provide a preliminary offset assessment and offset strategy for the Liverpool Range Wind Farm and Transmission Line project in the Upper Hunter Valley, NSW. Our team of Accredited BAM Assessors undertook investigations to determine the biodiversity values of ten parcels of land, and to assess their potential for…
Our North Coast NSW team provided both heritage management and ecological services during approval and compliance stages of this project. This included an Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment; flora and fauna assessment; vegetation management plan; fauna management plan; nest box installation and monitoring; clearing surveys – and a Koala Habitat Management Plan (KHMP). The KHMP led…
Sincere thanks to our clients, business partners and supporters for a wonderful tenth working year in 2019! We’ll be taking a short break from Tuesday 24 to Friday 27 December and will be back to work on Monday 30 December. We wish you a safe and enjoyable Christmas break and look forward to working with you in…