Past Projects
Larger Project Examples
Shared Trail Development, Macedon
Arboricultural Impacts | Project SupervisionThis multi-year, multi-stage trail upgrade involved surveying and assessing native trees along 42 km of shared trail, working alongside a broad stakeholder group including local councils, state government, V/Line, engineers, ecologists, and contractors. Our role spanned the full project lifecycle — from reviewing engineering drawings and providing arboricultural recommendations at the design stage, through to on-site construction supervision. Where conflicts arose between the trail alignment and protected trees, we identified alternatives such as micro-siting and modified construction methods, minimising unnecessary tree removal without compromising the project. We produced high-accuracy data, maps, and reports to support a successful permit approval, and maintained alignment with Council protocols and Australian Standards AS4970:2025 and AS4373:2007 throughout. Managing a complex, multi-stakeholder environment over several years, we kept records, processes, and communications consistent across all project stages.
Subdivision and Civil Infrastructure, Warragal
Arboricultural Impacts | Tree Protection Specifications | Project SupervisionWe work regularly across large-scale, multi-year civil infrastructure and subdivision projects. These projects involve large consultant teams, multiple competing interests, and planning controls that span arboriculture, ecology, and bushfire disciplines. Our role is to make sense of that complexity, reviewing engineering drawings and consultant documents, interpreting planning scheme requirements, and translating them clearly for project managers, developers, and contractors. We conduct tree assessments, calculate development impacts, and provide practical recommendations to retain and protect valuable trees wherever possible. Where protection is required, we prepare detailed Tree Protection Specifications and supervise and certify construction works on site. Throughout, we maintain clear and respectful communication across all stakeholders, resolving technical misunderstandings quickly and keeping the project moving without unnecessary friction.
Mains Upgrade, Puckapunyal
Arboricultural Impacts | Native Vegetation and Offsets | Project SupervisionThis critical civil infrastructure upgrade involved assessing native vegetation and trees along 45 km of water main and fire hydrant works adjacent to nationally listed and protected vegetation, a context that demanded careful, accurate work. We identified vegetation impacts, recommended tree protection measures, and proposed construction design amendments to minimise disturbance to protected ecological values while allowing the infrastructure works to proceed. We then supervised construction on site to ensure those measures were implemented correctly and permit conditions were satisfied throughout. The project required close collaboration with a large and diverse stakeholder group, including the Department of Defence, BARPA Construction Services, and the contractor, coordinating across competing priorities and timelines to deliver a successful outcome for both the infrastructure program and the environment.
Lifesaving Club Redevelopment, Black Rock
Arboricultural Impacts | Project SupervisionThe redevelopment of the Black Rock Life Saving Club presented a technically demanding challenge: delivering a significant coastal construction project immediately adjacent to state-significant and sensitive coastal vegetation. Working closely with Council and Haskell Architects, we completed an Arboricultural Impact Assessment, provided annotations on engineering drawings, and developed design response recommendations to protect the surrounding vegetation throughout the project. The most complex element was bulk excavation near coastal dunes, a scenario where conventional construction methods posed unacceptable risk to dune stability and the vegetation it supports. We recommended sheet-piling as an alternative methodology, which allowed excavation to proceed safely while maintaining the structural integrity of the dunes and protecting the sensitive vegetation. We then supervised construction over the life of the project to ensure those measures were carried through. The result was a successful planning approval and a completed redevelopment that left the surrounding coastal environment intact.
Multi-Storey Development, Riversdale
Tree Protection Specifications | Project Supervision | Non-Compliance RectificationNot every project runs to plan and knowing how to respond when things go wrong is important. During construction of this multi-storey development, contractors installed a crossover between two protected Council trees without adhering to the approved Tree Protection Specifications, resulting in root damage and a formal non-compliance. Baxter Ecology was engaged to manage the rectification process, working closely with the Council’s Open Space Planning Team, the developer, and the building contractor to assess the extent of the damage and find a path forward. We organised hydro-excavation to safely expose and assess the affected root systems, prescribed interim access approval to allow construction to continue where possible, and prepared reinstatement specifications to support the long-term recovery of the trees. Concurrently, we coordinated with South-East Water during nearby water main upgrades to ensure ongoing compliance with tree protection objectives throughout the remainder of the project. The outcome was a fully rectified non-compliance, a restored working relationship between all parties, and two protected trees given the best possible chance of long-term survival.
Public Recreation Development, Melbourne Park
Tree Protection Specifications | Project SupervisionMelbourne Olympic Park Trust engaged us to assess trees and prescribe protection measures for new tennis courts and outdoor recreational areas at Melbourne Park — one of Australia's busiest and most recognisable sporting venues. Tree protection measures needed to be practical and enforceable within a complex construction environment. We worked closely with the project team to ensure protection requirements were integrated into the design and staging from the outset — balancing the retention of existing trees against the operational demands of a world-class venue.
Public Recreation Facility Development, Bright
Arboricultural Impacts | Bushfire | Native VegetationBright sits in a significant environmental area with large, significant trees. The project involved arboricultural and native vegetation assessment to support the planning submission for a new public recreation facility and bathhouse, on a site with protected trees and bushfire planning controls. We ensured tree-sensitive design, we developed a Bushfire Emergency Management Plan, and we successfully contributed to Council planning approval.
Multi-unit Mixed-use Development, Deepdene
Preliminary Advice | Arboricultural Impacts | Heritage TreesThis project added a layer of complexity beyond standard development assessments — the presence of heritage trees requiring specific assessment and protection as part of the planning submission. We were engaged early to conduct a preliminary tree assessment, which ensured heritage trees were identified and protected early in the process, and the tree locations and protections guided the final designs. The Arboricultural Impact Assessment that followed documented the outcomes of the early integration, supporting a planning submission that achieved Council approval with the heritage trees protected in place.
Shopping Complex Development, Boronia
Design Consultation | Arboricultural ImpactsUpgrading a shopping complex often means working around an existing environment that wasn't designed with future works in mind, including existing trees. The shopping centre upgrade involved incorporating tree-sensitive urban design principles in the design and construction phase, with the added consideration of the Victorian track tunnel infrastructure. We provided advice to ensure the works were designed and delivered in a way that protected existing trees on site.
Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Installation, Melbourne Park
Project SupervisionWe worked with the Melbourne Olympic Park Trust and the Victorian State Department of Justice to supervise the installation of hostile vehicle mitigation infrastructure along the full length of Olympic Boulevard. We ensured that significant, mature street trees were protected throughout the complex, high-security urban infrastructure project.
Cycling Corridor Development, Melbourne CBD to Preston
Design Consultation | Project SupervisionWorking with the City of Melbourne, we provided design consultation and construction supervision for a new cycling corridor running from the central business district of Melbourn to Preston. Where the proposed alignment conflicted with significant street trees, we identified practical design variations that resolved those conflicts and protected trees, without compromising the corridor's intent. We were able to provide this advice because of our extensive experience across construction and arboriculture. We then supervised construction to ensure our recommendations were followed through on ground, keeping trees protected and construction progress running in parallel.
Bike Lanes and Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Development, City of Melbourne
Design Consultation | Project SupervisionOver four years, we worked with the City of Melbourne and the Victorian State Department of Justice on a city-wide program delivering new bike lanes and hostile vehicle mitigation measures. Melbourne has a diversity of large, significant trees that are an important part of our urban landscapes. Our role spanned design and delivery, developing tree-sensitive design to find solutions that balanced environmental values and development goals. We then supervised construction across the large, multi-site program to ensure our solutions held; trees were protected and construction kept moving forward.
Smaller Project Examples
Residential and Tourism Development, Fingal
Arboricultural Impacts | Bushfire | Native VegetationThis coastal development required integrated assessments across all three of Baxter Ecology's core disciplines — arboriculture, bushfire, and native vegetation — within a single project. We completed an Arboricultural Impact Assessment, a Bushfire Management Statement, and a Native Vegetation Assessment to support the planning permit application. Coastal sites present a particular set of sensitivities, and our ability to deliver all three assessments through one team ensured the advice was consistent, coordinated, and efficient.
Single Dwelling in a Green Wedge Zone, Healesville
Arboricultural Impacts | Bushfire | Native Vegetation and OffsetsThis two-year project brought together a Green Wedge Zone, a Bushfire Management Overlay, and a native vegetation trigger under Clause 52.17 on a single, heavily forested site with 500 trees and a client who wanted to retain as many of them as possible. The challenge was finding a dwelling location and design that satisfied bushfire siting requirements, respected natural drainage lines, and minimised tree and vegetation loss. Those competing constraints shaped the design: a double-storey footprint to reduce ground coverage, siting adjacent to the road to maximise defendable space, and careful negotiation of the effluent field location to limit assumed tree loss. We worked closely with a dedicated consultant team over two years to secure the permit — navigating complex, overlapping requirements and keeping the project moving. The outcomes reflect the genuine tension between bushfire safety requirements and environmental values on constrained sites.
Knock Down and Rebuild, Hoddles Creek
Preliminary Advice | Arboricultural Impacts | Bushfire | Native Vegetation and OffsetsThis project brought together environmental protections, a Bushfire Management Overlay, and a native vegetation trigger under Clause 52.17 on a single site. The challenge was navigating the competing constraints between the different planning controls. We were engaged early, allowing preliminary analyses to ensure client confidence with the proposal before putting together the final planning permit.
Renovation and Extension, Ringwood North
BushfireWe undertook a simple Bushfire Attack Level assessment for a renovation and extension project. The assessment guided the construction standards required for the development.
Retrospective Planning Permit, Bend of Islands
Native Vegetation and Offset | Retrospective PermitIt is not uncommon for landholders to trigger a planning requirement without knowing. This project involved a property owner who had carried out works before realising a planning permit was required. We assessed the site and mapped the vegetation that was likely present before works took place, building an evidentiary picture from what remained on the ground. We successfully secured a retrospective planning permit and negotiated the required offsets.
Small Second Dwelling in a Bushfire Management Overlay, Mooroolbark
Bushfire | Retrospective PermitIt is not uncommon for landholders to trigger a planning requirement without knowing. This project involved a property owner who had built a small second dwelling within a Bushfire Management Overlay, without appropriately addressing the bushfire risk. Resolving it retrospectively meant finding solutions that satisfied CFA and Council where the standard options were not available. We worked closely with the client, CFA, and the broader consultant team to find novel solutions to achieve planning approval, including negotiating creating defendable space on a neighbouring property.
Tree Risk Assessments
Since 2015, we have completed tree audits and risk assessments across a wide range of public and institutional sites throughout Victoria, including schools, cemeteries, racecourses, and open recreational spaces. Several clients, including the Yarra Ranges Special Development School, return to us annually. These environments share a common challenge: high foot traffic, duty of care obligations, and trees that need to be managed to reduce risk. We have provided asset managers and site operators with clear, practical pictures of the risk across their trees and provided recommendations that are actionable and proportionate to the setting — ensuring that trees are protected and the people who use these spaces are safe.
