FACILITY
Shenton Park Field Station
Dedicated facility supporting plant and animal research
The Shenton Park Field Station has been servicing the science and agriculture industry of Western Australia for more than 60 years. With a number of notable doctorates being gained using this facility and varieties of cereals, clovers and pastures being bred and released from the facility.
It is a centrally located large scale agricultural research facility that caters to the broader scale experiments with less reliance on artificial conditions. Being 7 kilometres from the Crawley Campus and the ability to grow out large scale crop, pasture, horticultural or native plants gives a real world perspective.
With 5 hectares of irrigated plot land available for all year round use to conduct trials of various types, varieties, strains and species of plants. Bird protection netting covers 3 hectares of the plot land. Due to the size of the Field Station, multiple trials can be conducted at any one time.
The Field Station is accessible to all staff and students and works cooperatively with other institutions within the state and nationally.
Facility details
- 13 anti-virus mesh covered tunnel houses - The tunnel houses provide the option of growing plants under cover and minimises the potential for cross pollination from outside the tunnel mesh. These are irrigated and offer many options to the student or researcher.
- Biosecurity plant house and processing laboratory - Approved by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, this facility enables the ability to import and screen plants from other countries, to be grown out in the future.
- Temperature controlled glasshouses / seed threshing and processing areas - There is space to carry out work in laboratories for seed preparation and processing which ensures most of the growing out process can be carried out on site. As well as a small vineyard and olive grove which can be used by any interested student or staff member.
- Recirculating aquaculture facility - A collaboration between Department of Primary Industries and UWA has developed Australia's largest recirculating aquaculture facility, with a total volume of three million litres. This facility is capable of running multiple freshwater fish experiments at any one time with both outdoor and indoor aquaculture tanks and ponds in place.
Site features
- Plant biologists
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The field station has a variety of facilities and equipment available for use by plant biologists, including:
- 5 hectares of irrigated and loamed plot land, of which 3.75 hectares are protected with bird exclusion netting
- 1 hectare of non-irrigated plot land
- 13 screen houses with anti-virus mesh and overhead irrigation (350m2 each)
- a PC2 rated polycarbonate plant house for gene technology plant growth
- an AQIS registered quarantine glasshouse
- a general purpose glasshouse with evaporative coolers (100m2 bench space)
- laboratory space for seed processing and storage
- a seed threshing facility
- two large drying ovens
- associated equipment such as tractors, boom spray equipment and other mechanised tillage equipment
- Animal biologists
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The field station has a variety of facilities and equipment available for use by animal biologists.
Aquaculture
Shenton Park has Australia's largest recirculating aquaculture research facility with a total volume of 3 million litres. The facility has:
- 30 fibreglass tanks (20,000 litres each)
- 9 aquaplate tanks (5400 litres each)
- 10 poly troughs (3000 litres each)
- 145 aquaria (100 litres each)
The system is totally recirculating, with a 67,000 litre biofilter. The facility also has laboratory space with microscopes, spectrometers, and sampling equipment.
- Access
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The Field Station has an access control system that uses a sliding gate at the entrance of the facility. This gate is open from 7.00am to 9.00am and 3.30pm to 5.30pm. During other hours of the day the gate is shut.
Researchers and groups who would like to access facilities at the Shenton Park Field Station will need to complete the online induction located in the UWA Learning Management System (you must have a Staff or Student Pheme number). The induction is titled the 'Shenton Field Station Site Induction' and can be located by using the search function under the tab at the top of the screen titled 'Units'.
You will need to enrol yourself in this unit and read the short PDF presentation and complete the short quiz. Upon completion, you will be issued with a certificate. This is to be emailed to the Field Station Manager Michael Blair or your supervisor along with your staff/student number. They will arrange for gate swipe card access to be added to your card.
Once you have completed the induction, the Field Station Manager or your direct supervisor will organise a walk around induction of the site to familiarise you with the area and any hazards. New starters will be provided with the appropriate standard operating procedures (SOPs), training and instruction for the areas and equipment they will be working with.
Downloads
If you require access to the field station and are not a university student or staff member, you can download the induction information and quiz here:
Visitors
- Escorted visitors can gain access to the site by contacting security through the gate intercom located next to the gate.
- Affiliate groups using the site must ensure their staff receives appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision while on site. Contact UWA security to gain swipe card access to the site.
- Animal enclosures
- For further information about the animal research facilities, contact Animal Care Services.
- Centre for Engineering Innovation - Agriculture and Ecological Restoration
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With practicality, commercialisation, and easy adoption in mind, the Centre for Engineering Innovation aim to enhance the social and economic value, and the sustainability of agricultural and environmental resources.
