Verdant_universities
Verdant universities
Group of Australian universities established in the 1960s and 1970s
The verdant universities are a group of Australian universities founded in the 1960s and 1970s, which are sometimes called "gumtree" universities.[1][dubious ] These universities were established in their state capitals, often next to native bushland (now nature reserves), and have lush vegetative campuses – which the naming "verdant" refers to.
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They are predominantly the second or third established university in their state; the only exception is Macquarie, which is the third university in Sydney, but the fourth university in New South Wales.
La Trobe University takes "verdant" a step further by the fact that it owns a 28-hectare wildlife sanctuary, in addition to managing the Gresswell Hill Nature Conservation Reserve, situated north of the Melbourne campus.[2][3]
The verdant universities were part of a broader effort to expand and reform tertiary education in Australia, based on similar reforms that led to the creation of the plate glass universities group in the United Kingdom.[1] All of these universities went on to form Innovative Research Universities in 2003.[1]