Quarry Life Award

Welcome to the 6th Quarry Life Awards

Open Welcome to the 6th Quarry Life Awards configuration options
The Quarry Life Award is our unique nature based international scientific and educational competition addressing biodiversity on our sites. The competition promotes and protects biodiversity within our quarries with the winner producing an innovative project that can be replicated across our operations for the benefit of the environment.

For the sixth time since 2012, the award aims to raise awareness of biodiversity associated with extraction sites and is a key element of our biodiversity strategy, ensuring we move from biodiversity loss to gain.

The aim of this award is to find and recognise commercially viable projects which can be replicated for the benefit of our operations and the Group.

View all project editions

How does it work?

Project submissions from researchers, students, local communities, NGOs and nature lovers pitch ideas for sustainable quarry management projects to be implemented at one of our sites. The winners then conduct the actual work at the chosen sites with support from the quarry team.

Participants will be awarded prize money based on the success of the project.

A jury panel has been chosen to assess the success of each project based on our global success criteria.

This year, three QLA research teams have started their projects across four of our sites in Queensland and Western Australia.

2025 Quarry Life Award Winner

Conserving the vulnerable Richmond Birdwing Butterfly project

The endangered Richmond Birdwing Butterfly, once abundant across the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane regions, became the focus of a statewide rehabilitation effort.

The species faced decline due to habitat loss from urban development and the spread of a poisonous invasive vine that resembled its natural food source, the Birdwing Butterfly Vine.

Led by Matt Cecil of the Richmond Birdwing Conservation Network and delivered by the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, the project was implemented at Heidelberg Materials’ Wolffdene and Nerang quarries. The team identified and restored suitable habitats for the butterfly, planting 85 Birdwing Vines that achieved an 81 per cent survival rate, creating ecological corridors for long-term species recovery.

Because the butterfly’s lifecycle depends entirely on the Birdwing Butterfly Vine (Pararistolochia praevenosa), the team focused on propagating and planting this essential species to sustain future generations.

The project demonstrated how quarry rehabilitation can directly support biodiversity and community engagement. Its success not only restored critical habitat but also strengthened education and awareness through local events where families and students learned about conservation and planted vines of their own.

‘Conserving the Vulnerable Richmond Birdwing Butterfly’ left a legacy for long-term conservation, proving how partnerships between science, community and industry can deliver meaningful environmental outcomes.

Brown caterpillar on a green leaf during early development

The Wolffdene and Nerang quarries are more than just locations for potential reforestation, they represent strategic points in the Richmond Birdwing's recovery effort.

Female butterfly perched on a vine shortly after emerging from chrysalis

Establishing a robust, sustainable population of Birdwing Butterfly vines in these areas will provide valuable breeding grounds for the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly.

Dark butterfly egg cluster on the underside of a leaf

The quarries provide an ideal, controlled environment to grow and manage the vines. This ensures that the butterflies can lay eggs, feed their larvae and support their life cycle.

Other participating project

Eroded sand cliffs and flat quarry floor at Gaskell site under clear skies

In this third project, CSIRO will trial its NatureIQ™ digital platform at our Gaskell quarry in Western Australia

Temporal and spatial analysis of biodiversity with Nature IQ

The third project is being run by the CSIRO at our Gaskell quarry in Western Australia. The Nature IQ team will improve environmental insights by working with large land managers like us, by providing a digital tool to track our effect on nature and biodiversity as a result of our operations.

Their digital platform will assess the impact of our operations on nature, leveraging world leading science and technology.

Tools like this allow us to simulate potential impacts of site operations and expansions at much larger scale, therefore improving the quality of our environmental management frameworks. Some of the impacts we are assessing are eco system conditions, net impact assessment, biodiversity loss, species extinction, threatened species habitat, areas of high biodiversity value and restoration success rates.

Introducing our QLA jurors

Each juror brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion to the evaluation process, ensuring the award continues the importance of biodiversity across our quarries.

Phil Schacht - CEO

Our CEO Phil Schacht plays a key role in driving progress in the circular materials economy.

With over two decades of experience in the mining and resource sectors across national and international markets, Phil has been instrumental in integrating sustainable practices within operations.

His experience ensures that initiatives such as the Quarry Life Award are championed, making him a valuable juror for the Quarry Life Award 2025.

Professor Kingsley Dixon

A leading authority in plant biology and restoration ecology, Professor Kingsley Dixon is known for his pioneering research in the rehabilitation of degraded landscapes.

As a professor and research leader at Curtin University, Kingsley has dedicated his career to understanding the complexities of plant life and how it interacts with its environment.

His expertise in the restoration of native habitats and ecosystems will be invaluable in assessing the innovative projects submitted for the award.

Professor Peter Erskine

With extensive experience in environmental science and a focus on sustainable land management, Professor Peter Erskine has worked across a wide range of ecological research projects.

Peter is currently the Director of the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation (CMLR) at The University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) and has made significant contributions to understanding how human activity impacts biodiversity and how we can mitigate these effects. His commitment to balancing industrial development with environmental conservation aligns perfectly with the Quarry Life Award's mission.