When we arrived on Monday morning, we were confronted with a heartbreaking sight: a stretch of remnant forest, right outside the windows of our building, had been cleared. There was no prior consultation and no explanation, only the grim aftermath of a decision made without transparency. This remnant forest was destroyed without input from the very community that could have proposed alternatives: the students, staff, local residents and visitors who walk through, study in and enjoy this space every day.

As members of the Griffith University community and the wider public who share these grounds, we strive to protect the environment and uphold conservation values. Our university should be at the forefront of sustainable practice, setting an example by preserving vital natural assets, not quietly removing them. The weekend's decision reflects a systemic failure to value these ecosystems at a time when humanity is already overstepping the planetary boundaries that keep Earth stable, while many communities still lack the basics they need to thrive. Facing this polycrisis means meeting everyone's needs without exceeding what the planet can sustain. Destroying the ecosystems that help us stay within those limits takes us further from that goal.

That failure matters well beyond our campus. Across Australia and around the world, ecosystems are in decline, and once lost, they cannot easily be replaced: a newly planted area takes decades to approach the structure, habitat and ecological relationships of an established ecosystem, if it ever does. These ecosystems provide services we all depend on. They cool our surroundings and buffer against heatwaves, store carbon, filter air and water, reduce stormwater runoff and erosion, support pollinators and native wildlife, and offer spaces that benefit our mental health and wellbeing. For a university, they are also living classrooms and research sites, and for the surrounding community, a shared green space that neighbours, families and visitors rely on for recreation, connection with nature and respite from the city. With each ecosystem lost, we lose part of our natural heritage and, with it, one of our most effective tools against environmental and social degradation.

This is precisely why decisions affecting our environment and community must not be made unilaterally. Griffith University needs to embrace transparency and community engagement. That means full disclosure of plans affecting the natural environment, alongside genuine dialogue with students, staff, local residents, community groups and environmental experts who can contribute informed perspectives on conservation and sustainable development.

The trees are gone, but the decision is not final. Whatever is planned for this site has not yet been built, and there is still time to choose a different path. Instead of pressing ahead with a plan made behind closed doors, Griffith can pause, listen and work with its community to reimagine this space together. That could mean restoring what was lost, creating a living laboratory for teaching and research, or a design that keeps nature at its heart. Students, staff and neighbours are ready to help shape that future. We are asking the university to let us.

We call on Griffith University’s administration to:

1. Stop all further clearing and construction on the site immediately.
2. Explain what is planned for the site, and give a full account of this weekend’s clearing, including why neither the university community nor the wider public was consulted.
3. Reconsider the current plan and open a genuine co-design process with Traditional Custodians, students, staff, local residents, community groups and environmental experts to decide the future of this space together.
4. Commit to an open, transparent process for any future development affecting its natural spaces.

Please sign this petition to ask Griffith University to stop, reconsider, and build the future of this space with its community, not without it. Together, we can make sure our campus protects, rather than destroys, the natural world around us.