A groundbreaking new facility, known as Diversity, has been established in Canberra, designed to be the ultimate repository for Australia’s insect and wildlife specimens. This state-of-the-art CSIRO centre, which cost $90 million to build, aims to house around 13 million specimens collected over the past century and a half.
The Diversity facility has been purposefully constructed to integrate invaluable specimens for the very first time. It seeks to drive scientific advancements that will benefit future generations, supporting crucial research in areas such as biosecurity, pest control, disease prevention, and understanding the effects of climate change.
Dr Clare Holleley from CSIRO explained that this facility will provide insights into how Australia’s biodiversity is evolving, allowing scientists to analyse trends and potentially forecast future changes. To enhance accessibility, the new genomics lab and digitisation suite will enable scientists, including citizen scientists, to access a wealth of data online. This will include DNA sequences and high-resolution images of the specimens.
CSIRO’s chief executive, Dr Doug Hilton, praised the facility’s ability to securely store its specimens and automate the digitisation process, claiming it sets a gold standard globally. The move of the extensive collection, totalling 13 million specimens, to this new location took about a year to complete.
While the facility is not open to the public, it will be available to researchers both in Australia and internationally. Dr Holleley confirmed the centre’s resilience, boasting features such as a fire-rated vault and earthquake-proof construction. This durability ensures that scientists will be able to reference the collections for many years to come, preserving the insights gained from today’s research for future study.