We are ‘hard science’ soil, land, and mine rehabilitation consultants. Rely on us for an objective, evidence-driven approach to successful mined land rehabilitation outcomes.
Highlands Environmental is a privately-owned scientific consultancy based in Emerald, on Western Kangoulu country in central Queensland, Australia. We provide specialised advice about soils, land, and mine rehabilitation locally, across Australia, and around the world. We work for leading Australian and foreign companies in the mining, quarrying, renewable energy, and conservation sectors, and for governments, courts, charities, and individuals.
Engage us when you need
- Subject matter expertise.
- Solutions that work.
- High standards.
- Value for money.
- Exceptional outcomes.
- Advice you can rely on.
Terry Short
Managing Director
Terry Short is a renowned Queensland soil scientist who has worked in the Australian mining industry for more than 25 years. He completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with honours (UQ, 1994) and a Master of Philosophy in the field of Agricultural Science (UQ, 2001), specialising in soil science and plant nutrition and focussing on soil chemistry. He has worked for BHP, Rio Tinto, Ensham Resources and Queensland Government, and is currently Principal Soil Scientist and Managing Director at Highlands Environmental, a company he founded in 2006.
His early career highlights working for mining companies included:
- Being one of the early ‘environmental officers’ in the Bowen Basin coalfield (1997).
- Negotiating the first Environmental Authority for a Queensland coal mine (2000).
- Completing the first area of coal mine rehabilitation to be certified by the Queensland Government (2001).
- Project managing design, planning and construction of a ‘store and release’ cover system for rehabilitation of an acid producing mineral waste dump (2002).
For the past 15 years Terry has worked as a consulting scientist. He has recognised expertise in mined land rehabilitation generally, with specific interests in material geochemical characterisation, rehabilitation completion criteria and evaluation of post-mining agricultural land uses. His advice is sought across Australia and beyond.
Recently Terry has:
- Provided expert opinion services (expert evidence) in the Queensland Land Court and Queensland Planning and Environment Court on matters relating to coal and metalliferous mine rehabilitation, material geochemistry and environmental risks.
- Developed scientifically valid rehabilitation completion criteria for more than a dozen major Australian mining operations.
- Prepared numerous Progressive Rehabilitation Reports that have underpinned successful applications for certification of progressive rehabilitation at Queensland mine sites.
- Written a manual on coal mine rehabilitation in eastern Australia.
Terry has a deep knowledge of mined land rehabilitation and a passion for passing this knowledge onto others. He is privileged to lead a high-performance team at Highlands Environmental – the ‘hard-science’ soil, land, and mine rehabilitation consultants. See what others have to say about him.
