Heartbroken to see the trees in front of the Sir Samuel Griffith Building removed, PhD student Sebastian Bernal-Garcia has launched a petition demanding for answers.

“I started a petition because I felt helpless,” Mr Bernal-Garcia said.

The petition titled Stop, Reconsider, Build Together: Protect Griffith’s Remnant Forest demands for work to stop on the site, a public explanation of what is planned for the site, and for Griffith university to commit to an open, transparent process for any future development affecting its natural spaces.

Mr Bernal-Garcia told the Griffith Journal that he found internal communications to staff about the tree removal vague and difficult to understand.

“I think it wasn’t properly communicated. The only way I found out about this was through the Griffith South community on teams which only staff can be a part of,” Mr Bernal-Garcia said.

“It was a bit of a maze to find out what they were really doing,” Mr Bernal-Garcia said.

Mr Bernal-Garcia was especially surprised about the lack of communication given the location of the tree removal.

“It’s an irony that this is happening just in front of N78 where you have four levels full of PhD candidates, professors, research fellows, that work for conservation, for the protection of the environment,” Mr Bernal-Garcia said.

In a statement from Griffith Media team confirmed that the tree removal was communicated through the Griffith Staff News and the Brisbane South (Nathan) Teams pages.

“The planned tree removal will help strengthen the campus’s bushfire resilience and support its ongoing reinvigoration, creating more welcoming spaces for our staff and students to use and enjoy,” the statement read.

Griffith Media told the Griffith Journal that the protection of native wildlife was a topmost concern and that the landscaping team was working closely with Griffith ecology and botany expert Professor Catherine Pickering.

“Fauna spotters have assessed the area before and during vegetation removal and, where required, safely relocate wildlife to suitable nearby habitat. We are also using qualified arborists, pre-clearing ecological surveys and staged vegetation removal to minimise impacts,” the statement read.

Griffith Media did not respond to questions about what date the tree removal was approved and what was planned for the site once the trees were removed.

Staff working in the Sir Samuel Griffith building have shared their shock about the tree removal on LinkedIn.

Senior lecturer and conservation scientist, Caitie Kuempel was dismayed to see the patch of bushland gone.

In a post on LinkedIn Ms Kuempel said “A highlight of working at Griffith University was spotting the occasional Koala in this small forest patch outside my window. An unwelcome change of scenery”.

Mr Bernal-Garcia hopes that the petition can bring staff together to discuss the decision.

“Everybody is on their own and there is not a strong community where we can get together to put our thoughts against this [the tree removal] happening,” Mr Bernal-Garcia said.