This is an excerpt from my latest post at the Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens blog. Click the link below to visit the full post. When I was studying Landscape Architecture at university, I had a professor who was infamous for several sayings. One of the most prolific of his sayings, which any student could [...]
Today’s Friday Film features a panel discussion in two parts titled Biodiversity in Our Cities: The Case for Urban Nature. This panel coordinated and moderated by Marielle Anzelone, Conservation Biologist & Executive Director of NYC Wildflower Week, features four different panelists of very diverse backgrounds and professions. The panel presents a comprehensive view of urban biodiversity from not only [...]
This is the third and final post in a series looking at wildlife movement, corridors and roads. Read the first post, Ecology Lesson: Population Movements, which was followed by Corridor Ecology and Planning. Roads Roads crisscross the entire country covering much of the land. Highways take us through states or across the whole country, streets cover [...]
This is the second post in a series looking at wildlife movement, corridors and roads. The full series: Ecology Lesson: Population Movements, Corridor Ecology and Planning and Road Ecology and Wildlife Crossings. Wildlife needs to move for many reasons which were discussed in Ecology Lesson: Population Movements. There are many barriers in the urban landscape that prevent [...]
This is the first post in a series looking at wildlife movement, corridors and roads. The full series: Ecology Lesson: Population Movements, Corridor Ecology and Planning and Road Ecology and Wildlife Crossings. This is also the second post in the Ecology Lesson series, the first being The Basics. There are three categories of wildlife movement, the first being contained [...]
The Beautiful Wildlife Garden Blog features a guest post by myself today titled “Be a Citizen Scientist in Your Wildlife Garden“. Head over and check it out and while you’re there, browse through the many other excellent posts about wildlife gardening from some experienced gardeners, it’s a really great resource. You can also find the [...]
We talk about ecology a lot, but what is it really? Chances are, unless you took some ecology classes you may have missed out on some aspects of ecology. A better understanding of ecology can help with designing and creating any wildlife habitat. Additionally, the more you know about ecology the better you’ll understand articles [...]
Artificial lighting affects not only our ability to see the stars, but it affects a great many aspects of the ecology of wildlife. Light can impact wildlife directly by streetlights or lit buildings, or more indirectly with sky glow, the light from combined city lights. It can affect many difference facets in the lives of [...]
Over at Cities and the Environment, the electronic journal for the Urban Ecology Collaborative, the current issue features urban pollinators, specifically bees. There are some interesting articles ranging from the question of green roofs being valuable habitat for bees to enhancing community gardens with bees. Can green roofs provide habitat for urban bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)? [...]
When it comes to backyard bird feeding, the bird feeder reigns supreme. Many people have one or more feeders in their yards and some people go to extremes with their feeders. However, how many people have stopped to consider if they are benefiting or harming the birds. This is an issue as contentious as keeping [...]
I finished reading How Birds Migrate by Paul Kerlinger just ahead of International Migratory Bird Day which is coming up on May 8th. Migration is an important topic for the urban environment as many cities have an enormous impact on bird migration and many cities, including Portland and Seattle, lay in a major flyway, which [...]
There are some new items to add to a previous post about bird safe building guidelines. First, from the American Bird Conservancy comes news about proposed legislation that would put regulations on federal building construction. The bill, HR 4797 calls for each public building constructed, acquired, or altered by the General Services Administration (GSA) to [...]