More than ever, cities around the world are embracing new ways to become more sustainable and balance the impacts of urbanisation. To better integrate biodiversity into cities, governments are spending millions of dollars on popular habitat restoration projects such as nest boxes, shelter sites and artificial refuges.
But just how effective are these initiatives? This is the question CAUL Hub researcher Dr Caragh Threlfall hopes to answer as the recipient of Ecological Society of Australia’s Wiley Next Generation Ecologist Award.
The award recognises excellence in Australian ecology research and provides support for early-career researchers through a research grant and speaking opportunity at the ESA19 Conference. As the 2019 recipient, Caragh will establish an urban habitat restoration network to test the effectiveness of urban restoration initiatives and identify national benchmarks.
The project builds on CAUL Hub research which established a national inventory of urban biodiversity conservation actions in Australia.