As part of the New Student Precinct Festival, CAUL Hub and the University of Melbourne Community Garden held a planting and propagation session. The all-day event was centred on Art, Design, Sustainability and Indigenous Engagement at the Parkville Campus.
The little plants that were potted will go into the new student precinct sometime next year.
Image credit: Kirsten Parris via Twitter
Vulnerability to severe heat waves is becoming an issue of inequality as global temperatures rise. With the Northern Hemisphere facing its warmest summer on record this year that led to numerous deaths, ABC’s Blueprint for living asked how equipped Australian cities are to cope with the reality of 50 degrees within the next few decades.
According to Associate Professor Marco Amati who was interviewed in an article and radio podcast, we urgently need to start planning and adapting as we enter “unknown territory” with huge economic and health consequences. While some of the necessary infrastructural changes are costly and investment-heavy, there are simple solutions such as painting roofs white, urban greening and adapting our schedules that can reduce harm from heat while providing other benefits. Importantly, we also need to limit the severity of these future weather extremes by tackling climate change while it is still an option.
Marco Amati is leading the CAUL Hub’s Urban Systems for Liveability project, which includes research on urban vegetation to mitigate heat. Find out more here.
Featured image credit: Vincent dan Dam via flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The CAUL Hub was well represented at the 10th GIScience 2018 conference held at RMIT University in Melbourne from 29-31 August.
The international conference has been running since 2000 and brings together industry, government and academics to share advances in Geographic Information Science (GIS) and its diverse applications. Billie Giles-Corti from the RMIT Centre for Urban Research spoke as keynote speaker on using spatial data for urban liveability. CAUL researchers and others presented two papers on how high-resolution satellite imagery can help us understand the relationship between temperature and urban vegetation structure, and the factors that drive tree canopy cover in residential neighbourhoods. This urban green space research represents an exciting collaboration between CSIRO, the University of Western Australia and RMIT University that looks at how urban greening activities can be implemented in consolidating cities. Find out more here.
Have you ever thought about how many kinds of insects one city could be supporting? A recent study by CAUL researchers found over 550 insect species thriving in Melbourne’s green spaces, and citizen science is playing an important role in further research.
To continue to support these diverse insect communities we need to be prioritising the planting of both native and non-native plants in different vegetation habitat types, says Luis Mata, who spoke with Professor Tim Entwisle on ABC Radio National about insect biodiversity in Melbourne recently. During the interview they walked through the Royal Botanic Gardens observing some of the insects that call Melbourne home. His research is part of CAUL Hub’s project on the Shared Urban Habitat and is advocating for insects to continue to become part of the conservation movement.
Luis recently produced a children’s book, “The Little Things that Run the City – 30 amazing insects that live in Melbourne!”, which is beautifully illustrated by science communicator and artist Kate Cranney, and runs regular workshops at Westgate Park involving members of the public in observing and documenting urban pollinators.
Image credit: Luis Mata
Nature-based solutions (NBS) such as green roofs, wetlands and urban parks use the properties of natural systems to provide a host of benefits for human and non-human city dwellers. The CAUL Hub recently hosted a seminar on NBS in collaboration with RMIT University and Lund University. It featured presentations from Associate Professor Kirsten Parris, Professor Sarah Bekessy and Associate Professor Kes McCormick.
The event was facilitated by Dr Cathy Oke and featured an interactive discussion about the multitude of positive outcomes these solutions offer to people and biodiversity in urban areas. As well as limiting the effects of climate change and improving biodiversity, if implemented appropriately these solutions make significant contributions to social well-being.
