News
- ‘Bee road’ plans to save key pollinators:: This fascinating article from The Guardian looks at a new project to plant bee roads, corridors of planted wildflowers for pollinators.
- In birds vs. buildings, feathered friends gain ground:: An article from The Globe and Mail in Canada features FLAP, Fatal Light Awareness Program and how new legal action and regulations partnered with education is making a difference.
- ‘Lights Out’ policies save thousands of migratory birds from fatal attraction:: Another detailed story about success in preventing bird strikes, this time in Chicago.
- Birds crashing into buildings, windows all too common:: From TBD this link features a slideshow collection of dead birds collected by various organizations.
- The Environmental, Financial and Health Benefits of Urban Forestry:: An article the City Parks Blog discussing a recent report from the USDA Forest Service titled Sustaining America’s Urban Trees and Forests, which found many benefits of urban forests including: “Wildlife and biodiversity—Urban forests help create and enhance animal and plant habitats and can act as “reservoirs” for endangered species. Urban forest wildlife offer enjoyment to city dwellers and can serve as indicators of local environmental health.”
- Bay restoration celebrated as work continues and SeaWorld, Audubon build slice of habitat:: These two articles, both from the Sign On San Diego website, feature a new restoration project along South Bay in San Diego to create 70 acres of wildlife habitat.
- Urban trails enable residents to explore nature without leaving city:: This story features a look at Sunset Park, a new park in Las Vegas which is heavily used by walkers, joggers and wildlife alike.
- Economic importance of bats in the ‘billions a year’ range:: A new study in Science is featured on Science Daily which analyzed the economic loss of bats to agriculture and found their value to be between $3.7 to $53 billion in a single year.
- Sir David Attenborough asks gardeners to help save the butterfly:: This article from The Telegraph features (my favorite naturalist and all-time hero) David Attenborough as he encourages people to add a little habitat to their gardens for butterflies.
- In Philly, It’s Toad Detour Time Again:: A story from NPR discusses an annual volunteer effort to help local toads cross roads to reach their breeding ponds.
- A year in the life of Richmond Park: Photographer captures London’s secret wildlife:: This beautiful photo essay featured in Mail Online features wildlife find in early mornings during a one-year period.
- Wild turkeys move in on campus:: From the Minnesota Daily this article discusses the increasing urbanization of turkeys, particularly in Minnesota.
- Gardening for Wildlife:: This article from Derry Journal features a wildlife garden design competition.
Resources
- Green Shorelines: A guide for lakeshore property owners on Lakes Washington and Sammamish:: This guide is full of excellent ideas and drawings on how to restore and preserve shoreline for habitat, both in and out of the water. Although focused on Seattle, there is plenty of valuable information in it.
- The Green Roof Bluebird House (PDF):: Here are plans to make your own bluebird house with a green roof.
- LA River:: This in-depth and interesting feature on the KCET website discusses the long history of the Los Angeles River, both environmental and cultural, and current conservation efforts to restore it.
- North Campus: L.A.’s Urban Nature:: This is a new blog from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles which is featuring the North Campus, their new outdoor exhibit.
- The Canopy – London’s Urban Forest: A Guide for Designers, Planners and Developers (PDF):: This is an excellent resource about urban trees and includes a wealth of information about their benefits, technical details and case studies.
Design
- Urban Habitat Project:: This interesting and new design in Buffalo, NY “aims to establish a living inner-city demonstration classroom that features habitat restoration, native plants, and sustainable site development/construction while explaining the benefits of bio-diversity.” Should be interesting to watch this project. Read more about the project on the Buffalo Rising website.
- Greek Green Roof:: This video features a green roof in the Athens suburbs and highlights the flowers, bees and butterflies.
- Waterfowl condo project will expand:: This article, from the Mail Tribune in southern Oregon, features a project of raised structures for Mallards to nest in to help them avoid land predators. This could be a good study for ducks in urban settings to help them avoid predators such as house cats, raccoons and people.
- Another Green Piece in South L.A.: First Phase of Wetlands Open:: Another feature from KCET, this article features a newly constructed wetlands.
- Rockin’ It: Innovative Use of Stone at the SF Garden Show:: This great blog post at the North Coast Gardening blog features a look at some creative use of stone for walls, many of which could easily be great for wildlife.
- City centre garden gets underway in Piccadilly Basin:: A new project in Manchester, this article discusses plans to create a new city garden along a canal, one side of which will be planted with flowers to provide habitat for butterflies, bees and dragonflies.
- Scaling Tempelhof: Berlin to Get Mountain, But No Matterhorn:: An article from Der Spiegel discusses a new park design which will feature a small mountain for climbing enthusiasts, habitat for wildlife and will sit in Berlin at an old airport.
- Johnson Terrace wildlife reserve:: This small, urban garden, featured on the Guardian, is a hidden gem just below Edinburgh castle.
- Man-made islands mooted for harbour:: A story from New Zealand paper Otago Daily Times, discusses an idea to create a necklace of islands in Otago Harbor for wildlife.
- How to make a creature tower:: Another video from Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust describes how to make a tower out of reused materials to provide shelter for a variety of wildlife.
