eBook : Free to download : Chapter by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors :
“Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous science, developed over thousands of generations, are key to living sustainably in Australia’s urban environments. We acknowledge that every place in Australia – cities, towns, and regional centres – is also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Country..” See pages 10-20 of the eBook Cities for People and Nature.
https://bit.ly/CitiesPeopleNature
Image: Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. ‘Birrarung Wilam’ – meaning river camp – is an environmental art project made up of several interrelated elements that celebrate the physical and spiritual connections between Indigenous people and place.
Academic paper: free access: leading Australian authors, including Aboriginal authors
“Bringing nature back into cities (BNB for brevity) embodies any set of actions that encourage the return of local, native species—from soil bacteria to charismatic vertebrates—to areas within urban environments where they have become rare or locally extinct. The definition encompasses the idea that species may be brought back: (a) as individuals or populations, but also grouped into ecological communities; (b) either by self or human-mediated agency and (c) to either remnant or designed habitats within the public and private domains of urban environments.”
Additionally, an extract of Indigenous perspectives relating to the term ‘rewilding’ are noted below. Please see the full paper for more detail
“Acknowledging and respecting the sovereignty of local and Indigenous knowledge-systems should be a pressing priority when conceptualizing and putting into practice actions to bring nature back. A striking case of a disjuncture however can be appreciated in the continued widespread use of the term ‘rewilding’. In the Australian context, for example, the idea of rewilding fails to recognize that there is no place in Australia which Indigenous peoples consider ‘wild’, and is therefore at odds with the available evidence, much of which has only been scientifically proven, explored and accepted in relatively recent times (Gammage, 2012; Langton, 2013; Pascoe, 2014).” An extract from the paper, Bringing Nature back into Cities by L Mata, C Ramalho, J Kennedy, K Parris, L Valentine, M Miller, S Bekessy, J Hurley and Z Cumpston, https://nespurban.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Bringing-nature-back-into-cities.pdf featured in the eBook Cities for People and Nature https://bit.ly/CitiesPeopleNature
Image: Blue banded bee, 226
eBook: Free downloadable chapter with a link to a Free downloadable booklet: includes plant description signs that can be printed
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia have applied and honed scientific practices of observation and experimentation over countless millennia to harness the tremendous potential of plants. We have ingeniously utilised plants for medicines, to provide our nutritional needs, to express our culture and to develop innovative technologies.” Zena Cumpston, from the resource booklet, “Indigenous Plant Use” featured in the eBook Cities for People and Nature https://bit.ly/CitiesPeopleNature
Additionally, the below quote highlights the importance of Indigenous perspectives in environmental management more broadly, including the framing of these perspectives as ‘adapting and innovating’ as opposed to knowledge ‘lost’.
“Our culture is often represented as fixed or stagnant, negating our efficacy and capacity to continuously adapt and innovate: foundational to our longevity as the oldest living culture on earth. Whilst it is true that we have suffered many losses and continue to suffer as a result of the ongoing circumstance of colonisation, we are powerful people. Our knowledges and the efficacy of our holistic approaches to systems of management are not lost. Our interactions with Country, both today and over time, are highly valuable in all aspects of environmental management.” Zena Cumpston, from the booklet, resource booklet, “Indigenous Plant Use” featured in the eBook Cities for People and Nature https://bit.ly/CitiesPeopleNature
See also “First Knowledges Plants Past Present and Future” by Zena Cumpston, Michael Shawn-Fletcher, and Leslie Head available from bookshops and online. This book is part of the series First Knowledges.
Images: Front cover “Indigenous Plant Use” and “First Knowledges Plants Past, Present and Future”
eBook chapter: Free downloadable chapter: includes a methodology example:
Understanding how the configuration of urban vegetation influences surface temperatures can help urban planners to effectively increase green spaces and vegetation to reduce the urban heat-island effect (increased temperatures resulting from the absorption and re-emission of heat by urban building materials).
Advanced statistical modeling, detailed mapping of urban vegetation, and satellite-derived land surface temperature information can show cooling returns. See page 57 of the eBook Cities for People and Nature for detailed studies and findings.
Short visual report with icons: Graphic representation :
There are many documented benefits of urban greening. This publication shows the economic, social, and environmental benefits of urban greening. A publication by K Bowen and the supporting partners. The publication features icons and statistics presented in a visual format with information sources listed in full.
Report: Details a methodology for incorporating social science methods to broaden benefits.
A report by Dr Natasha Pauli, Prof Cecily Maller et al. An extract from the report notes, that a key part of socio-ecological urban greening is therefore understanding the complex relationships between the social and ecological dimensions and how these relationships can enhance or hinder outcomes. Interdisciplinary research is necessary to understand the intended multifaceted benefits and impacts of urban greening initiatives, and how social and ecological benefits might interact.’
Academic paper : social justice including case study on a new governance model for the Yarra River-Birrarung : Authors : Dr Judy Bush and Adrienne Doyon, featuring the following highlights :
‘Just nature-based cities’ integrate theories of just cities, nature-based solutions, and epistemic justice. The ‘just nature-based city’ framework can be applied as both a planning and an analytical tool. Yarra River-Birrarung is a case study of new approaches to just nature-based city governance.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901123000564?via%3Dihub
eBook Chapter: free to download: design framework using on-site versus off-set gains :
Biodiversity-sensitive urban design is a design framework that can be used to identify actions to improve habitats for urban biodiversity, based on ecological principles, which also align with other development objectives. BSUD design ensures that sites are developed with a net benefit to biodiversity, creating on-site gains for both nature and people.
eBook Chapter: free to download: threatened species in cities :
Urban-restricted threatened species are a special case of threatened species – those whose entire remaining distribution is encapsulated within a city or town. From page 75 of the eBook Cities for People and Nature.
Image: See the list of urban-restricted threatened species here. https://nespurban.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/39-urban-restricted-threatened-species-in-Australia.pdf
Academic paper: myth-busting concept: provides evidence that small spaces are worth creating and maintaining :
An extract from the conclusion section of this important paper by Lenore Fahrig. “The SLOSS literature of the past 40 years is rich in both empirical results and theory. Nevertheless, this paper represents the first attempt to confront the theory with empirical results. In my review of empirical studies I found that several small patches usually hold more species than a few large patches of the same total area, that is, SS > SL.”
Article from eBook: free to download: framework for planning biodiversity actions for individual species :
Ecological connectivity theory describes how easy or difficult it is for an animal to travel across a landscape. From page 82 of the eBook Cities for People and Nature
Multi-outcome approach :
Nature-based solutions (NBS) are ecosystem-based approaches for addressing a range of societal challenges including climate change impacts, food and water security, human health and wellbeing, and economic and social development.
https://www.iucn.org/our-work/nature-based-solutions
Image: University British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (Musqueam territory) and Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia (Bunurong Country).
Report:
This report discusses how visions and narratives on urban nature in Australian cities need decisive shifting to put nature front and centre in all new efforts related to urbanisation, renewal, and densification. Frantzeskaki, N., Oke, C., Barnett, G. et al. A transformative mission for prioritising nature in Australian cities. Ambio 51, 1433–1445 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01725-z.
Image: Native and indigenous plants on Melbourne rooftop, 226
