ICON scientists were out in force last Thursday and Friday at the first ever Twitter conference of the SCB Greater Melbourne Chapter. A huge congratulations to the organising committee and moderators (including ICON members Matthew and Holly) that braved the technology issues, found stray threads, and kept the tweets flowing. For many of us, it was the first time presenting in this format, but the quality of presentations was outstanding!
Our fearless leader, Sarah, defeated technology glitches to kick off the talks with an inspirational opening plenary that urged readers to plan for, and create everyday nature in cities.
1/10
— Sarah Bekessy (@sbekessy) July 30, 2020
Cities around the world are confronting unprecedented challenges to liveability – extreme weather, exponential population growth, stress, anxiety, pandemics – Everyday nature is a key solution (a thread)#SCBMelb20 @CAULHub @TSR_Hub @ICON_Science @CitiesWNature @urbangreenUP pic.twitter.com/zoI0XaNa0D
In the following session on Fitting Nature into Melbourne, Katherine presented her systematic review results for how plant origin influences biodiversity in urban green spaces (keep a look out for the paper, coming soon!)
1⃣ To green cities well, we need make careful plant choices. Bad choices lead to invasive species, maintenance tragedies and make it hard for animals to find shelter or food.
— Katherine Berthon (@CityKat75) July 30, 2020
A lot of people say ‘#native plants are better for #biodiversity’
But what is the evidence? #SCBMelb20 pic.twitter.com/fQcTvMYzxU
On Thursday afternoon, the Strategies for Designing Urban Spaces for Nature session saw a triple header of ICON Scientists. First up, Marco presented his work investigating how biodiversity and ecosystem services are treated in urban planning and policy documents (the answer is not well – another paper to look out for!).
Holly then presented her connectivity modelling work for the City of Melbourne, including prioritisation of road segments for greening action, to reduce the impact of these roads as barriers for wildlife. Rounding out the session, Thami presented on the process of setting biodiversity targets in the recently finished Biodiversity Plan for Fisherman’s Bend.
1/5 #SCBMelb20
— Marco Gutiérrez (@MarcoGtez) July 30, 2020
Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is used to support decision-making around policies, plans, and programs.
Its use is increasing worldwide, but when it comes to #conservation, how effective is it in addressing #biodiversity and #ecosystemservices issues? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/h7x1Sl6UxD
1 #SCBMelb20
— Holly Kirk (@HollyKirk) July 30, 2020
Biodiverse cities = healthy cities but how do we encourage wildlife to thrive?#urbanEcology can help us decide where to prioritise resources for nature.🌿
In 2018 we showed how @cityofmelbourne can use #connectivity theory as a planning tool: https://t.co/GMQSffspj8 pic.twitter.com/fxrxbVuz2R
Fisherman’s Bend is about to become the biggest urban renewal area in Australia, with 160,000 new homes & jobs planned. Our lab got a dream gig: craft a proper Biodiversity Plan to deliver habitat for more than just humans when the area rebuilds. #SCBMelb20 pic.twitter.com/RhZryYItX4
— Thami Croeser (@_ficus) July 30, 2020
On Friday, Georgia presented her work on cat control in the Threats to Nature in Melbourne session, and in the Connection to Nature session, Matthew shared his new survey results on connection to Nature in the City of Melbourne.
1⃣ Feral cat control is key to protecting Aust’s wildlife. @TSCommissioner’s Threatened Species Strategy includes target to cull 2m feral cats by 2020. But little was known about who is controlling feral cats and how many they kill.
— Georgia Garrard (@GeorgiaGarrard) July 31, 2020
We aimed to find out. #SCBMelb20 pic.twitter.com/HTv3kip4ae
#SCBMelb2020 1/5
— Matthew Selinske (@M_Selinske) July 31, 2020
What is the nature of nature connection🌱🦉🐨🪲🍄among City of Melbourne community?
Well, that’s what @BAlexSimmons and I set to find out.
CoM wants to ⬆️ #ConnectiontoNature among its community- residents, commuters, & visitors#ConSocSci @MelbourneSCB pic.twitter.com/2qwzDUV24u
With COVID-19 lockdowns now extended in Melbourne, and second waves potentially hitting other cities, Twitter Conferences may be the way of the future. They are very engaging and it is almost easier to gain post-talk feedback and ask questions – plus the talks are up there in perpetuity so you’ll never miss a thing!
It’s not too late, check out the hash tag #SCBMelb20 or follow the links above to view the talks and post your questions now!