ICON Science Visits The Cape: Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design in Action

After years of championing Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD) in new housing developments, the ICON Science team finally had the opportunity to visit a project that has transformed that vision into a reality. Last Friday, we travelled to Cape Paterson to explore The Cape – an environmental net-gain development that seamlessly integrates biodiversity conservation, energy efficiency, integrated […]

Helping our feathered neighbours thrive

Spring is in the air, Guardian Australia’s ‘Bird of the Year’ poll is now open, and the Aussie Bird Count is just around the corner – what better time to stop and think about how you can support native birds in your street, park or garden! Dr Jacinta Humphrey recently spoke to the Guardian Australia […]

Conservation community unites in Meanjin for ICCB 2025 

Last month, the 32nd International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2025) took place in Brisbane/Meanjin, Australia. ICON Science was well-represented at the meeting with seven current lab members and three recent alumni in attendance.   Current and former ICON Science lab members enjoy one of the poster sessions at ICCB 2025. Back row (left to right): […]

Future visioning for nature positive

The nature positive agenda requires transformative change and innovative approaches that move beyond business-as-usual. In an article recently published in npj Urban Sustainability, Dr Jacinta Humphrey and colleagues, demonstrate the use of visioning and target setting to create an actionable roadmap to a ‘nature positive’ future (Humphrey et al. 2025). An online workshop was held […]

Outreach: Nature is in crisis. Here are 10 easy ways you can make a difference

Australia’s rarest butterfly, the Australian fritillary. Garry Sankowsky, Author provided Last month, Sir David Attenborough called on United Kingdom residents to “go wild once per week”. By this, he meant taking actions which help rather than harm the natural world, such as planting wildflowers for bees and eating more plant-based foods. Australia should follow suit. We love our […]

ICON team members head across the Pacific

For a while it seemed as if travel was a thing of the past – workshops, conferences and meetings all pivoted online. Whilst this was great for our collective carbon footprint, it perhaps stymied creativity. Meeting virtually doesn’t fulfill the same functions as a face-to-face chat at a conference, where the informal gatherings are often […]

Biodiversity conservation cannot afford COVID-19 communication bungles

As COVID-19 continues to dominate our lives and media headlines, maintaining public engagement with biodiversity conservation can be a communication challenge. This media context can make it tempting for conservation professionals like us to draw links or parallels between the pandemic and the biodiversity crisis, with the intention to make stories about biodiversity more relevant […]