PhD Opportunity: Beyond green facades – integrating natural ecologies and the built environment
PhD Advertisement Title: Beyond green facades – integrating natural ecologies and the built environment Description: This PhD challenges the status quo of ‘green’ architecture by addressing critical research gaps in the fields of natural ecology and the built environment to develop ecologically-driven architectural/landscape/urban design. By integrating ecological knowledge and understanding, designers can produce urban environments […]
PhD Opportunity: Nature as medicine: can a dose of the outdoors cure loneliness?
PhD Advertisement: Nature as medicine: can a dose of the outdoors cure loneliness? Description: This PhD is part of an NHMRC/European Commission funded project exploring the benefits of prescribing nature-based social activities to reduce loneliness and improve mental health. The project aims to better understand the effects of green space and biodiversity on loneliness and […]
Work with us!
Research Fellow (RECETAS project) We are currently looking for a Research Fellow for an exciting, interdisciplinary, 4 year postdoc looking at the use of nature based prescribing to treat loneliness! 1x part time (0.5FTE), fixed term (4 years) position available Salary Level at Academic Level B1 ($100,465) + 17% Super Be part of global multidisciplinary […]
Invertebrate use of rooftops in Melbourne
Green roofs are a peculiar kind of designed habitat. In already highly urbanised areas, where there is large pressure on efficient land use, green roof retrofits are a key strategy to bring back nature without losing building capital. While green roofs are known to have many economic and social benefits, such as stormwater retention and […]
Haptic pathways: co-designing inclusive, civil and sensorial moments in the city
by Freya Thomas A few members of ICON Science recently collaborated with Dr Zoe Myers from the Australian Urban Design Research Centre in the School of Design at the University of Western Australia by entering a design challenge set by The City of Melbourne. Our design was titled: Haptic pathways: co-designing inclusive, civil and sensorial […]
Outreach: Nurturing nature, designing a home with biodiversity in mind
Sarah Bekessy, Georgia Garrard, Sarrah Hurley, Casey Visintin, Freya Thomas & Holly Kirk There’s a lot you can do to promote biodiversity when you’re designing a new home or renovation, with clear benefits for you and your family as well as for the natural environment…
Transforming urban gardeners into land stewards
by Laura Mumaw The American conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote about the importance of practicing a ‘land ethic’, adopting personal responsibility for the health of the land – the soils, waters, plants and animals of a place – for the good of the community. Private land stewardship, caring for native flora and fauna on one’s property, […]
Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Forum in The City of Melbourne
Members of the ICS research group recently attended The Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Forum held by The City of Melbourne – a day of discussions about biodiversity research in the urban area of Melbourne. It was a fantastic day to meet practitioners, decision makers and researchers working in Melbourne. Three members of ICS spoke about […]
New ARC-Linkage Project: Designing green spaces for biodiversity and human well-being
The health and well-being of urban residents is intrinsically linked to green spaces and their biodiversity. Yet little is known about the mechanisms through which green space design delivers biodiversity and human well-being benefits. Through our recently funded Australian Research Council – Linkage Project ‘Designing green spaces for biodiversity and human well-being’ (LP160100324) we aim to […]
The Little Things that Run the City
How many insect species live in your city? How are they distributed amongst the city’s green spaces? What are the ecological processes they perform and ecosystem services they deliver? What are their most frequent ecological interactions? The Little Things that Run the City is a project that aims to address these and other questions within […]
