There is an increasing need for green infrastructure in cities as more than half of the world’s population now lives in urban environments, with no end in sight to the increasing trend of urbanization. Loss of opportunity to encounter nature in cities has also led to the “extinction of experience” of biodiversity for many urban residents, with implications for human well-being, attitudes towards the health of the natural environment, and informed democratic decision-making. To address these problems, a research collaboration between the Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition and students of urban ecology at the University of Maryland, College Park, seeks to connect patches of habitat for wildlife by improving ecological conditions of residential landscapes. The Baltimore Biodiversity Toolkit project aims to educate people in supporting the needs of local native animals, encourage community land stewardship, and monitor biodiversity using citizen science platforms.
Results/Conclusions
Students have advanced this project by researching habitat needs of “Ambassador Species” identified by an expert team and by identifying plants that can be added to residential yards to provide food and shelter in the urban landscape. Graduate students have mapped sources of native plants, developed surveys and citizen science approaches to understand participation and effectiveness of the program, created a calendar of regional native plant events, and created guides for soil and site assessment, planting, and plant care practices.
A new student-led pilot study will test outreach and planting strategies, increase campus biodiversity, and create educational opportunities for the university community including campus workers and visitors. To understand community engagement and encounters with wildlife, surveys will be administered pre-planting and continued throughout the post-installation period. Volunteer opportunities for landscape installation provide hands-on learning, and classes will observe campus wildlife via iNaturalist and other citizen science platforms.