Human activity has degraded much of our urban landscape, making the rebuilding of native habitat on these lands an important priority. But potential restoration sites are often small and heavily altered, and questions about best strategies abound. Can these landscapes be designed and managed to support native biodiversity? How can we rebuild functioning ecosystems on them? Which target sites are practical ones, especially in this time of rapid climate change? Noted ecologist Steven Handel has been researching these challenges for most of his career and his work illustrates the surprising and significant transformations that are possible. On Wednesday, February 6 at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, He will discuss projects that he has worked on, including Freshkills Park (a former landfill on Staten Island), Brooklyn Bridge Park, and other coastal sites. Join us to learn more about urban ecological restoration in a world that desperately needs it.
Dr. Steven Handel, Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolution at Rutgers University, is currently a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and editor of the journal, Ecological Restoration. This free program is sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts.
