Program on the Environment

With this project I address the issues of ecological equity and habitat fragmentation. Ecological equity refers to green space accessibility and environmental health disparities while habitat fragmentation refers to the ways that industrialization has altered the landscape and made it less suitable for native flora and fauna. For a solution based around promoting native plant production in cities, I determined that restoration in urban spaces should be widespread and the responsibility of restoration should be shifted from government agencies or nonprofits to communities. In order to create a tool for community members to organize green space projects, I sought to answer the question: What are the best practices for native plant restoration and can they be applied in urban environments? For my internship I worked in a native plant garden and helped restore a wetland. I interned with Weed Warriors where I recorded best restoration practices from promoting native plant production and weeding invasive species. Additionally, I conducted my own personal research where I interviewed eight different professionals specializing in native plant reintroduction to create a green space project guide. I composed a 50 page manual detailing the processes necessitated by green space projects such as land acquisition, landscape design, considering ecological interactions, community collaboration, funding and volunteer recruitment. This manual can inform future planning of green space projects to promote community care and ecological resilience. They highlight the aspects of current green space creation and provide solutions for how green spaces can be produced more productively and successfully.