Wildlife gardening: an urban nexus of social and ecological relationships

This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. The published version of this Preprint is available: https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2484. This is version 2 of this Preprint.

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Authors

Laura Mumaw, Luis Mata

Abstract

Biodiversity in urban environments continues to decline, alongside diminution of human connections with nature and community. An integrated ethic and practice of caring for one’s human and ecological community could help address these issues. Here, we describe how wildlife gardening can be such a pathway. We snapshot related social dynamics and human wellbeing benefits, highlighting a case study that reveals an array of connections and wellbeing facets from wildlife gardening, and their relationship with number of activities and time spent in the garden. We outline how positive biodiversity outcomes can be attained through habitat improvement in gardens. We describe how integration of nature and human community stewardship can work across physical and political boundaries when government and communities work collaboratively. We argue that wildlife gardening carried out in this manner can involve urban residents in crafting and enacting an intertwined ethic and practice of caring for nature and humanity.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32942/osf.io/9rkhm

Subjects

Biodiversity, Environmental Studies, Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Human-nature relations, nature conservation, nature stewardship, Social-ecological systems, urban ecology, Urban environments

Dates

Published: 2021-03-04 22:23

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License

CC-By Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Additional Metadata

Data and Code Availability Statement:
Data are sensitive and cannot be provided publicly. Data can be obtained from Knox City Council at 511 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South, 3152, Victoria, Australia.