This Institute of Zoology meeting will focus on urban wildlife, including pollinators, a local hedgehog population and urban citizen-science projects, as well as discussing potential linkages between human well-being, physical health and urban ecology.

Nearly half of the world’s population lives in urban environments and this is projected to increase in future. With high human densities and demands on space, urban landscapes can be polluted and crowded, yet they also represent a rapidly expanding habitat for wildlife.

Globally, urbanization may have advantages through the concentration of human footprint and, potentially, efficiencies in resource management and urban sustainability.  As the number of urban residents increases, so do the potential health benefits of urban green spaces.  The qualities of urban green spaces and the diversity of species they support can impact peoples’ appreciation of such areas, and exposure to urban wildlife will be increasingly important to public understanding of the broader natural world.

This meeting will focus on urban wildlife, including pollinators, a local hedgehog population and urban citizen-science projects, as well as discussing potential linkages between human well-being, physical health and urban ecology.

Speakers

• Dr Katherine Baldock, University of Bristol, Conservation opportunities for pollinators in urban areas
• Professor Zoe Davies, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Human health and wellbeing in urban green spaces
• Dr Chris Carbone, Institute of Zoology, ZSL, London Hedgehog watch - population fragmentation in an urban setting

Chaired by Professor Kate Jones, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, UCL

Book a 3-course dinner with the speakers