New paper!🌏🪶🧪 We once again combine the powers of land use data with citizen science observations, finding that informal green spaces (IGS) may be providing resources for some bird functional groups that could be missing from traditional #urban green spaces. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Bringing woodland birds back Last week, the ICON Science team received news that our ARC Industry Linkage Project, "Bringing woodland birds back to the suburbs," has been funded in full! Over the next...

Bringing woodland birds back

Last week, the ICON Science team received news that our ARC Industry Linkage Project, "Bringing woodland birds back to the suburbs," has been funded in full! Over the next five...

icon-science.org

New paper lead by Katherine Robertson @icon-science.bsky.social with @jacintahumphrey.bsky.social @sbekessy.bsky.social explores ways we can use urban design to reduce zoonotic disease risk academic.oup.com/bioscience/a... 🧪🌏 #urbanNature #urbanism #urbanDesign

Just over two weeks in and I'm already feeling so welcomed and at home on this campus! Here at #UniMelb, I’ll be working on two ARC-funded projects focused on Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design and ‘everyday nature’ in streetscapes. Plenty of urban ecology work ahead! 😀 @icon-science.bsky.social

ICON Science Visits The Cape: Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design in Action After years of championing Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD) in new housing developments, the ICON...

ICON Science Visits The Cape: Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design in Action

After years of championing Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD) in new housing developments, the ICON Science team finally had the opportunity to visit a project that has transformed that vision...

icon-science.org

New paper from almost-finished-her-PhD Fiona Hoegh-Guldberg! @icon-science.bsky.social Recognising that water sensitive #urbanDesign often overlooks #biodiversity, Fi introduces a joint BSUD & WSUD framework, to improve outcomes for nature, water and people. 🌏🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Nature-Water Design: Integrating biodiversity and water sensitive urban design

The global rise of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) presents a key opportunity to find synergies between social and environmental objectives of urban deve…

sciencedirect.com

✨ New year, new campus! ✨ Kicking off the year with a change of scenery and an exciting new university home. Lots to look forward to this year - watch this space... 🌱

#ESA2025 was a blast! Read all about what the ICON Science team got up to here 📰 #Ecology #Conference #Biodiversity #NaturePositive #SciComm #Adelaide

ICON Science UniMelb@icon-science.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Sunshine, Science and Nature-Positive Cities: ICON at ESA 2025  https://icon-science.org/sunshine-science-and-nature-positive-cities-icon-at-esa-2025/

’Tis conference season! This is my third, and I’m sort of all drawn out… pun intended. Here is the second logo reimagining for #ESA2025 which is from 23–28 November in Tarndanya (Adelaide)⁠ — Kaurna Country esa2025.org.au

Some fantastic tips on engaging with the media coming from hugely experienced @biodivcouncil.bsky.social Jaana Dielenberg and Claire Peddie @ecolsocaus.bsky.social #ESA2025 - short, clear and fun pitches - prep photos/videos ahead of time - say yes to radio & tv to expand your audience

If you're at @ecolsocaus.bsky.social #ESA2025 and feeling interactive, I'm chairing the Hot Topics Symposium on Weds morning! Come along to hear some of the "hottest" topics in Ecology, stay for a faciliatated discussion on the what you think are the next "need-to-knows" for government and industry.

Excited for the week ahead in Adelaide at #ESA2025! Started off slightly earlier than most as the Board got together to strategise at our annual Planning Day yesterday. Love working with such amazing and passionate people 💚

Phenomenal Welcome to Kaurna Country @ecolsocaus.bsky.social #ESA2025 from Katrina Karlapina Power. Incredible Indigenous and feminist energy, both a wake up call and call to action, to connect with the land our Mother. "Curiosity and Courage!"

I’m thrilled to be here on #KaurnaCountry in #Adelaide to attend #ESA2025! I’m presenting in the #NaturePositive Cities session at 11.30am on Wed. Come along to hear about how much it’s going to cost to implement #BSUD actions in our rapidly growing suburbs 🏘️ @ecolsocaus.bsky.social

Melbourne’s native bird community is becoming progressively simplified, or homogenised, with greater urban development. In my recent paper, I demonstrate that more developed suburbs are home to fewer individual birds and a reduced diversity of bird species. 1/5 doi.org/10.1007/s109...

The @birdlifeoz.bsky.social #AussieBirdCount is here! It's time to get outdoors and count some birds! 🦜 🐦‍⬛ 🦆 🦉 🐦 🦢 All you need is 20 mins and your smartphone. Here's how to contribute to Australia's largest #CitizenScience event... 1/4 📷 by Darebin Creek Management Committee

Are you presenting your first talk or poster at the @ecolsocaus.bsky.social Conference 2025? Don't miss this upcoming webinar on designing clear, engaging and informative graphics! ✍ Register via the QR code or visit: lnkd.in/gPu77TrY #ESA2025 #EarlyCareer #SciComm #Graphics #Webinar

Congratulations again to the Young Ocean Innovators on a fantastic event at Melbourne Zoo! It was great to share a bit about my career in urban ecology, and (hopefully) inspire the next generation work in this space 😊 📷 by Daniella Conser #YoungOceanInnovators #YouthSummit #UrbanBiodiversity

Looking for tips on how to care for wildlife at home?! The ICON team has you covered 😜 Check out the latest blogs on the ICON website here: icon-science.org/how-to-turn-... icon-science.org/helping-our-...

Helping our feathered neighbours thrive - ICON Science

Spring is in the air, Guardian Australia’s ‘Bird of the Year’ poll is now open, and the Aussie Bird Count is just around the corner – what better time to stop and think about how you can support nativ...

icon-science.org

Are you looking to attract native birds to your garden this spring? 🦜 🏡 Here's some top tips from @drkyliesoanes.bsky.social and yours truly! www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... #BirdsInBackyards #UrbanNature #WildlifeGardening #CitizenScience

Birds and cities don’t always mix well. But small changes in our behaviour can make a difference

Spring is a great time of year for noticing neighbourhood birds. Here are some simple ideas for helping the birds in Australian back yards, cities and towns

theguardian.com

What if we changed urban spaces to invite wildlife back into our cities rather than forcing them out? When Wildlife Moves In, a new work at the National Gallery of Victoria, explores ways our homes can be designed to help wildlife live among us, benefiting human health 🧪 whenwildlifemovesin.com

From frog saunas to butterfly puddles: 8 ways to turn your homes into a wildlife refuge: theconversation.com/from-frog-sa... A fantastic summary article from my colleagues at @icon-science.bsky.social - Bethany Kiss, Mark Jacques and Sarah Bekessy. Well done team! 🦋🌱🪺🐈🐸

From frog saunas to butterfly puddles: 8 ways to turn your homes into a wildlife refuge

Urban sprawl has forced native animals and humans to live close together. Here are eight ways to make your home a refuge for wildlife.

theconversation.com

New ICON blog post: icon-science.org/ngv-exhibiti...

NGV Exhibition: When wildlife moves in - ICON Science

Native animals can make for excellent neighbours – blue-banded bees pollinate our vegetable gardens; microbats eat up to 1200 mosquitoes per night; powerful owls keep rodents at bay. But could we go o...

icon-science.org

This week, I finally visited the recently renovated Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool and I have to say - I like what you've done with the place, Glen Eira City Council 😍 #UrbanGreening #IndigenousPlants #UrbanHabitat

"We don't have to go obliterating habitat every time we want to… establish a new residential estate for people". With 600-700 critically endangered Swift Parrots turning up on the outskirts of Bendigo, it's time to rethink urban development. 🦜 www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

Massive flock of critically endangered swift parrots seen in one spot

A gathering of close to the total estimated population of swift parrots excites ecologists, but they warn it is no party for the critically endangered species.

abc.net.au

Ever wondered what #UrbanEcology #Fieldwork looks like? Here's a perfect example! This photo from Google Street View was taken during Lydia Daniel’s Honours fieldwork – we were surveying large street trees for birds, which involved a lot of time standing on nature strips and staring up at trees.

A massive congratulations to ICON Science Lab Head, Prof. @sbekessy.bsky.social, who has been successful in securing an ARC Industry Laureate Fellowship for 2025!! Congratulations Sarah!! 👏🏼🎉🥂 Read more about Sarah's project here: www.arc.gov.au/2025-industr...

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) in Meanjin/Brisbane. It was great event, but the thing that really struck me was Brisbane's urban greening! 🌿 #ICCB2025 #UrbanGreening #Brisbane

Science communication has taken me to some very cool places. Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to share some of my research at Nerd Nite Melbourne! I never would have thought I’d be gracing this stage, but what a FANTASTIC experience!

If you can’t wait for the next ICCB - We are thrilled to announce that the next SCB Oceania conference will be held in Nov 2026 together with @newzealandecology.bsky.social in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa NZ! #NZES_SCBO2026 #ICCB2025 confer.eventsair.com/2026-nzes-sc...