News & Events

​APRU Biodiversity for Sustainable Cities Webinar Series 2024 

APRU

 Biodiversity for Sustainable Cities

 Webinar Series 2024 

Human impact on the environment is now causing the crisis of biodiversity loss at unprecedented rates, especially for places like cities, which are the most populated settlements in the world and face great challenges in resisting biodiversity loss. How to allow human development and biodiversity conservation to work together for sustainable development is a key issue that needs to be resolved. In light of addressing this global challenge, the APRU Biodiversity Program and Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Program are jointly organizing a webinar series in partnership with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and The University of Sydney for researchers, practitioners, educators, students, and other stakeholders to share insights into ecosystem protection for urban sustainability.

 Webinar 3 

 Time 

9:30am – 11:00am

October 16, Wednesday (UTC+8)

Zoom Meeting Registration

https://www.apru.org/event/arpu-biodiversity-for-sustainable-cities-webinar-series-2024/

The zoom meeting information will be sent to all registrants by host university

Cooperative Journal

Chinese Landscape Architecture Journal

 Moderator 

Yekang Ko 

Associate Professor / School of Architecture & Environment / University of Oregon

Director of APRU SCL Program

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 Speakers 

​Gail Langellotto

Professor of Horticulture / Department of Plant Science / Oregon State University

Cultivating Biodiversity in Small Spaces: Plants, People, and Practices 

Gail Langellotto is a Professor of Horticulture at Oregon State University (OSU), where she also leads the OSU Garden Ecology Lab. Together with her students, she studies garden soils, microbes, insects, and plants, to promote sustainable garden designs and management practices. Her interdisciplinary research spans the fields of entomology, horticulture, urban ecology, conservation biology, and social science, and is conducted in close collaboration with gardeners, landscapers, designers, and nursery plant producers. Prior to joining OSU, she was an Assistant Professor at Fordham University in New York City, and completed a post-doctoral research assistantship at the University of California, Davis. She holds a B.S. in biology, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in entomology, all from the University of Maryland.

Sohyun Park

Associate Professor / Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture / University of Connecticut

Biodiversity-Positive Design: Empirical Evidence and Case Studies 

Dr. Sohyun Park is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Connecticut (UConn). Before joining UConn, she worked in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Texas Tech University. She also held positions as a Research Director and Research Fellow in the public and private sectors. Dr. Park earned her Ph.D. degree in Environmental Design and Planning from Arizona State University, a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture, and a B.S. in Biology from Korea. She is also a certified SITES Accredited Professional. Dr. Park’s scholarly pursuits revolve around the intricate interplay between natural and human systems, with a particular focus on sustainability and the health of ecosystems and communities. Her research aims to advance understanding of how urban morphology, functions, and changes influence ecosystem services and their interactions with human well-being. A central aspect of her current research critically examines biodiversity-positive design, seeking design solutions to address the ongoing biodiversity crisis at various scales.

​Jennifer Rae Pierce

Co-founder and COO / Urban Biodiversity Hub

Urban Biodiversity Strategies, Frameworks and Indicators: A Review 

Jennifer Rae Pierce is a political ecologist, urban planner, and urban biodiversity policy specialist with 18 years of experience with cities and nature. She is the co-founder of Urban Biodiversity Hub (UBHub) which hosts the largest global database on urban biodiversity activities, publishes research on local practices and global targets for biodiversity, and supports related indicator tracking and development for local governments. She has prepared local government tools and reports including a biodiversity and ecosystem services mainstreaming toolkit for ICLEI, the Urban Nature Indexes for IUCN, and the Science-Based Targets for Cities for Nature. Her published research includes global comparative work across hundreds of cities as well as more in-depth explorations of cities in Thailand, India, Japan, Singapore, Israel, Canada, the USA, Brazil, and South Africa. She holds a master’s degree in urban planning from Cornell University and in environmental science and policy from Central European University. She is now earning her PhD from UBC on urban biodiversity worldviews and justice.