The critically endangered Swift Parrot has been crowned Australian Bird of the Year in the Guardian / BirdLife Australia’s biennial 2023 poll, a public voting contest that aims to raise awareness of conservation issues.
After a successful online campaign by conservationists, concerned about dwindling numbers with only 750 of the Swift Parrots remaining in the wild, BirdLife describes this year’s outcome as “a huge win for threatened species everywhere.”
Samantha Vine, BirdLife Australia’s Head of Conservation and Science, says, “We are watching extinction in real time for the Swift Parrot.”
Alex Croft of BirdLife Australia says the Swift Parrot won with a grand total of 11,171 votes and the first time for ‘swifties’ to have taken out the title.
The Tawny Frogmouth was runner-up with 10,729 votes and third place was another endangered species, the Gang-gang Cockatoo with 7,190 votes.
The Swift Parrot is one of only three species of migratory parrots in the world. Croft says, “Twice a year, these remarkable birds brave crossing one of the world’s most dangerous bodies of water – Bass Strait – as they migrate from their Tasmanian breeding grounds to the mainland to feed on flowering gums and lerp in south-eastern Australia.”
The Guardian reports on exemptions to environmental laws said to be contributing to habitat losses.
July 2023 was recently reported as the hottest month on Earth. With summer heat waves blasting through previous records, landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm SWA writes about how designers can help society adapt to our increasingly warming world.
SWA reports on the heat inequity now seen in nearly every major city in the US, interviewing designers about solutions and tools to mitigate extreme heat.
They write, “We’ve been tackling design solutions for extreme heat at all scales, studying how urban foresters can adapt to a warming climate; working with the City of Houston to develop a master plan for community “resilience hubs” providing residents life-saving access to cooling centers; and incorporating shade structures, tree cover, and other cooling infrastructure across our work, from pocket parks to regional networks.”
For example, Director of Research with SWA’s XL Lab Chicago, Anya Domlesky, recommends designers study cities that currently have similar climates in line with their city’s projections. She says, “Look to cities the next rung up on the climate ladder. If you’re an urban planner in Paris, a city with warm summers, look to those with hotter summers in the same precipitation regime like Taipei, Brisbane, or Atlanta. How have they coped with heat and humidity in the past?
“If you’re looking at a longer-term horizon, you might look to Casablanca, Sacramento, or Perth – by 2100, Paris is projected to have a similar temperature and precipitation to those areas today.”
The Street Furniture Australia factory, in Regents Park, Western Sydney, is both a manufacturing hub and R&D studio for our Australian-designed and made street furniture products. We run fun and informative group events for customers throughout the year, to share how products are designed, tested and built, and the latest products and projects. Director of Tract Julie Lee said: “It was a great opportunity for our team to look behind the scenes and understand the innovation, research and climate positive outcomes Street Furniture Australia is focusing on. Thank you for having us!” Place Design Group Associate, Liam Isaksen, said: “The factory tour is a fun experience to learn about the design and manufacturing process of public furniture we use in landscape architecture design. Seeing the work behind the scenes and …
Did you catch these most-read case studies, furnishing tips, new product announcements and special industry events in your StreetChat updates in 2023? Each month our StreetChat enewsletter publishes new projects, products and trends from the public domain; subscribe to receive it in your inbox. 10. Which design firm can see Longhorn Cattle from their office window? 2 countries. 9 cities. 300 landscape architects. Street Furniture Australia and USA partner Spruce & Gander visited offices in Australia and Texas. There were key similarities and some notable standouts. 9. Jazz at The Mint: Product and Book Launch Sydney landscape architects gathered at the iconic Mint Courtyard to launch a design book by our founding directors Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison, and expansions to the Linea collection. 8. 2023 Good Cause Giveaway goes to …
Street Furniture Australia has designed and built prototype charging stands as part of a Transport for NSW program to deliver free phone chargers at 15 Sydney train stations. Developed by Street Furniture Australia’s inhouse industrial designers in collaboration with Transport for NSW, the prototypes offer wireless, USB-A and USB-C charging, and can power 7 devices at once. They were built at the Street Furniture Australia factory in Western Sydney. Two Power Spots are now installed at Liverpool and Campbelltown stations. The $1 million Power Spots Project rollout to 15 transport hubs including Bankstown, Hurstville, Lidcombe, Penrith, Wynyard, Central, Town Hall and Bondi Junction will be completed by late 2024. NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the Power Spots provide peace of mind: “In the modern world, our phones are our …
Three landscape architects share their thoughts on the Voice History is calling as Australians head to the polls for a referendum on October 14, 2023, to vote on enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution. The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) said it encourages all members to “engage deeply with the available information, contemplate its implications, and arrive at an informed stance that aligns with your values and beliefs. “As landscape architects, we often find ourselves at the intersection of nature, culture, politics and history, aiming to craft spaces that resonate with the stories and experiences of those who inhabit them. This unique position imparts a special responsibility upon us to be both informed and sensitive to the cultural dimensions of our work.” AILA has compiled referendum …
New research: planting trees in cities could save lives New research from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health suggests planting more trees could lead to fewer deaths from increasingly high summer temperatures in cities. The researchers say increasing urban tree coverage to 30% could reduce temperatures by approximately 0.4%, which could reduce heat-related deaths by 39.5% according to the study’s modelling. Lead author, Tamara Iungman, says, “We already know that high temperatures in urban environments are associated with negative health outcomes, such as cardiorespiratory failure, hospital admission, and premature death.” Her team wants to influence policymakers to make cities greener, “more sustainable, resilient and healthy.” Co-author Mark Nieuwenhuijsen says, “Planting more trees in cities should be prioritised because it brings a huge range of health benefits beyond reducing heat-related deaths, …
Designing Streets for Kids A study on designing streets for children of all ages and their changing needs, Designing Streets for Kids, has been published by the US-based Global Designing Cities Initiative and National Association of City Transportation Officials. The guide outlines “best practices, programs, strategies and policies” for creating safe, enjoyable and inspiring street spaces for children and their carers. It looks at streets that are “safe and healthy, comfortable and convenient, inspirational and educational – streets that better serve everyone.” Global Designing Cities Initiative permanent chair, Janette Sadik-Khan, writes, “This guide integrates the best of what works in different countries and cultural contexts to create universal principles for streets based on their most vulnerable users.” She says, “If you design a street that works for kids, you design …
