A tail of two cities: Wildlife in the urban jungle

Talk Description
Two raccoons walk into a bar... or rather, they live on top of one in Brooklyn, New York. Endangered birds forage on the Ihutai Avon-Heathcote as kite surfers whiz by. A kererū flies into a shining glass façade.

Over half of the people on Earth now live in urban settings and, as cities have taken on the challenge of improving urban environments, we are discovering more about how 'wild' cities can be.

Join Senior Lecturer Sara Kross as she shares research from two very different cities, her hometown of New York City and the vibrant metropolis of Ōtautahi Christchurch, to explore how urban design and community conservation can create better cities for both wildlife and people.
Bio
Dr Sara Kross is a Senior Lecturer in Terrestrial Ecology in Te Kura Pūtaiao Koiora | School of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. She is a conservation biologist whose research explores how habitat management shapes human-wildlife interactions in modified landscapes, including farms and cities. Her work spans a diverse range of species, from kārearea and barn owls to raccoons, ticks, and people, with a focus on creating environments where both wildlife and communities can thrive.