Animals have started taking advantage of cities as they enter lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. From New Delhi, India to Buenos Aires, Argentina, groups of animals including deer and lemurs have started to come out to explore – in search of food or just to play. Read the full article.
There have been some rather interesting observations during this circuit breaker period such as canes being sold out in Singapore, and mould growing on leather goods in a shuttered mall in Malaysia.
As many daily activities have been put to a halt as a result of Covid-19, here’s another unexpected “side-effect”— a pleasant sight of wildflowers greets those who still venture out for work, purchasing essentials and exercise.
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Pandemics like COVID-19 could occur more frequently unless we stop rapidly destroying nature, a group of biodiversity experts has warned. Read the full article. 
We must give children the opportunity to interact with the wilderness, so that they learn to preserve the natural world.
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Indigenous communities are pioneers of technologies that offer solutions to climate change according to designer and environmentalist Julia Watson.
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In a bid to mitigate these problems, the Eco-Link@BKE – an ecological corridor over the BKE – was built in 2013. It is the first overpass in Southeast Asia built specifically for wildlife, but more have been planned since. In 2011, the Malaysian government tabled a master plan to enhance existing eco corridors and establish new ones, including one within the Belum-Temengor forest landscape in Perak. These will connect the forest fragments making up the Central Forest Spine – home to the last remaining Malayan tigers (Panthera tigris jacksoni), which are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. The Central Forest Spine also contributes 90% of Malaysia’s water supply.
But how effective are such projects, given that they can be considerably expensive? The Eco-Link, for example, cost $12.3 million to build.
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18 Jan 2020, Sat 02:00 PM – 05:00 PM The Single Screen, Block 43 Malan Road
Presentation and Conversation: Biodiver-city and Urban Futures
with Animali Domestici, artists; Yun Hye Hwang, Associate Professor, School of Design and Environment, NUS; Sarah Ichioka, Desire Lines; and Michelle Lai, TANAH; moderated by Laura Miotto, Associate Professor, NTU ADM
Thinking through co-existence of species and the city as a habitat for diverse life forms, this panel consists of artists, researchers, and practitioners for whom interspecies interaction is at the core of their practice. Animali Domestici studied the existence of pythons in the city of Bangkok, Yun Hye Hwang observes the outcomes of zero intervention on landscapes, Sarah Ichioka looks at social-impact architecture at the intersections of urban planning and ecology, and Michelle Lai advocates for urban farming embedded in local culture and knowledge.
See more details here
Cubes issue 97 is out now. It celebrates design that aligns with natural systems and offers valuable lessons in how we could create better environments by thinking far beyond ourselves.
….I hope you enjoy the admirable rewilding efforts of Yun Hye Hwang, the nature-based infrastructure of Turenscape and the ongoing evolution of Linghao Architects’ dematerialisation of the residential enclosure.
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The Knepp Estate is one of the most incredible wildland farming projects in Europe. Watch the latest video collaboration with WWF.