Popular Posts

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Conserving Biodiversity in Subdivision Development: link to webinar

      On Tuesday 22 March 2011, Dr Mark Hostetler, Associate Professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation at the University of Florida, gave a webinar on Conserving Biodiversity in Subdivision Development.
       You can find a recording of the webinar here.
      The topic summary says that "Many residential developments and rural properties are situated near or in habitats that sustain native plant and animal communities. Conserving or restoring the unique natural features inherent on every parcel of land benefits the local environment, property owners, and the region’s heritage. When land is subdivided, how does one conserve local biodiversity and minimize impacts on surrounding landscapes?  Design, construction, and post-construction phases are often not discussed holistically when green developments are built."
      The webinar "introduces participants to the key principles and practices required to create conservation subdivisions.  The webinar is part of a four module continuing education course developed by the Program for Resource Efficient Communities at the University of Florida. This continuing education course is devoted to defining, recognizing, restoring, and managing residential communities for biodiversity within the urban and rural matrix. The course is being offered in May in association with American Citizen Planner and Michigan State University. It is relevant to county and city planners, landscape architects, architects, civil engineers, environmental consultants, developers, private landowners, and interested citizens. More information will be presented during the webinar."
      Mark has over twenty years of experience in urban wildlife issues and natural resource management. He conducts research and outreach on how urban landscapes could be designed and managed, from small to large scales, to conserve biodiversity.  He has extensive experience in working with homeowners, developers, and policymakers on ways to manage and design residential developments for biodiversity.  Dr. Hostetler co-founded UF’s Program for Resource Efficient Communities (PREC) and collaborates with an interdisciplinary team of scientists and graduate students.  In conjunction with PREC, Mark is working with policymakers and developers to establish natural resource conservation strategies in communities that are billed as “green” developments.  In particular, he works with planners and built environment professionals to establish management programs for conservation subdivisions.  Dr. Hostetler has a bachelor’s in biology from Purdue University (1987) and his master’s (1992) and doctorate in zoology (1997) are both from University of Florida.
      There is more information about Mark's work at the links below:
      Wildlife Information - http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/
      Living Green - http://livinggreen.ifas.ufl.edu
      Program for Resource Efficient Communities - http://www.buildgreen.ufl.edu

No comments:

Post a Comment