Home is where the heart is and for almost 90 percent of New Zealanders home is in a town or city whether their heart is there or not.
"The majority of us live in a built environment," says Lincoln University ecologist Associate Professor Glenn Stewart. "We might play and recreate in the great outdoors but when it comes to day-to-day living we're all very much 'townies'."
"But what do we know about the 'built environment' that surrounds us? What role does nature still play in our lives? How do we incorporate nature in our urban designs? How do we manage our built environment for wildlife? Are we maintaining functioning ecosystems? How do we enhance indigenous biodiversity in cities?" Associate Professor Stewart says these are all important questions for the health of urban life in New Zealand and there's never been a better time to address them than right now because 2005 has been designated "The Year of the Built Environment".
"This is an opportunity for New Zealanders to celebrate the buildings, spaces, places and structures in which they live, work and play and a major conference in Christchurch will explore issues around the questions I have mentioned above".
The conference, to be held over 24 - 26 August at Christchurch Art Gallery, is entitled "Meaning and Design of Nature for the Urban Built Environment".
This conference will be of interest to ecologists, landscape architects, architects, engineers, town and city planners, academics, social scientists, home gardeners, traffic engineers, conservationists, urban marae tangata whenua, and all others concerned with town and city living.
In addition to a range of New Zealand speakers there will be addresses by guest speakers from South Africa and Australia. There will also be a day-long field trip around Christchurch and environs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Ian Collins, Journalist
Lincoln University, Canterbury
Tel: 64 3 325 2811 ext 8549
Email: Ian Collins