Urban naturing: Director Te Putahi Centre for Architecture and City Making – Dr Jessica Halliday
Nature needs to be integral to our cities and urban lives.
With Aotearoa’s magnificent national parks, we often conceive of nature as being ‘over there’. Of course, the fundamental truth is that we are nature – part of the living world.
We both depend on it for basic survival as well as change and impact it through our everyday actions and modern development.
Four brilliant speakers addressed the topic of ‘urban naturing’ at Christchurch Conversations in September. We acknowledged that, as they are currently set up, our urban systems largely negatively impact ecosystems and native species. The discussion, however, focused on how we can reconceive our relationship with the rest of the living world, as a foundational step towards developing urban systems that foster mutually beneficial exchange with the rest of te taiao (the natural world).
Māori ecologist Jade Gibson said we need to give nature a seat at every table, so that our thinking, deliberations and decision-making considers te taiao. There was a warning from ecologist Colin Meurk that the extinction of our experience of nature leads to the extinction of species. Makarini Rupene, Kaitohutohu Taiao Matua (senior environmental advisor) at Environment Canterbury welcomed us all to become kaitiaki, guardians and stewards of te taiao.
Vicki Connor, chief advisor public affairs at DOC told us that ‘naturing’ (aka connecting with nature and taking action to care for it) looks different for different people. It is okay to start small; it is great to weave it into your everyday.
