Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V91
Höfundar / Authors: Mariana Tamayo (1), Mervi Luoma (1), and Rebecca Thompson (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Environment and Natural Resources, University of Iceland
Kynnir / Presenter: Mariana Tamayo
When cities like Reykjavík densify as a climate change strategy, conserving and managing green spaces becomes essential for urban biodiversity, wellbeing, and sustainability. Since 2022, we have been organizing interactive lectures and guided bird watching and plant harvesting walks for people of all ages to discover and connect with their local green spaces. Our goal is to engage the public in urban biodiversity and invasive and problematic alien plants and foster curiosity, inspiration, and action. During our events we highlight ways of managing problematic alien plants such as sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) and cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), which are edible and found throughout Reykjavík and Iceland. Moreover, we emphasize the importance of having networks of green spaces of varying sizes and habitats for biodiversity. Our social media platform, Borgarnáttúra – Urban Biodiversity Iceland, furthers our public outreach in Reykjavík and beyond. Finally, integral to our mission is collaboration with various partners including the Reykjavík Botanic Garden, Nordic House, Biodice, City of Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland University of the Arts, Icelandic Environment Association, and Slowfood Iceland, among others.