Sarah Bekessy
![]() | This biographical article is written like a résumé. (March 2023) |
Sarah Bekessy | |
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![]() Sarah Bekessy, RMIT University | |
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Website | https://iconscience.org/ |
Sarah Bekessy is an Australian interdisciplinary conservation scientist with a background in conservation biology and experience in social sciences, planning, and design. Her research interests focus on the intersection between science, policy, and the design of environmental management. She is currently a professor and ARC Future Fellow at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies.[1] She leads the Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group (ICON Science).[1][2]
Education
[edit]Sarah Bekessy started her post-secondary education at University of Queensland in Queensland, Australia where she attained a Bachelor of Science (Hons).[1] Bekessy completed her doctorate (1999 – 2003) at the School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, where she studied approaches for the conservation of threatened Monkey Puzzle Tree.[1][3]
Career
[edit]Following her PhD, Sarah Bekessy was a research fellow with the University of Melbourne (funded by David Yencken, the Australian Collaboration) where she studied sustainability and policy. Before joining RMIT University in 2004, Bekessy held a research fellowship with the Canadian Forest Service, where she worked on landscape modelling for evaluating forest management strategies.[1][4][5] Bekessy has been with RMIT University as a lecturer and professor in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies since 2004, and teaches specialized courses in sustainability, urban, rural and regional planning,[6] and conservation biology, as well as various courses on environmental practices. She has supervised a number of graduate and post-graduate students.
Bekessy is involved in a range of interdisciplinary research, including her ARC Future Fellowship titled ‘Socio-ecological models for environmental decision making’. She also has an ARC Linkage project entitled ‘Designing green spaces for biodiversity and human well-being’.[7] She is the convener of ICON Science, a group of researchers working to better understand and manage societal and natural environment interaction, seeking methods to solve real world problems,[2] regardless of what discipline these solutions originate from.
In addition to her academic role, Bekessy engages actively in consulting projects, and has worked on projects with the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, among others. Bekessy is a member of the editorial board of Conservation Letters[8] and Natural Resources Modelling[9] and a past member of the editorial board of Conservation and Society.
Collaborations
[edit]Bekessy's research is high impact, interdisciplinary and collaborative, and helps create highly applicable solutions for environmental problems, conservation, and urban planning. She helps bring "the people" into the conservation discussion and investigates social and political aspects of conservation decision making.[10] Her group brings together experts in social science, ecology, physics, psychology and many other disciplines.[10]
Bekessy is a project leader in the Threatened Species Recovery Hub (Theme 6),[11] and a theme leader in the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub[12][13] of the Commonwealth Environment Science Program.[14] She also acted as a theme leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (2012–2018;[15]), and is a chief investigator with the Horizon2020 Urban GreenUP[7][16] and the UN Habitat:[17] Enhancing urban resilience to climate change impacts and natural disasters. Bekessy is also a member of the Environmental Decision Group and a member of the Green Building Council Expert Advisory Committee for Biodiversity and Ecology.[18]
Research contributions
[edit]Bekessy's work contributes to the development of collaborative solutions for conservation. Bekessy has published work on nature-based solutions for cities, such as urban pop-up parks for insect biodiversity[19] and wildlife gardening,[20] conservation of natural features, biodiversity[21] and threatened species in cities.[22] She has also published on technical and policy issues surrounding biodiversity conservation, including the integration of conservation and land-use planning in urban landscape design, the use of market-based instruments for biodiversity conservation, such as biodiversity banking[23][24] or nature off-setting,[25] population modelling,[4] and climate change adaptation.[26] Bekessy's work has included commentary on institutional change for sustainability and sustainability education,[27] as well as science and conservation communication,[28] including the impact of messaging to influence human behaviour,[29] targeting high impact behaviour.[30] Bekessy's work has contributed to the efforts toward “re-enchanting people with nature”[31] and has been instrumental in the development of programs to reconnect children to everyday nature, biodiversity and cultural heritage.[32] She is an advocate for increased transparency[33] and evidence in biodiversity conservation strategy development,[34] and for increasing and improving collaborative[35] and interdisciplinary solutions for the environment.
Bekessy's team has been involved in research to help shape future policy designed to improve landholder participation in, and collaboration on, private land conservation schemes.[36] Some examples that Bekessy's team have helped influence include Greenfleet bio-carbon plantings,[37] and reverse auctions in Western Australia.
During her career Bekessy has published over 100 articles and conference proceedings, over a dozen book chapters, and has co-authored three books,[38] including the children's book The Little Things that Run the City: 30 amazing insects that live in Melbourne! which was produced as part of the development of the City of Melbourne Urban forest[39] and Nature in the City[40] Strategies[41] and has been used by children in Melbourne during Nature Play Week[42] and in schools around Melbourne.[43]
Research impacts
[edit]The application of Bekessy's work on the preservation of biodiversity in cities has included working with Green Building Council, to develop a green star rating system for biodiversity in building, leading to the Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design (BSUD) protocol.[44] The protocol received an A+ from The Industry News and Analysis blog “Sourceable’s Living Infrastructure Report Card” in 2016.[45] Bekessy and her team have contributed to biodiversity plans for local, state, and international agencies. She has also worked with urban developers on projects such as Fisherman's Bend, Melbourne.[46] They continue to improve the development of biodiverse cities through their research, such as the application of ecological principles that can increase biodiversity in cities through “more-than-human” planning and the designing of actions that can help multiply biological diversity.[47]
ICON Science and Bekessy's work has also informed scenarios for the future of Cumberland Plain Woodland, in Sydney, Australia.[48] Her team has been involved in strategic assessments including those done in Melbourne and their recently completed, ‘Reimagining the Australian Suburb: planning for biodiversity in the urban fringe’ (funded by the Myer Foundation[49]), may help inform the creation of new grassland reserves and guide development planning for the avoidance of important grassland features and their protection in urban fringe areas.[33][50] Work by Bekessy and her team was used in the development of the City of Melbourne Urban Forest and Nature in the City Strategies,[51] including a biodiversity connectivity plan, and surveys of insect biodiversity in the City of Melbourne.[52]
Public roles
[edit]Bekessy sits as a board member of Bush Heritage Australia,[53] an independent not-for-profit that purchases and manages land, in partnership with Aboriginal people, for the protection of important landscapes and native species.[54] She is also an Urban Scholar with the United Nations Global Compact – Cities Programme,[55] as well as a member of the reference group for Victoria's Biodiversity Strategy.[56][57]
Notable awards and honours
[edit]In 2015 Bekessy was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Research Award from RMIT University,[58] and in 2016 was a Banksia Foundation Award Finalist, Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design.[59] She has also received the Brian Robinson Fellowship for Environmental Sustainability (2005).
Selected publications
[edit]- Garrard, G. E., Williams, N. S. G., Mata, L., Thomas, J., & Bekessy, S. A. (2018). Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design. Conservation Letters, 11(2), e12411. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12411[44]
- Gordon, A., Simondson, D., White, M., Moilanen, A., & Bekessy, S. A. (2009). Integrating conservation planning and landuse planning in urban landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 91(4), 183–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.12.011[60]
- Hardy, M. J., Bekessy, S. A., Fitzsimons, J. A., Mata, L., Cook, C., Nankivell, A., ... Gordon, A. (2018). Protecting nature on private land using revolving funds: Assessing property suitability. Biological Conservation, 220, 84–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.01.026[61]
- Selinske, M., Cooke, B., Torabi, N., Hardy, M., Knight, A., & Bekessy, S. (2017). Locating financial incentives among diverse motivations for long-term private land conservation. Ecology and Society, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09148-220207[62]
Recent publications
[edit]- Backstrom, A. C., Garrard, G. E., Hobbs, R. J., & Bekessy, S. A. (2018). Grappling with the social dimensions of novel ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16(2), 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1769
- Butt, N., Shanahan, D. F., Shumway, N., Bekessy, S. A., Fuller, R. A., Watson, J. E. M., ... Hole, D.G. (2018). Opportunities for biodiversity conservation as cities adapt to climate change. Geo: Geography and Environment, 5(1), e00052. https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.52
- Guerrero, A., Bennett, N., Wilson, K., Carter, N., Gill, D., Mills, M., ... Nuno, A. (2018). Achieving the promise of integration in social-ecological research: A review and prospectus. Ecology and Society, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10232-230338
- Kidd, L. R., Bekessy, S. A., & Garrard, G. E. (2019a). Evidence Is Key for Effective Biodiversity Communication. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34(8), 693–694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.05.010
- Kidd, L. R., Bekessy, S. A., & Garrard, G. E. (2019b). Neither Hope nor Fear: Empirical Evidence Should Drive Biodiversity Conservation Strategies. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34(4), 278–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.018
- Kidd, L. R., Gregg, E. A., Bekessy, S. A., Robinson, J. A., & Garrard, G. E. (2018). Tweeting for their lives: Visibility of threatened species on twitter. Journal for Nature Conservation, 46, 106–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2018.10.001
- Mata, L., Garrard, G. E., Fidler, F., Ives, C. D., Maller, C., Wilson, J., ... Bekessy, S. A. (2019). Punching above their weight: The ecological and social benefits of pop-up parks. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 17(6), 341–347. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2060
- Meiklejohn, D., Bekessy, S., & Moloney, S. (2018). Shifting practices: How the rise of rooftop solar PV has changed local government community engagement. Cogent Environmental Science, 4(1), 1481584. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311843.2018.1481584
- Parris, K. M., Amati, M., Bekessy, S. A., Dagenais, D., Fryd, O., Hahs, A. K., ... Williams, N. S. G. (2018). The seven lamps of planning for biodiversity in the city. Cities, 83, 44–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.007
- Selinske, M. J., Garrard, G. E., Bekessy, S. A., Gordon, A., Kusmanoff, A. M., & Fidler, F. (2018). Revisiting the promise of conservation psychology. Conservation Biology, 32(6), 1464–1468. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13106
- Wintle, B., Kujalah, H., Whitehead, A., Cameron, A., Veloz, S., Kukkala, A., ... Bekessy, S. (2019). Global synthesis of conservation studies reveals the importance of small habitat patches for biodiversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116, 909–914.
References and links
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Professor Sarah Bekessy – RMIT University". www.rmit.edu.au. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ a b "ICON Science". ICON Science. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Bekessy, Sarah Adine (2002). Evaluating scientific approaches to the conservation of threatened trees : the monkey puzzle tree in South America (Thesis thesis).
- ^ a b Wintle, Brendan A.; Bekessy, Sarah A.; Venier, Lisa A.; Pearce, Jennie L.; Chisholm, Ryan A. (2005). "Utility of Dynamic-Landscape Metapopulation Models for Sustainable Forest Management". Conservation Biology. 19 (6): 1930–1943. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00276.x. ISSN 1523-1739. S2CID 84571654.
- ^ Government of Canada. "Canadian Forest Service Publications". Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Professor Sarah Bekessy". Centre for Urban Research. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Professor Sarah Bekessy". cbsmwa.org.au. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "The Society for Conservation Biology". Society for Conservation Biology. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Natural Resource Modeling". Wiley Online Library. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Professor Sarah Bekessy". www.rmit.edu.au. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Sarah Bekessy". www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "CAUL Hub Researchers". The Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "The Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub". The Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Department of the Environment and Energy". Department of the Environment and Energy. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Prof Sarah Bekessy". CloudBase 3 - Joomla Template. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Urban GreenUP". www.urbangreenup.eu. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Front page | UN-Habitat". unhabitat.org. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Salt, David (25 October 2018). "Dbytes #353 (25 October 2018)". Dbytes. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ Mata, Luis; Garrard, Georgia E.; Fidler, Fiona; Ives, Christopher D.; Maller, Cecily; Wilson, Joab; Thomas, Freya; Bekessy, Sarah A. (2019). "Punching above their weight: the ecological and social benefits of pop-up parks". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 17 (6): 341–347. doi:10.1002/fee.2060. hdl:11343/285900. ISSN 1540-9309.
- ^ Mumaw, LM; Maller, C; Bekessy, S (2017). "Strengthening wellbeing in urban communities through wildlife gardening". Cities and the Environment (CATE). 10 (6).
- ^ Bekessy S, Gordon A, Nelson A. Nurturing Nature in the City. Steering Sustainability. Melbourne, Australia: NATSEM Research Centre of AHURI, Melbourne; 2007. p. 120–57.
- ^ Ives, Christopher D.; Lentini, Pia E.; Threlfall, Caragh G.; Ikin, Karen; Shanahan, Danielle F.; Garrard, Georgia E.; Bekessy, Sarah A.; Fuller, Richard A.; Mumaw, Laura; Rayner, Laura; Rowe, Ross (2016). "Cities are hotspots for threatened species". Global Ecology and Biogeography. 25 (1): 117–126. doi:10.1111/geb.12404. ISSN 1466-8238. S2CID 85803852.
- ^ Bekessy, Sarah A.; Wintle, Brendan A.; Lindenmayer, David B.; Mccarthy, Michael A.; Colyvan, Mark; Burgman, Mark A.; Possingham, Hugh P. (2010). "The biodiversity bank cannot be a lending bank" (PDF). Conservation Letters. 3 (3): 151–158. doi:10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00110.x. ISSN 1755-263X.
- ^ Bekessy, Sarah A.; Wintle, Brendan A. (2008). "Using Carbon Investment to Grow the Biodiversity Bank". Conservation Biology. 22 (3): 510–513. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00943.x. ISSN 1523-1739. PMID 18577079. S2CID 205657485.
- ^ Ives, Christopher D.; Bekessy, Sarah A. (2015). "The ethics of offsetting nature". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 13 (10): 568–573. doi:10.1890/150021. ISSN 1540-9309.
- ^ Butt, Nathalie; Shanahan, Danielle F.; Shumway, Nicole; Bekessy, Sarah A.; Fuller, Richard A.; Watson, James E. M.; Maggini, Ramona; Hole, David G. (1 January 2018). "Opportunities for biodiversity conservation as cities adapt to climate change". Geo: Geography and Environment. 5 (1): e00052. doi:10.1002/geo2.52. ISSN 2054-4049.
- ^ Hegarty, Kathryn; Thomas, Ian; Kriewaldt, Cathryn; Holdsworth, Sarah; Bekessy, Sarah (1 August 2011). "Insights into the value of a 'stand-alone' course for sustainability education". Environmental Education Research. 17 (4): 451–469. doi:10.1080/13504622.2010.547931. ISSN 1350-4622. S2CID 145437657.
- ^ Bekessy, S. A.; Runge, M. C.; Kusmanoff, A. M.; Keith, D. A.; Wintle, B. A. (1 August 2018). "Ask not what nature can do for you: A critique of ecosystem services as a communication strategy". Biological Conservation. 224: 71–74. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2018.05.017. ISSN 0006-3207. S2CID 90929346.
- ^ Kidd, Lindall R.; Garrard, Georgia E.; Bekessy, Sarah A.; Mills, Morena; Camilleri, Adrian R.; Fidler, Fiona; Fielding, Kelly S.; Gordon, Ascelin; Gregg, Emily A.; Kusmanoff, Alexander M.; Louis, Winnifred (1 August 2019). "Messaging matters: A systematic review of the conservation messaging literature". Biological Conservation. 236: 92–99. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.020. hdl:10044/1/76353. ISSN 0006-3207. S2CID 182694699.
- ^ "Targeting Australia's highest biodiversity impact behaviours". www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Sarah Bekessy 'Everyday Nature'". Vimeo. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ "Iconic Species in Schools". www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ a b Bekessy, Sarah Adine; White, Matt; Gordon, Ascelin; Moilanen, Atte; Mccarthy, Michael Andrew; Wintle, Brendan Anthony (1 November 2012). "Transparent planning for biodiversity and development in the urban fringe". Landscape and Urban Planning. 108 (2): 140–149. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.09.001. ISSN 0169-2046.
- ^ Kidd, Lindall R.; Bekessy, Sarah A.; Garrard, Georgia E. (1 April 2019). "Neither Hope nor Fear: Empirical Evidence Should Drive Biodiversity Conservation Strategies". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 34 (4): 278–282. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.018. ISSN 0169-5347. PMID 30824194. S2CID 73516532.
- ^ Gordon, Ascelin; Bastin, Lucy; Langford, William T.; Lechner, Alex M.; Bekessy, Sarah A. (24 January 2013). "Simulating the value of collaboration in multi-actor conservation planning" (PDF). Ecological Modelling. Modelling for decision making in ecological systems. 249: 19–25. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.07.009. ISSN 0304-3800.
- ^ Cooke, Benjamin; Langford, William T.; Gordon, Ascelin; Bekessy, Sarah (2012). "Social context and the role of collaborative policy making for private land conservation". Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 55 (4): 469–485. doi:10.1080/09640568.2011.608549. ISSN 0964-0568. S2CID 154298490.
- ^ Torabi, Nooshin; Mata, Luis; Gordon, Ascelin; Garrard, Georgia; Wescott, Wayne; Dettmann, Paul; Bekessy, Sarah A. (2016). "The money or the trees: What drives landholders' participation in biodiverse carbon plantings?". Global Ecology and Conservation. 7: 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2016.03.008. ISSN 2351-9894.
- ^ "Sarah Bekessy – Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.ca. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Urban Forest Strategy – City of Melbourne". www.melbourne.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Nature in the City Strategy – City of Melbourne". www.melbourne.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "The Little Things that Run the City – City of Melbourne". www.melbourne.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ "The Little Things That Run the City with Sarah Bekessy". Vimeo. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ "Melbourne – Articles". Wild Melbourne. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ a b Garrard, Georgia E.; Williams, Nicholas S. G.; Mata, Luis; Thomas, Jordan; Bekessy, Sarah A. (4 October 2017). "Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design". Conservation Letters. 11 (2): e12411. doi:10.1111/conl.12411. ISSN 1755-263X.
- ^ "Living Infrastructure Report Card – Architecture . Construction . Engineering . Property". Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Sustainable, biodiverse mid-rise development for Fishermans Bend". Centre for Urban Research. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Parris, Kirsten M.; Amati, Marco; Bekessy, Sarah A.; Dagenais, Danielle; Fryd, Ole; Hahs, Amy K.; Hes, Dominique; Imberger, Samantha J.; Livesley, Stephen J.; Marshall, Adrian J.; Rhodes, Jonathan R. (31 December 2018). "The seven lamps of planning for biodiversity in the city". Cities. 83: 44–53. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.007. hdl:10072/384639. ISSN 0264-2751.
- ^ Gordon A, Langford W, Bekessy S. Modelling the growth of Sydney and the impacts on the Cumberland Plain Woodland. Report prepared for the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities; 2011 p. 22.
- ^ "Reimagining The Suburb: Planning For Biodiversity In The Urban Fringe". Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Cities for the Future: Innovative and Principles-based Approaches to Urban Equity, Sustainability and Governance | UN Global Compact". www.unglobalcompact.org.
- ^ "Nature in the City Strategy – City of Melbourne". www.melbourne.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "Insects – City of Melbourne". Insects - City of Melbourne. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Our Board". Bush Heritage Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "Environmental Non-Profit". Bush Heritage Australia. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ "Our People: UN Global Compact – Cities Programme". Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ Kusmanoff A, Selinske M, Mata L, Bekessy S, Gordon A, Garrard G, et al. Submission on Victoria’s new biodiversity strategy: Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036. 2016 p. 6.
- ^ Environment (11 April 2019). "Biodiversity 2037". Environment. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Past recipients – RMIT University". www.rmit.edu.au. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ Banksia Foundation. 2016 Banksia Sustainability Awards - Australia’s Sustainability Success Stories. Australia: Banksia Foundation; 2016.
- ^ Gordon, Ascelin; Simondson, David; White, Matt; Moilanen, Atte; Bekessy, Sarah Adine (30 July 2009). "Integrating conservation planning and landuse planning in urban landscapes". Landscape and Urban Planning. 91 (4): 183–194. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.12.011. ISSN 0169-2046.
- ^ Hardy, Mathew J.; Bekessy, Sarah A.; Fitzsimons, James A.; Mata, Luis; Cook, Chris; Nankivell, Alex; Smillie, Kate; Gordon, Ascelin (1 April 2018). "Protecting nature on private land using revolving funds: Assessing property suitability". Biological Conservation. 220: 84–93. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2018.01.026. ISSN 0006-3207.
- ^ Selinske, Matthew J.; Cooke, Benjamin; Torabi, Nooshin; Hardy, Mathew J.; Knight, Andrew T.; Bekessy, Sarah A. (2017). "Locating financial incentives among diverse motivations for long-term private land conservation". Ecology and Society. 22 (2). doi:10.5751/es-09148-220207. hdl:10044/1/53033. ISSN 1708-3087.