Urban Ecology Program
The urban environment offers a unique opportunity to study ecology and biodiversity in real-time, transforming our own backyards into living laboratories. The Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s Urban Ecology Program fosters exploration of the campus and surrounding urban landscape, encouraging both scientific discovery and community involvement. By investigating questions on sustainable landscape design and urban biodiversity, this program helps promote impactful research while highlighting the role urban spaces play in environmental science.
Vision & Purpose
To explore the campus and its urban surroundings, investigating a wide array of ecological questions and communicating to the public the opportunity for conducting science in any setting, including our own backyards.
Program/Area Summary
The NE BRIT campus was designed not only to inspire but also to serve as a living research laboratory for ecology and biodiversity science in relation to sustainable landscape design. Both the campus and the surrounding urban environment are well-suited for inquiry and exploration. Current and past projects have involved a diverse team spanning Research, Education, Operations, and Horticulture. This program serves as a conduit for promoting campus and urban research and community projects.
Current/Active Projects
- Fungi, Myxomycetes, and Trees Program:Â created and led by Resident Research Associate Dr. Harold Keller
- The BRIT Prairie: led by Dr. Brooke Best, began 2011, cross-listed under Prairie Research Program
- The Living Roof:Â created and led by Dr. Brooke Best, began 2011
- Seed Predation:Â Dr. Brooke Best in international collaboration with Dr. Anna Hargreaves (McGill University)
Long-Term Goals and Aspirations
- Connect with permanent/sustainable Education programs to involve the community in real research (e.g., attendees collect data that feed into long-term research projects)
- Support a minimum of one paid undergraduate student internship annually
- Support a new full-time master- or PhD-level Ecologist/Botanist to oversee the program and conduct research, most importantly taking over the Living Roof Project
Past Projects
- High-Performance Landscapes:Â research funded by and in conjunction with the Government Services Administration, complete as of 2018
- BRIT Bioretention:Â once heavily integrated with Education programs, inactive as of 2019
Connect With Us
If you’d like to learn more about our ongoing projects or volunteer with the Urban Ecology Program, please email Dr. Brooke Byerley Best, Ph.D. at bbest@brit.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
