As a young girl growing up in suburban Los Angeles, Joyce Hwang loved seeing how urban animals would create little moments of disorder in the highly manicured landscape. Now the intersection between animals and the built environment is at the very heart of her work as a professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo and as director of the ecologically focused practice Ants of the Prairie. Hwang’s projects, from bat towers to bee elevators to multispecies installations, have been on display throughout the world and have won multiple awards. In this episode, she talks to host David Hill about incorporating animals into our constructed spaces—what it entails, why it’s critical (for us as well as them), and what everyday people can do to make their homes and yards more accommodating to our non-human friends.

Credits:

Host: David Hill
Guest: Joyce Hwang
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group 

Coming May 6: Earthworms enjoy a pretty good rep. In truth, they’re an invasive species in the Northeast, not always a friend to our gardens, and a real menace to our forests. But they can be beneficial too. In this episode, ecologist Nick Henshue sheds light on the poorly understood creature, explaining how we can exploit its benefits while minimizing its potential for harm.