Socializing with Scientists

Scott MacIvor wants people to enjoy green spaces in cities (he's an urban ecologist)

Season 1 Episode 11

When he was a child in Kitchener, Ontario, Scott MacIvor would go on urban walks with his mom. He had a bucket, and was allowed to bring home one piece of nature each day: a snake, or a bumblebee, a caterpillar. He loved examining them all.

Now Scott is an urban ecologist at the University of Toronto, working to connect people with the nature that's hidden all over the places where humans live, especially cities. He uses drones, thermal imaging, and other cutting edge technologies to study urban ecosystems to see how they’re doing and how their biodiversity can be enhanced. He observes the bees pollinating the plants, he wants migratory birds to feel welcome in urban parks, he encourages humans to experience it all, no fences. 

In a sort-of Part 2 to our episode with another scientist named Scott, ("Scott Krayenhoff helps hot cities cool off," Episode 8), here we investigate cities and nature once again, but this time with beauty and biodiversity in mind.

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