Sarah Bekessy

Sarah Bekessy has been teaching in Sustainability and Urban Planning at RMIT University since 2004.

Professor Sarah Bekessy leads the ICON Science research group at RMIT University which uses interdisciplinary approaches to solve complex biodiversity conservation problems. She is particularly interested in understanding the role of human behaviour in conservation, in designing cities to encourage ‘every day nature’ experiences and in defining and measuring ‘nature positive’ development. She co-developed the Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design protocol that has now been used by numerous developers, governments and non-government organisations to design innovative urban biodiversity strategies.

Expert commentary on...

Threatened species management, Environmental decision analysis, Urban ecology, Population and landscape modelling, Education for sustainability, The role of science in environmental policy.

Related Content

Projects

Onsets not offsets for real biodiversity gains

2020–2022

This project will make conceptual and methodological advancements required to develop a working approach for onsets. Case studies in urban development and agriculture will highlight how the approach work s in practice.

News & Blog

CUR Stories

It takes more than words and ambition: here’s why your city isn’t a lush, green oasis yet

07 July 2021

The idea of transforming cities from concrete jungles to urban forests is a popular one, and there have been some truly inspiring, exemplar projects in recent years. But has your city actually turned into a lush oasis yet? No, neither has ours.

CUR Stories

Nature as medicine: can a dose of the outdoors cure loneliness?

29 March 2021

Can a dose of nature a day keep the doctor away? A new RMIT project is exploring the benefits of prescribing nature in Australia, Europe and Latin America to reduce loneliness and improve mental health.

CUR Stories

How can we better prepare suburban Melbourne for climate change?

24 September 2020

Climate change presents critical challenges for future development, sustainability and resilience across Melbourne. Here, our experts offer insights on how we can better prepare our outer suburbs.

CUR Stories

Where the wild things are: how nature might respond as coronavirus keeps humans indoors

08 April 2020

COVID-19 has taken a devastating toll on humanity, and this is nothing to be celebrated. But as Australians stay at home and our streets fall quiet, let’s consider how wildlife might respond.

CUR Stories

Want to help save wildlife after the fires? You can do it in your own backyard

24 February 2020

Here we provide various practical tips on things people can do in their own backyards and neighbourhoods to help some of the species hit hard by the fires.

Publications

Ecological connectivity as a planning tool for the conservation of wildlife in cities

Holly Kirk, Kylie Soanes, Marco Amati, Sarah Bekessy, Lee Harrison, Kirsten Parris, Cristina Ramalho, Rodney van de Ree

MethodsX

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What next? Expanding our view of city planning and global health, and implementing and monitoring evidence-informed policy

Billie Giles-Corti, Anne Vernez Moudon, Melanie Lowe, Ester Cerin, Geoff Boeing, Howard Frumkin, Deborah Salvo, Sarah Foster, Alexandra Kleeman, Sarah Bekessy, Thiago Hérick de Sá, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Carl Higgs, et al.

Lancet Global Health Series

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A transformative mission for prioritising nature in Australian cities

Niki Frantzeskaki, Cathy Oke, Guy Barnett, Sarah Bekessy, Judy Bush, James Fitzsimons, Maria Ignatieva, Dave Kendal, Jonathan Kingsley, , Alessandro Ossola

Ambio

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Projecting biodiversity benefits of conservation behavior-change programs

Dr Matthew Selinske, Sarah Bekessy, William L Geary , Richard Faulkner , Fern Hames , Charlotte Fletcher , Zoe E Squires , Georgia E Garrard

Conservation Biology

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