Designing Nature’s Half:
The Blog
News and education about landscape conservation and design.
🌎How Much Room Will Nature Need?
How much room will nature need? Conservation science suggests roughly half the Earth as a precautionary benchmark for ecological sufficiency, giving ecosystems the space to function and species the chance to persist. Climate change adds another dimension to that ambition: the same landscapes that let nature thrive also store and remove carbon, buffering communities and the climate. Two sides of the same coin. 50x50.
🌎Conservation Beyond 1.5°C
The world is increasingly likely to exceed 1.5°C of warming. For conservation, that alters more than the urgent need to protect nature—it also changes the very goals of protection and what effective stewardship must accomplish. As landscapes transform under climate and other pressures, species and ecosystems will require space to move, reorganize, and adapt over time. Are we providing them with enough room and the right conditions to persist and thrive?
🌎Nature Works Across Landscapes. Conservation Should Too.
Pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss are reshaping landscapes while conservation remains divided across many of the boundaries nature crosses. Designing Nature’s Half asks how we can organize conservation differently—and its 30-day Kickstarter campaign is now live.
🌎The Planet Has Already Changed. So Must We.
The United States has just experienced the second-warmest winter on record. Viewed over a longer time horizon, however, this moment is part of a much larger story. Within a single lifetime, winter temperatures across the country have risen dramatically, illustrating the accelerating pace of environmental change. As the planet’s ecological systems shift, the institutions historically responsible for conservation are also coming under strain. These converging trends raise a critical question: what kinds of regional institutions and planning approaches will be needed to design and steward sustainable landscapes in the decades ahead?
🌎The Intersection of Ecology and Technology in Landscape Conservation Design, with Pat Comer
Pat Comer, Chief Ecologist (retired) with NatureServe, shares insights on conducting landscape assessments and their application to landscape conservation design (LCD). The discussion provides practical advice for stakeholders interested in LCD—highlighting landscape assessments as a crucial component in the design process. Tune into this enlightening conversation packed with expert insights perfect for anyone passionate about sustaining nature through thoughtful planning, design, and collective action!
🌎 Climate Adaptation: A Proactive Approach to Our Planetary Crisis Adapting to Change, with Doug Parsons
Doug Parsons, Host of America Adapts: The Climate Change Podcast, discusses climate adaptation.
🌎The Art and Science of Adapting During a Time of Rapid Change, with Robin West
Robin West, Regional Refuge Chief (retired) with the US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System discusses the climate crisis and adaptation on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska and the remote Pacific Islands.