The Green Square Atlas of Civic Ecologies (2021)

Climate change is a global challenge, but even small-scale solutions can deliver meaningful changes to the neighbourhoods we live in. Those are the findings from the Green Square Atlas of Civic Ecologies, a participatory design research project from the Mapping Edges Research Studio at the University of Technology Sydney.

The atlas captures and maps the stories of 11 civic ecologies champions who live and work in Sydney’s Green Square Precinct, Australia’s biggest urban renewal project. These champions – verge and community gardeners, honey producers and artists, among others – describe the ways in which their environmental activities are shaping their local neighbourhoods, as well as fostering stronger relationships within the community.

Their stories are supplemented by simple suggestions to help environmentally minded Sydney residents to kickstart their own civic ecological practices, from seed saving and foraging to creating habitats for urban wildlife, no matter where they live. The atlas also includes suggestions and directions for inhabitants of Green Square to get to know the stunning and often surprising ecologies that are hidden in and around the precinct’s streets.

As well as providing a snapshot of environmental stewardship at the local level, the Green Square Atlas of Civic Ecologies is a tool to help readers reconnect with the world using all their senses in order to re-orient, navigate and take action as political bodies in an ecological crisis.

The project is delivered in partnership with the Joynton Avenue Community Centre, with funding from the City of Sydney. It is written by Alexandra Crosby, Ilaria Vanni and D’harawal Knowledge Keeper Shannon Foster with graphic design and illustration by Ella Cutler. Read about the atlas in The Conversation.