Urban Conservation Stories: Cultivating Urban Biodiversity Webinar

Urban areas are not always recognized for their biodiversity, however recent work has shown that many cities host a critical array of plant and animal life. With over half of the global human population living in urban areas, communities must find tools and strategies to promote coexistence with urban biodiversity in order to support sustainable development efforts. In this first webinar in the Urban Stories miniseries, panelists from Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Toluca, Mexico highlighted how they are working to conserve biodiversity in each of their cities, including using tools such as the Singapore Biodiversity Index. 

Watch the recording. 

This event is part of the Salazar Center’s Urban Conservation Stories webinar series. Each of the three events in the series is focused on a core theme: biodiversity, water in arid environments, and landscape connectivity. Experts from across North America will share their important work that can allow cities to contribute to national conservation targets, while creating thriving urban environments. Learn more about the other events.

Michelle Barton, Biodiversity Program Manager, City of Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment

Michelle Barton, M.S. is an Environmental Supervisor with LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) and manages the City of LA’s Biodiversity Program. She recently completed the baseline measurement of the brand new LA Biodiversity Index and facilitated the creation of the first Healthy Soils Strategy for the City of Los Angeles. Michelle earned her B.S. in Biology from UCLA in 2010 and her M.S. in Biology from CSULB in 2016.

Julia Murphy, Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of San Antonio-Office of Sustainability

Julia Murphy, AICP, LEED AP ND, is the City of San Antonio Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer working on the city’s first climate action and adaptation plan, focusing on energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, green infrastructure, and air quality. Murphy has been an invited speaker at state, national and international events and has published articles about natural resource conservation initiatives in the Texas Hill Country.

Karina Avila, Jefa, Departamento de Forestacion del Municipio de Toluca; Chief, Forestry Department of Toluca City, Mexico

Karina is currently Chief of Forestry in the city of Toluca. She is the former Director of Environment, and Director of Climate Change in Toluca City, Mexico. She also coordinated the Red Metropolitana de Monitoreo Atmosferico and was a technical assistant to the Cooperacion Alemana al Desarrollo Sustentable (GIZ). She participated in the meeting of experts to update the Singapore Index as a contribution to the technical notebooks of the Convention on Biological Diversity.