Designing for Nature: Ecologically Engineering Artificial Coastal Defences

Coastal Natives is a not-for-profit organisation on a mission to inspire new ocean lovers and conservationists through film, art and community.

Coastal Natives

Learn about coastal urbanisation, ecological engineering and climate change in this one hour chat with NUS professor Dr Peter Todd.

ArtScience Museum

This event is part of the Waves of Change Festival 2023 held at ArtScience Museum on the 5th to 27th of August 2023.Designing for Nature: Ecologically Engineering Artificial Coastal DefencesCoastal urbanisation and climate change are driving the global proliferation of artificial coastal defences. These structures have significant effects on the ecology of marine habitats, leading to the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. For example, seawalls are generally homogenous and steep. Due to these differences, artificial defences are poor surrogates for the habitats they replace. Ecological engineering—the integration of ecological principles and engineering for the benefit of both humans and nature—is a form of Nature Based Solution that is being increasingly adopted to alleviate the negative impacts associated with coastal defences by improving their ecological functioning. One of the more successful eco-engineering strategies is to add tiles with complex topographies, microhabitats, and water-retaining features. These can increase the richness and abundance of species reminiscent of native communities. Moving forward, how can we incorporate habitat complexity and green elements into new coastal defence designs, and what additional benefits may they be able to provide?About the host: Dr Peter Todd is an experimental marine ecologist who focusses urban marine systems. He works on increasing understanding of the ecology and functioning of tropical coastal marine organisms and communities under environmental stress. His research is multidisciplinary, synthesising elements of biology, geography and engineering to answer ecological questions. His team has 18 years of experience in the conceptualisation, build, implementation, and analysis of novel experiments, and over a decade designing and testing a wide range of seawall enhancements. Dr Todd is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, where he runs the Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory and is director of the Bachelor of Environmental Studies programme. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers on coastal systems and his lab’s research is featured regularly in both local and international media. Location: ArtScience Cinema, Level 4For the full festival line-up, click <a href="http://www.wavesofchangefestival.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">HERE</a>!Please note that there are limited seats to all talks. Priority would be given to ticket holders and visitors are highly encouraged to pre-book for events. Event registration begins 15 minutes before the start of the event. 5 minutes after the start of each segment, all unaccounted seats will be released for walk-in guests at a first come first served basis.Notice of Filming and PhotographyPhotography and video recording may occur at the venue for the purpose of promoting our activities. Parents and guardians, please advise facilitators if you would like your child to be excluded from this.CancellationsShould you be unable to attend, please cancel your ticket as soon as possible so that someone else may enjoy the experience. You can also email us at info@coastalnatives.sg. Thank you!

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Designing for Nature: Ecologically Engineering Artificial Coastal Defences

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Designing for Nature: Ecologically Engineering Artificial Coastal Defences

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