People
Dr Amy Hahs leads the Urban Green Space Research Group. Amy is an urban ecologist with an established research career investigating how urban landscapes impact the local ecology, and how we can translate this knowledge into practice and implementation. Amy Chairs the Ecological Society of Australia’s Urban Ecology Research Chapter and is a past VP-Research for the ESA. She is a Steering Committee Member for the Urban Biodiversity Research Coordination Network (UrBioNet), funded by the USA’s National Science Foundation. She also spent 16 years working at the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology (ARCUE).
In her previous role as Director of the specialist consultancy Urban Ecology in Action, Amy worked on a diverse range of building projects to develop green, healthy cities and towns, and conserve resilient ecosystems where we live and work. These projects included providing urban ecology advice to state and local governments, industry, businesses and other organisations to help identify innovative and practical actions that sympathetically integrates biodiversity into urban landscapes.
Amy is based on Wadawurrung Country in Ballarat, Victoria where she lives with her family and a variety of birds, bats, frogs, insects and other animals that also call their neighbourhood ‘home’. Locally, Amy rarely misses an opportunity to join her community in activities that involve healthy living, getting outdoors and enjoying nature.
“I strongly believe that the most sustainable, resilient and liveable cities of the future will emerge from the cities that proactively add biodiversity and ecology considerations to their business as usual.”
- Researchers
Dr Jinlong (Jimmy) Liu (Post-Doc)
Hamish Bignell (Research Assistant)
- Students
PHD
Zoë Metherell (PhD Candidate), Supervisors: Dr Amy Hahs, Prof Gini Lee; "Integrating ecology and landscape architecture to design sites for biodiversity"
Evariste Rutebuka (PhD Candidate), Supervisors: Dr Amy Hahs, Dr Judy Bush; "Urban Biodiversity Indicators: Science and Policy Interface at Local to Global Scales"
Julia Schiller (PhD Candidate),Supervisors: A/Prof Nick Williams, Dr Amy Hahs, Dr Caragh Threlfall; "Green roofs as biodiversity stepping-stones in cities: How much connectivity is needed?"
Patricia Torquato (PhD Candidate), Supervisors: A/Prof Stephen Livesley, Prof Stefan Arndt,
Dr Chris Szota, Dr Amy Hahs; "Integration of ecology into the design of green infrastructure to protect and restore local ecosystems in urban communities"Juan Reyna Monrreal (Joint PhD Candidate with University of Manchester), Supervisors: Dr Amy Hahs, Dr Leandro Minuchin, Dr Sara Barron; "Material politics, urban nature and residential neighbourhood design in the Global South: how architecture can rupture and repair the native, historical, and cultural landscapes of modern Mexico"
MASTERS/ HONOURS
Sophia G (Masters – Research Project in Environmental Science (EVSC90034-5)),"How do site and landscape scale factors influence biodiversity across greater Melbourne?"
Ali (Masters – Ecosystem Internship (SCIE90027))
Hannah (MD Research Skills 2 (MEDS90036)),"Operationalising the idea of a nature prescription"
ALUMNI
Dr Alessandro Ossola (PhD – completed 2015), Supervisors: A/Prof Stephen Livesley, Dr Amy Hahs, Dr Michael Nash, Dr Fiona Christie; "Habitat complexity impacts soil biodiversity and ecological processes in urban ecosystems".
Dr Lucy Taylor (PhD, University of Sydney – completed), Supervisors: Prof Dieter Hochuli, Dr Amy Hahs, "The impact of nature on urban residents' wellbeing"
Bhuban Timalsina (Masters – Long Research Project (FRST90077) – completed 2020), Supervisors: Dr Amy Hahs, Dr Suzanne Mavoa; "Melbourne’s urban green space: Quantifying change over time and potential drivers". Published as Timalsina et al. (2021)
Madeleine Hedin (Masters – Short Research Project (FRST90076) – completed 2021), Supervisors: Dr Amy Hahs, Dr Luis Mata, Dr Kate Lee; "Relationships between biodiversity and mental health and wellbeing – a review of methods and disciplinary perspectives"
Tania Macleod (Masters – Long Research Project (FRST90077) – completed 2016), Supervisors: Dr Amy Hahs, Prof Trent Penman; "Balancing risks and benefits of urban vegetation in a fire-prone landscape". Published as MacLeod et al. (2019)
Elliott Provis (Masters – Long Research Project A – completed 2017), Supervisors: Dr Amy Hahs, Prof Trent Penman. "Ecology and greenfield precincts: Integrating conservation and bushfire exposure risk into urban planning"
Sally Dawe (Masters – Ecosystem Internship Project (SCIE90027) – completed 2019) "Greening the City of Greater Dandenong’s schools and pre-schools: Evaluating program outcomes to inform future actions"
- Key Collaborators
If you’re interested in studying or working with us, please Contact Us. We’d love to hear from you!