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Ballona Photography & Commentary by Writer/Photographer Bev-Sue Powers
Get acquainted with the Wildlife at the Ballona Wetlands
Conservationist E. O. Wilson coined the term biophilia as "the urge to affiliate with other forms of life”. In the past 100-150 years, during the buildup of cities, very little consideration was given to accommodating natural habitats and ecosystems. Even most parks were designed for beautification and human recreation, not wildlife. The result was that most wildlife was pushed out of cities. Ironically, because of relatively abundant food and water sources, some wildlife found a way to endure in urban areas.
A nascent body of research related to biophilia is sweeping the academic and activists world globally. Biophilia acknowledges cities as human-driven ecosystems and studies how to design urban ecosystems to meet both human needs and indigenous flora and fauna needs. Indeed, strong drivers of this relatively new field are climate change and sea level rise combined with unprecedented rate of wildlife species collapse.
I try imagining what the Ballona Wetlands area was like 100-200 years ago. I imagine it was teaming with wildlife, including a much wider a variety of land and sea mammals, shore, marsh, and riparian birds, and many other species. Only a handful of the original species have managed to endure, even as challenges to their very survival continue to mount.
Bev-Sue+Powers Blog
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Mammals In Our Midst
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Preying in the Wetlands
Humming in the Ballona Wetlands
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