Leesa Fawcett, Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University
Presentation title: “Convivial Co-Habitation: Bats in Toronto”
There was a plenitude of bats in and around Toronto in decades gone by. Often, residents felt they had the moral right to kill bats as vermin, or pests. These days it is a privilege to see a bat in the city. My overall goal is to cultivate cities that affirm convivial hospitality and flourishing for innumerable multi-species communities, all the while knowing we are vulnerable to one another. This city work is grounded by the idea that displaced and dispossessed beings can readily “be cast as uninhabitants” in large cities as the “criteria for dwelling may be overridden by the legal logic of private property.” (Nixon 164) The substantial question becomes who has access to spaces to flourish in, and how do we design those spaces? This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Gail Fraser, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, York University
Presentation title: “Chimney swifts in the city”
Chimney swifts are a native migratory bird that consumes vast quantities of insects every day in the urban landscape in central and eastern North America May through September. Despite their chattering vocalizations, most residents are either unaware of their existence, or mistake them for bats. Few species have a name originated from a built structure, which stems from their use of chimneys for nesting and roosting. In 2007, chimney swifts were listed federally and provincially as Threatened. Monitoring of chimney swift use of chimneys had been on-going in some cities.