Supported through the University of Washington Campus Sustainability Fund, this project is developing and conducting a 3-year (2020 -2023) monitoring plan to assess the establishment and growth of the camas meadow at the Burke Museum’s yard. Designed and installed as part of the newly constructed Burke Museum the camas meadow is an approximately 10,000 sq. ft. area of the site that contains a planting mix of Northwest native meadow species including several species of camas (Camassia spp.) a culturally important plant for regional tribal communities. I conducted field monitoring via quadrat sampling, a traditional method of assessing biodiversity. Quadrat sampling utilizes an evenly divided square frame placed on the ground. I then record the specific vegetation found within the frame. Twenty-three different plots across the camas meadow were assessed monthly using this method, with special attention paid to the locations and prevalence of Camassia spp. and Lupinus rivularis. I predict that regular maintenance via weeding, mowing, and exclosure will have positively correlated with the biodiversity scores and camas establishment found in the quadrat sampling. The purpose of this monitoring is to determine the effects that design and management have on the establishment and biodiversity of the camas meadow in order to develop a strategic, long-term management plan that is culturally engaged, built on collaboration and conversation and interpreted through perspectives that are grounded in local traditional knowledge as much as scientific approaches to botany and environmental understanding. While more locally working closely with UW Grounds and the Burke through the Camas Meadow caretaker to mitigate increased costs for maintenance while ensuring the ecological viability and sustainability of the project, our intention with this work is to assist other organizations and communities seeking to establish this habitat type in Washington State and the broader Northwest region. 

This research project aims to investigate how urban ecological design interventions can contribute to the restoration of the vitality of the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle in a post-Covid world. Specifically, the project will utilize an interdisciplinary framework that bridges the fields of landscape architecture and social science through the lens of urban ecology theory. The research methods that will be utilized in this project include investigation, interpretation, and design projection. Investigation will involve the analysis of the current state of the neighborhood, focusing on revealing the hidden urban ecological systems. Interpretation will involve a critical review of the findings from the investigation and the development of design interventions to address the challenges identified. The hypothesis of this project is that small, incremental design interventions that reveal hidden urban ecological systems will foster creative engagement of users with places and natural processes at play, encouraging the care and stewardship for healthier communities and ecosystems in the long term. To support this hypothesis, the project will conduct a thorough review of existing literature on urban ecology and design interventions, as well as collect data through observations and interviews with community members. The expected results of this project are specific and measurable, including the successful implementation and evaluation of an interactive story map to reveal urban ecological systems at play in the neighborhood, and finding potential locations for proposed design interventions. Ultimately, the project aims to contribute to the broader goal of designing future urban grids using the urban ecology framework to reconcile people with their streets in a post-Covid world.