Original Creative Work

Royal Park Designed Experiments: Constructing Food Webs and Urban Biodiversity through Species Reintroduction

Alexander Felson, Ary Hoffmann, Gina Dahl, Harrison Baxter, Hiromi Isabel Yagui Briones, Michael Kearney, City of Melbourne, Lee Harrison, Jim Morton, Muniroth Lim

City of Melbourne | Published : 2026

DOI: 10.26188/32494125

Abstract

The Royal Park Designed Experiments investigate how landscape architecture, ecological science, and designed interventions can support urban biodiversity, food web reconstruction, and climate adaptation within metropolitan parklands. Developed through collaboration between the Urban Ecology and Design Lab (UEDLAB), the School of Biosciences at the University of Melbourne, and the City of Melbourne, the project establishes a series of experimental field plots embedded within Royal Park as a living laboratory for ecological design research. Central to the work is the reintroduction of the matchstick grasshopper (Vandiemenella viatica), a once-common indigenous flightless grasshopper that histo..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

City of Melbourne;Maintenance funding; Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute;Grant;

Keywords

Ecological Monitoring
and Climate Adaptation Through the Integration of Ecological Science
the School of Biosciences at the University of Melbourne
Integrating Adaptive Management
Species Assemblages
the Project Establishes a Series of Designed Experiments Embedded Within Royal Park As a Living Laboratory for Ecological Design Research.\r\nthe Research Focuses On Reconstructing Habitat and Trophic Relationships Through the Reintroduction of the Matchstick Grasshopper (vandiemenella Viatica)
a Once-Common Indigenous Flightless Grasshopper Historically Associated With Melbourne Grasslands and Open Woodlands. Due To Its Limited Dispersal Capacity and Sensitivity To Habitat Quality
Urban Ecology
the Species Provides an Opportunity To Test How Planting Structure
and Stewardship Strategies Capable of Supporting Food Web Development and Conservation Outcomes.\r\na Central Dimension of the Work Is Translating Ecological Processes Into Visible and Publicly Accessible Landscape Interventions. the Project Also Engages With Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Seasonal Knowledge and Cultural Understandings of Stewardship
and Maintenance Regimes Influence Persistence Within Fragmented Urban Environments.\r\nthe Framework Builds Upon the “designed Experiments” Methodology Developed By Felson and Colleagues
and Iterative Design Processes. Ten Experimental Plots Have Been Established Across Royal Park To Test Habitat Complexity
Vegetation Density
Food Web Reconstruction
Linking Ecological Adaptation With Country-Based Approaches To Land Management. the Project Establishes a Framework for Embedding Long-Term Ecological Research Within Public Landscapes While Positioning Landscape Architecture As a Coordinating Discipline Linking Conservation Biology
and Public Engagement. Developed Through Collaboration Between the Urban Ecology and Design Lab (uedlab)
and Public Space Design.
and the City of Melbourne
Habitat Construction
360699 Visual Arts Not Elsewhere Classified
Soil Conditions
Landscape Architecture
the Royal Park Designed Experiments Investigate How Urban Landscapes Can Support Biodiversity