Sustainable Environment and Ecology

Background

With constant threats on the environment, it is no wonder that conserving the environment & natural resources as much as possible continues to be an urgent topic area with a zeal to improve the sustainability of environment for organisms and people. Therefore, through this study, we explore the suitability of a selection of 4 urban greenspaces in Sheffield, UK, their characteristics, and their trees with focus on their support for the iconic bird species, Turdus Philomelos (common name is song thrush), which will inevitably improve the habitat/ environmental sustainability for humans.

The symposium, which serves as a specialized session of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Geoscience and Earth Ecology (ICEGEE 2026), will focus on environment and ecology.

Goal/Rationale

The goal of the study is to measure the suitability of the greenspaces under study, their characteristics and their trees with focus on their support for a specific iconic bird species, Turdus Philomelos The study focuses on and surveys the tree stock of 4 urban greenspaces in Sheffield, UK: the Ponderosa, Weston Park, Crookes Valley Park and Harcourt Road. The study provides details on the ways that Sheffield City Council can be proactive in enhancing the streetscape ecology, in terms of how the current tree stock of the greenspaces can be enhanced for biodiversity and therefore improve the environment for birds, other organisms and people.

Scope

The quantitative methodological approach was assumed for the study as this enabled computation of mean values for each tree species.

Objective of data collection:

• To determine the richness and abundance of the tree stock present in 4 green spaces (the Ponderosa, Weston Park, Crookes Valley Park and Harcourt Road), in terms of the dominant tree species, richness, evenness and density across the 4 greenspaces

Selection criteria for trees considered for data collection:

• Features of tree: only trees with trunks of 10cm or thicker in diameter and trees taller than 1.4metres (i.e. approximately shoulder height) were considered
• Distance of tree: only trees within 1 metre of either side of a set transect line were considered

Process of data collection:

• The data collection process comprised 4 groups with each group tasked to place 4 transect lines in random spots in the 4 greenspaces resulting in 16 transects within each greenspace and a total of 64 transects.