Haven Kiers on Managing Biodiverse Landscapes (#56)

In this episode Haven Kiers unpacks her research project Keeping Up: Maintaining Biodiversity in Public Landscapes. She describes five barriers that emerged from the data, from funding gaps to the lack of knowledge of maintenance labor to conflicting public expectations around tidiness and wildness. We also talk about specific field-tested strategies, including "cues to care" design techniques, the 30% flowering rule for meadows, and low-visibility trial zones for testing new species before they go into showcase areas. She also dives into case studies like her sheep mowers program and the engagement that had with people and Oudolf Garden Detroit's maintenance endowment model that shows how people can sponsor plants. Beyond the research, Haven gets into her own philosophy on stewardship, how her students built a turf sofa, why she believes maintenance work deserves to be seen as skilled, valuable, and beautiful, and what she wishes more designers understood about handing a project off after construction ends. Haven's passion and enthusiasm really comes through in this episode, and you'll learn much from her about managing and maintaining naturalistic plantings. Enjoy the show!