I have long believed that the arts and culture have a powerful role to play in explaining and expressing the depths, and the breadth of our ongoing climate crisis. Now, Andrea Dempster Chung of Kingston Creative dropped me a line to tell me about a really exciting project in which downtown Kingston is involved – as well as three other cities globally (Dubai, Athens, and Johannesburg). I am thrilled!

By the way, I should probably tell Andrea, as she mentions urban wastelands below, that for the Jamaican birdwatching crew, forgotten areas such as sewage ponds and dumps are rich sites, full of life (including crocodiles, and more…) Hawks are hunting from our city’s high rise buildings. The Feral Commons, indeed.

Now, do cities belong to humans only, or do they have their own hidden life? What can we learn about the impacts of climate change and our relationships with Nature…