在将生态设计理论付诸实践以及产生社会和生态效益方面，Biohabitas 是首屈一指的。
宾大景观系主任Richard Weller
去年十月，ASLA将2023年度景观公司大奖授予了在生态修复领域深耕四十余年的公司Biohabitats，以表彰该公司在修复栖息地、保护生物多样性、管理水资源和帮助社区提高气候韧性等方面的出色表现。在这个气候危机日益严峻的时代，Biohabitats向我们展示了景观是如何通过跨学科合作，切实地应对现实挑战。
Interview: Keith Bowers
Keith Bowers
FASLA, PLA, PWS
公司荣誉
Landscape Architect/Restoration Ecologist,
Southeast Atlantic Bioregion Team Leader
Founder and Practice Leader
No.01 跨学科协作模式 INTEGRATED WORKING MODE
Q&A：我们知道Biohabitats拥有来自各种背景和专业知识的专业人士。这些成员是如何共同合作来达到生态修复目标的呢？
KB：我们采取一种非常综合的工作方式。在许多项目团队中都会有一名景观设计师，会有一名或几名科学家，还可能会有一名工程师。根据项目是否会进入施工阶段，我们甚至会让我们施工团队的成员参与到设计过程。一般而言，项目越大越复杂，团队规模也就越大，参与项目的学科也越多。我们的工作常涉及跨学科交流。如果我们在该国的一个地区有项目，而在该国的另一个地区有具有相关专业知识的团队成员，我们就会将该团队成员带到项目所在地，成为项目团队一员。
We know that in Biohabitats you have professionals from all backgrounds and expertise. How do these teams work together to accomplish your restoration goal?
At Biohabitats, we have a highly integrated working style. Many of our projects involve a landscape architect, one or a couple of scientists, and an engineer on the team. Depending on whether it’s progressing into construction, we might even have somebody from our construction unit on the team throughout the design process. I believe that the larger and more complex the projects are, the bigger the team becomes, and more disciplines come together to work on it. We collaborate across disciplines. In instances where we have a project in one part of the country and a team member with very relevant expertise in another part of the country, we bring that team member to the project location to be part of the project team.
Q&A：Biohabitats和传统的环境工程公司有何不同？
KB：我们是一家应用型生态公司，而非环境公司。虽然与环境工程公司相似，但我们在工作方式上存在一些关键差异，即通过采用科学和工程原理解决紧迫的挑战。环境工程通常涉及污染的修复，通常依赖于硬基础设施来解决问题。我们的方法植根于景观生态学的原则和科学知识，并从自然开始。而不是硬基础设施，我们首先转向基于自然的解决方案，模仿生态系统和功能。我们在项目中采用基于自然的解决方案(nature-based approach)。我们认为Biohabitats更像是一个应用生态学公司，而不是一个环境工程公司。我们试图将生态学知识应用于景观设计之中，帮助我们处理的一些环境问题。我们认为这是一种以生态为基础而不是一种以“环境工程”为基础的设计方法。以“环境工程”为基础的方法常常意味着使用硬基础设施，而不能有效模仿生态系统及其功能。
What is the difference between Biohabitats and an environmental engineering company?
We consider ourselves an applied ecology firm rather than an environmental firm. While we are similar to environmental engineering firms in that we employ scientific and engineering principles to solve pressing challenges, there are some key differences in the way we approach our work. Environmental engineering typically addresses the remediation of contamination and often relies on hard infrastructure to solve problems. Our approach is rooted in the principles and scientific knowledge of the ecology of the landscape, and it begins with nature. Rather than hard infrastructure, we turn first to nature-based solutions that mimic ecological systems and functions.
▽Biohabitats 与水环境治理部门、野生动物管理局以及其他相关组织合作，帮助恢复了俄勒冈州Tualatin River国家野生动物保护区Chicken Creek的自然流动和生态功能。
Q&A：Biohabitats如何评估项目成果？
KB：我认为一切都可以归结为：我们是在保护和促进生命发展吗？评估的基准便是生物多样性。
How do you evaluate a project?
I think it all boils down to: Are we conserving and enhancing life? Our bottom line is biodiversity.
▽Biohabitats协助Geauga公园进行生态修复，改善了Beaver Creek与洪泛区的连接。这些工作提升了 Chagrin 河源头的水质和栖息地情况。Chagrin 河是俄亥俄州15 个国家级野生动物及风景名胜河区之一。
No.02 公司项目实践 ABOUT BIOHABITATS
Q&A：您曾多次参与总体规划项目，并和SCAPE这样的景观设计事务所合作。能谈谈你和SCAPE合作的项目么？
KB：我们与SCAPE的合作非常成功。项目位于佐治亚州亚特兰大市Chattahoochee河。SCAPE被聘请设计沿河百英里的绿道。项目不仅要引导人们沿着河流移动，还需考虑将其构建为一个生态走廊。我们需要研究，特别是在气候变化的情况下，物种将如何在河流及其洪泛区上下移动? 尤其是我们要将气候变化导致的物种迁徙考虑在内。因此，我们对这一百英里进行了科学分析，采用景观生态学的方法，研究了植被走廊和栖息地所在的区域，分析了物种如何在这些区域之间迁徙或移动，以及如何规划绿道才能增加栖息地面积，鼓励更多物种的栖息和迁移。
You do master planning projects working with other landscape firms such as SCAPE. Would you like to talk about one of the projects you collaborated with SCAPE on.
KB: We had a great collaboration with SCAPE on the Chattahoochee RiverLands. The Chattahoochee River flows through the city of Atlanta, Georgia. SCAPE was hired to do a master plan for a 100-mile greenway along the river, and part of that effort was to not only move people along the river but to think of it as an ecological corridor. How will species move up and down the river and its floodplain, particularly in light of the changing climate? Especially when we’re thinking about climate change and how species will begin to move because of climate change. Taking a landscape ecology approach, we conducted scientific analyses of the 100-mile stretch. We identified vegetative corridors and habitat patches, examined how species would move or migrate in those areas, and considered how the greenway plan could serve as a catalyst for expanding opportunities for species to inhabit and move through the corridor.
▽Biohabitats, 作为Chattahoochee河地项目的生态规划专家，Biohabitats 对100英里走廊进行了栖息地间隔和生物多样性等分析。
Q&A：您是如何研究生态走廊，并使设计介入其中呢？
KB：首先，我们选择一些已知存在于该地区并且会迁徙的物种。我们研究这些物种，比如鸟类、小型哺乳动物或者授粉昆虫等在环境中活动的各种信息。根据这些研究，我们了解需要哪些条件来为这些物种构建栖息地，并且保护它们在景观中顺利移动。
获取了这些信息之后，我们可以使用GIS模型来对景观进行建模，找出这些物种可以移动的区域以及在景观中移动的障碍物是什么——无论是道路、基础设施、建筑物还是类似的障碍。随后，我们将信息可视化并与景观设计师合作，确定我们可以采取什么措施来帮助减轻这些影响。
How do you research the corridor for the species and then combine human intervention with that?
KB: First, we select certain species that we know are in the area and are known to migrate or move. We study or research what is known about how those species move in the landscape, whether it is a bird or a small mammal like a raccoon or a pollinator species. We conduct all the necessary research, reviewing scientific studies to understand what is required from a habitat standpoint and what is needed for them to move across the landscape.
Once we get that information, we can use GIS to model the landscape and identify areas where species can move, as well as areas where there are barriers to movement in the landscape—whether it is road, infrastructure, buildings, or similar obstacles. Subsequently, we will present this information and collaborate with landscape architects to determine what measures we can take to help mitigate those barriers. While there will always be some impacts, the goal is to minimize them and, if elimination is not possible, find ways to mitigate them in a manner that minimizes potential long-term impacts.
▽Biohabitats 与丹佛自然联盟及自然保护协会合作，为开放空间规划制定了一个初步的生态保护框架。该项目涉及绘制整个地区的栖息地质量地图。
Q&A：我们注意到Biohabitats有自己的施工团队，并完成了很多河道修复、城市生态绿地之类的项目（包括之前获得ASLA奖的Washington Avenue项目）。能否跟我们分享一些您与常规景观设计公司的不同之处？
KB：我认为这也是我们与许多其他景观设计公司不同的地方，因为我们参与设计-施工项目并担任总承包商。在这些项目中，我们承担所有风险，以两种方式进行设计和施工。首先，我们充当总承包商管理整个建设过程，但将所有工作分包给当地的施工队。其次，我们聘用自己的施工人员和设备进行生态修复工作。我们的施工团队总部位于俄勒冈州波特兰，专门致力于恢复太平洋西北部主要河流内的鲑鱼栖息地。我们在大型河流系统中安装木构、加固河岸并重建栖息地，项目遍布加利福尼亚州北部到加拿大的多个地区。
We also want to hear about your design-build practice. I saw a lot of stream restoration projects including the award-winning Washington Avenue project. Can you share with us some of the differences between you and a landscape design firm?
KB: What sets us apart from many other landscape architecture firms is that we engage in design-build projects, serving as the general contractor. We assume all the risks in these projects. With our construction practice, we employ two different approaches. First, with design-build, we serve as the general contractor and subcontract the work to local construction firms in the area, overseeing the entire process. Second, we employ our own construction crews and equipment to self-perform restoration work. Our self-perform unit is based in our Cascadia Bioregion office in Portland, Oregon. We do not subcontract this work; instead, our crews specialize in restoring salmon habitat within the major rivers in the Pacific Northwest. They work in big river systems installing log jams, stabilizing riverbanks, and rejuvenating habitat, covering a region from northern California to Canada.
▽Biohabitats施工团队帮助Columbia River河口重新与960 英亩的漫滩相连。
我们也进行一些拆坝工作。许多大坝，特别是那些不太高的低头坝，正在变得过时，结构也不再牢固。因此，目前有大量的拆坝工作，这对河流生态非常重要，特别是在太平洋西北地区，鲑鱼需要上游迁徙到这些溪流中产卵。因此，我们积极参与拆除大坝的工程，并恢复河流生态系统。
We also engage in dam removal work. Many dams, especially low head dams that are not too high, are becoming obsolete or have reached the end of their lifespan, making them structurally unsound. Therefore, there is an ongoing effort to remove many dams, which is crucial, especially in the Pacific Northwest where salmon need to migrate up these streams to spawn. Hence, we are actively involved in dam removal projects, where we remove the dam and restore the river system.
▽图片展示了俄亥俄州肯特大坝河修复项目的前后情况。Biohabitats的设计不仅将河流转变为合格的水生栖息地，而且还为皮划艇和独木舟提供活动空间，并修复了大坝上游河岸的植被。
Q&A：您有一些由原住民主导的特殊项目。在与原住民合作时，如何从原住民知识中获得灵感，或者理解他们对自然不同的理解？
KB：我们与原住民有着相当多的合作。必须承认，很多原住民文化中对人与自然关系的理解，是和我们完全不同的。他们对时间的看法也与我们大相径庭。他们那种以生态为中心、重视周期性的世界观，很值得我们学习。我发现很多原住民群体都认为自然是个“循环”。它有点像弹簧，朝着某个方向发展，但也一次又一次回到原本的模样。我们可以从他们认识自然的方式中受到很多启发，比如，我们需要考虑长期的时间尺度，考虑周期性，考虑物种和人类之间的关系，以及不同物种之间、植物和动物之间的关系。
在景观设计中，我们经常要考虑材料或植物，却常常忽略了那些不可见的生态过程和功能，而恰恰是它们塑造了景观并支持了动植物的休养生息。我们很少花时间去理解土壤中的营养流动和湿度调节，以及树木通过化学酶和其他方式相互沟通等。我认为，在这些方面，原住民对此有着比我们更深刻的理解。
You have some special tribe-led projects. When working with indigenous people, how can you get inspiration from indigenous knowledge? They have a different understanding of nature, maybe they do not call it “ecology”, but they have their narrative.
KB: We do quite a bit of work with indigenous tribes and communities. For us, it is important to acknowledge that for many Indigenous communities, their relationship with the land and nature is fundamentally different from ours, as is their notion of time. It is a much more eco-centric perspective woven into a cyclical time horizon. It changes the paradigm in which you are working, and there is so much for us to learn from that. Nature goes in cycles, always evolving in a certain direction but also looping back on itself repeatedly, much like a Slinky. I’ve found that many indigenous communities perceive nature in this manner, and there is a wealth of knowledge for us to gain, encouraging us to contemplate long-term time scales, cycles, and the intricate relationships between species and people, as well as between different species, plants, and animals.
In landscape architecture, we tend to focus mostly on materials or plants. We often don’t think about ecological processes and functions which are invisible to us, that shape the landscape and support the flora and fauna. While we see the end results, we don’t take the time to understand and work with the processes that cycle nutrients through the soil, move water across the landscape or use chemical signaling to communicate between plants. It’s been my experience that indigenous cultures have a much longer-evolved understanding and appreciation of these processes than we do.
▽2016年，Biohabitats与原住民社区成员及其他组织合作，共同规划了北达科他州 Oceti Ŝakowiŋ 营地。Biohabitats 很荣幸能够为社区提供雨洪管理和废水管理等相关规划和设计服务。
No.03 设计之外 BEYOND DESIGN
Q&A：实施一个具有大想法的项目，在中国只需教育首要领导者，而在美国，则涉及教育每个人。这对于美国来说准确吗？是否需要大量时间投入？
KB：我们经常让我们的客户和社区参与我们正在努力解决的挑战，或受其影响。一些人对我们的工作很了解，但更多的是不怎么了解的人，所以我们努力在整个设计和施工过程中与他们紧密联络。
我认为真正的“社区参与”和“简单通知和询问”是不一样的。我们努力深度与社区合作，共同创造反映社区愿景的设计流程和成果。这需要时间，而且从来都不是一个线性的过程。在社区参与之外，我们还会积极宣传我们所崇尚的生态设计理念。我们坚信，生物多样性的流失，可能成为比气候变化更为严重的全球危机，应得到更多的重视。我们的目标，是向世界以及我们合作的社区传达这些理念。
In China, implementing a big idea only requires educating the leader, whereas in America, it involves educating everyone. Is this accurate for the U.S., and does it necessitate a significant time investment?
KB: We often engage both our clients and the communities involved in and/or impacted by the challenges we are working to address. Some of them are well-informed about the work that we’re doing, but many are not. We strive to deeply engage with communities throughout the entire design and construction processes.
I believe there’s a distinction between true community engagement and simply informing community members about design intentions and asking for input. We strive to go deeper with community engagement, co-creating a process and outcome that truly reflect communities’ aspirations. This does take time and is never a linear process. Complementing our community engagement approach is advocating for the causes and issues we believe in. We assert that the loss of biodiversity is an epic global crisis, most likely more critical than climate change, yet often overlooked. Our aim is to elevate this message globally and within the communities where we work.
▽众多社区和利益相关者参与的事件、活动和讨论为生态框架的发展提供了信息，以保护、恢复和强调自然的方式指导未来的发展，并创建一个全市范围的绿色网络，使佐治亚州亚特兰大的所有居民受益。
Q&A：这个目标是在项目开始时就清晰明确的，还是需要被传达并向客户推销？
KB：如果你指的目标是阻止生物多样性的丧失、减轻气候变化的影响以及纠正环境不公正现象，那么是的，这是我们清楚但客户未必愿意“买单”的目标。如果我们感到客户对积极变化持开放态度，或相信我们有能力引导客户朝着更建设性方向发展，那么我们对实现这些目标就会更有信心。我们希望项目能支持各种生命的发展，而不是对它们生存带来破坏。我认为我们已达到自主挑选项目的程度：如果事先不能确定目标能否实现（或部分实现），我们可能会拒绝这个项目。
Is your project goal always clear at the beginning of each project, or do you need to keep communicating that idea and persuading your client?
KB: By goal, if you are referring to the need to halt the loss of biodiversity, reverse and mitigate the impacts from climate change, and right environmental injustices, then yes, it’s clear to us but not always clear or welcomed by our clients. In cases where we sense the client’s openness to positive changes or believe we can influence the client in a constructive direction, we have greater confidence that we can achieve these goals. Our aim is to take on projects with the intent of shifting outcomes that support life-affirming actions, rather than causing life-diminishing impacts. I think we’re getting to the point right where we may turn down work if it isn’t clear upfront that we can achieve, at least in part, these goals.
Q&A：请问您采用何种的评价体系或方法来评估项目建成结果？可否分享近年来的成功案例？
KB：在项目初期，我们会花费很多时间来定义项目的成功标准，列出成功要素，并用它们来指导我们对建成项目的监测和评估。每个项目都有自己独有的监测指标。比如，一个河流生态修复项目的监测指标常包括河岸侵蚀程度或各种鱼类的存在数量。我们会首先建立成功标准，制定监控计划，然后进行相应的监控。
如果项目偏离了预期，我们会首先确定这种偏离是否是不可取的，如果是的话，我们会探究这种偏差是将导致项目失败，还是会产生与预期不同但可接受的结果。后者将使我们重新审视我们的假设并修改成功标准。在处理生命系统（河流、森林、草原）时，我们不断评估，确保其与我们设想的路径一致，并评估任何偏离的影响，确定它是有利还是有害。
Do you employ specific metrics or methods to assess the outcomes of your projects? How do you gather information, and can you share examples of successful evaluations over the years?
KB: In the initial stages of our project, we invest considerable time in defining our success criteria, outlining what constitutes success for the project. This, in turn, guides our approach to assessing and monitoring the project. Our monitoring criteria are based on indicators of success, unique to each project. For example, a stream restoration project may include success criteria associated with the amount of continued stream bank erosion or the presence of a diverse range of fish and macroinvertebrates species. We first establish the success criteria, develop a monitoring plan, and then perform the monitoring accordingly.
If the project is deviating from the anticipated trajectory of success, we first determine if the divergence is undesirable and if so, if it will result in project failure or if is it a trajectory that will have a different but acceptable outcome. This may cause us to reexamine our assumptions and revise our success criteria. In dealing with a living system— a river, forest, prairie —we continually assess the trajectory, ensuring it aligns with our envisioned path and evaluating the implications of any divergence, determining whether it is advantageous or detrimental.
▽Biohabitats帮助科罗拉多Boulder市园林部门了解其 46,640 英亩保护区的碳储存能力，以便更好地评估基于自然的解决方案的潜力，并加强这些土地的生态系统恢复力。
No.04 SCALE UP
Q&A：中国现已逐渐呈现出对生态修复类产业的浓厚兴趣与热情。您是否可以阐述如政策、资金、社区参与等相关要素，对生态修复发展的关系与影响？
KB：我们公司的业务始于1982年，当时美国政府通过了《清洁水法案》、《清洁空气法案》和《荒野法案》，为涵养水源、净化空气和荒野区治理设立了标准。这些法案的制定推动了生态环保类项目的经济投入，同时也增强了我们获得此类项目的能力，因为我们与一直与环境保护保持一致。设想如果没有这样的法案和随之而来的经费支持，环保产业将面临更为艰巨的挑战。我知道中国越来越注重“可持续性”，正在为绿地空间合理分配土地与资金支持，并积极探索生态修复实践。
“康复rehabilitation”和”修复restoration”之间存在很大区别。以森林为例，林地康复采用的可能仅包含有限的树种，甚至是非本地树种。相反，林地修复的目标则是利用与自然参考系统成比例的多样性物种，重建本土森林。因此，我们需要理解修复方法的生态过程和科学原理，以及修复较之于复兴的优势所在，从而通过维持生物多样性、增加碳封存、改善水质、补充地下水等方面，建立更有潜力的生态过程，完善生态功能。
因此，理解这些相互联系和各个行动的重要性，对于政策传达和获取基金支持是至关重要的。
In China, a growing interest and enthusiasm for engaging in restoration business have emerged. Could you elaborate on the key factors involved in conducting restoration-related operations, such as policy, funding, community involvement, etc.?
KB: Starting in 1982, our business took off following the passage of key environmental acts like the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Wilderness Act by the US government. These acts established stringent standards for water and air quality and designated expansive areas as wilderness. This regulatory push facilitated our ability to secure projects, as it aligned with a broader initiative investing in environmental programs. Without such support and financial backing, navigating the industry would have been more challenging. I’m aware that China is increasingly focusing on sustainability, allocating spaces and funds for parks, and exploring restoration efforts.
There’s a big difference between rehabilitation and restoration. For example, rehabilitation of a forested area may include a limited number of species or even non-native tree species. Restoration, on the other hand, aims to reestablish a native forest using a diversity of species proportional to a natural reference system. It requires an understanding of the ecological processes and scientific principles underpinning the restoration approach, along with communicating its value over rehabilitation. Unlike rehabilitation, ecological restoration has a greater potential to reestablish and enhance the ecological processes and functions critical for sustaining biodiversity, increasing carbon sequestration, improving water quality, recharging groundwater and many other beneficial processes.
Therefore, comprehending these interconnections and effectively conveying the significance of these actions is critical to informing policy and acquiring funding.
Q&A：今年的ASLA主题是“扩展（Scale Up）”。在这些天我们与多位设计师的交流中，似乎许多公司都仍然采用传统的公司建构方式，很难想象如何“扩展”。请问您和Biohabitats如何回应“扩展”这一概念？
KB：扩展规模非常重要。例如，我们目前正参与修复位于伊利湖西侧的桑达斯基湾，以应对农业营养素进入湾区所带来的危害。这个流域项目覆盖了数百平方英里，旨在修复湾区内的生态过程，以处理和同化营养素水平。我们还希望该项目能成为一个催化剂，转变整个流域的景观管理实践。此外，我们还在科罗拉多州的落基山脉前沿地带进行了一个项目。我们的焦点是理解由于气候变化，物种将如何迁移，以及当这些物种在景观中移动时，遇到诸如道路或开发区等障碍时，将会对它们产生哪些潜在影响。
在Biohabitats，我们始终专注于采取整体方法论。即使是在处理小型场地时，我们也倾向于将视角拉远到30,000英尺高度，思考更广域的景观生态学问题：探讨该场地如何与周围的区域景观相关联，以及植物、动物、营养物和水是如何在景观中流动。我们认识到，对场地的任何干预都将产生影响，或抑制或加强这些流动。
对我们来说，“扩展”一词并不总是意味着让单个项目变得更大。它可能涉及更多地思考如何在更广阔的景观上产生超乎寻常的影响，尽管我们受制于项目自身的边界限制；或者，它还可能意味着更具有深远影响的举措，甚至超出了项目所在的场地和社区。
This year’s ASLA theme is ‘Scale Up.’ In my conversations with various designers, it appears that many firms operate on an architectonic level, making it challenging to envision ‘scaling up.’ What are your thoughts on this, and how would Biohabitats ‘scale up’?
KB: Scaling up is important. For example, we are currently engaged in the restoration of Sandusky Bay, located on the western side of Lake Erie, addressing the challenges posed by agricultural nutrients entering the bay. Covering hundreds of square miles, this watershed project hopes to restore ecological processes within the bay to treat and assimilate the nutrient levels. We also hope it serves as a catalyst for transforming landscape management practices throughout the watershed. Additionally, we are working on a project in Colorado along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Our focus is on understanding how species will migrate due to climate change, and where there will be potential impacts on these species as they encounter obstacles like roads or developed areas as they move across the landscape.
At Biohabitats, we consistently focus on taking a holistic approach. Even when working on a small site, we prefer to zoom out to a 30,000-foot perspective and think about landscape ecology: asking how the site relates to the surrounding regional landscape and how do plants, animals, nutrients, and water, flow across the landscape. We recognize that any intervention on a site will either impact or reinforce these flows.
For us, scaling up doesn’t always entail making individual projects larger. It might involve thinking more about how to have an outsized impact on the larger landscape even though we are bound by the site we are working on. Or it could mean undertaking initiatives that have far-reaching consequences beyond the site and community we are working with.
▽Biohabitats的科学家在田野中采集数据，用于为美国陆军工程兵团修复 62 英亩的Stony Creek沼泽岛。
▽Biohabitats团队正在合作开展西南盆地和山脉生物区的规划项目。
▽Keith与Biohabitats成员共同庆祝公司公司所有权转变为永续信托。
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
出品：ArchiDogs 筑格传媒
采访及文案：Magic Sun (Coen Partner 景观设计师), Shuo Yan (Field Operations 景观设计师)
校对：Sherry Li, Fangying Shi
专栏策划：Miranda, Jiqing Zhu
特别鸣谢：ASLA, Biohabitats
更多 Read more about：Biohabitats
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