124 Silvera Seamans: Grassroots Citizen Science in Urban Spontaneous Vegetation channels; they have become default combined sewer- stormwater systems. Common Studio's live demon- stration will test the utility of spontaneous aquatic vegetation to remediate and decontaminate water. Ecological performance, defined by improvements in water quality, will be monitored longitudinally. Similarly, Gewildgroei developed a resource management technology. The catalyst for the Liv- ing Pavement tile system was the idea that “context determines if a plant is seen as a weed.” Each tile is 300 mm × 300 mm × 60 mm, with a central open- ing varying in shape, from a waxing crescent moon to a full moon. Living Pavement, the Gewildgroei participant also noted, is a literal and figurative framing system. The existence of the out-of-place plant(s) is validated through a cultural marker of belonging. In their words, the plant becomes an “un-weed.” Local stakeholders are involved in this project through the purchase and installation of the tiles. The presence of the tiles in public rights- of-way is having an impact on municipal manage- ment of public space. Gewildgroei recounted that the tiles pose a challenge to the operational norms of municipalities, which have separate departments for managing greenspace and gray infrastructure. The tile system, which integrates greenspace into pavement, runs counter to the way the municipal government currently manages the public realm. The uncertainty produced by the tiles could lead to radical approaches to designing public space. Gewildgroei observed, “Designers have the ten- dency to look at things from a distance and ask why do we organize things in this manner, is it possible to do [things] in a different way.” This action out- come of Gewildgroei underscores the strong effect human perception has on decisions about ecologi- cal patterns and processes (Grimm et al. 2000). The articulation of a new understanding of 'weeds' and their role in urban ecology is an SES outcome. One way in which the study par- ticipants have reframed ‘weeds’ is by develop- ing a new ecological category for the flora. In published papers, the following variations have been used: spontaneous urban vegetation (e.g.,: Del Tredici 2010b), urban spontaneous veg- etation (e.g., Robinson and Lundholm 2012), and spontaneous vegetation (e.g., Kühn 2006). Participants in this study used ‘weeds’ and spon- taneous urban plants sometimes interchangeably ©2018 International Society of Arboriculture in the interviews. When probed, in follow-ups to the original interviews, about which term they pre- ferred to use—‘weeds’ versus urban spontaneous plants—two respondents used the term spontane- ous urban plants. A third respondent used the term spontaneous vegetation. As to their actual prefer- ences, one participant did not prefer either term noting that ‘weeds’ is “a judgment” and spontane- ous vegetation is “neutral/factual.” (R5) A different participant reported that ‘weeds’ and “weediness” showcased the “complexity and contradiction” of current and emergent ecosystems. (R2) Another respondent expressed a strong preference for using spontaneous urban vegetation to “suspend typi- cal prejudices about their inevitable role” and to enable “re-appraisal” of their “latent virtues.” (R4). Finally, engagement in policy processes is another systems outcome identified by Shirk et al. (2012). Gewildgroei has changed its strategy from directly lobbying municipalities to build- ing “a movement” among residents who are better placed to pressure government to incorporate “wanted wild growing” plants into biodiversity policy. NESL has pooled several projects including the seed bank into a conceptual advocacy organiza- tion called the Feral Landscape Lobby. The lobby is envisioned as “a tool” to show alternate futures: “It goes beyond just an individual plant and starts getting to how cities work, [to how] governments and private citizens and communities, how they view, how we view greenspace and the value of it.” Impacts It is rare that a project measures its impacts at the 10- year mark or beyond (Shirk et al. 2012). Although none of the projects interviewed have been in exis- tence for 10 years, participants were asked about the impacts they hope to see from their work. The impacts fall into three categories: eco-literacy and sense of place, design advocacy, and institutionalization and collaboration. These categories mirror elements of individual and social-ecological systems outcomes. In fact, Shirk et al. (2012) argued that successful im- pacts are oſten a combination of outcomes across science, individual, and social-ecological systems. The long-term outcome identified by NESL rests in improving urban ecological literacy and sense of place. At its core, the seed bank is as an art project. People can engage with the seeds and seed pack-
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