Thriving Cities Webinar: Urban Environmental Microbiomes

Urban environments are more than buildings and infrastructure — they're living ecosystems shaped by invisible microbial communities in the soil and air around us. In this Thriving Cities webinar, Professor Martin Breed (Flinders University) and Dr Greg Jacobson (University of Waikato) share emerging research on urban aerobiomes and soil microbiomes, and what these overlooked ecosystems mean for biodiversity, restoration, and human and animal health. Martin explores bioaerosols and the aerobiome — the communities of microbes in the air around us — and how urban green spaces, vegetation complexity, and restoration interventions can shape the microbial diversity we're exposed to daily. He shares findings linking that exposure to immune system training, plus early results from spider-web sampling and childcare-setting research aimed at building biodiverse air exposure into everyday urban environments. Greg presents research on New Zealand's northern grass skink and Raukawa gecko, investigating how soil microbiomes connect to lizard microbiomes, and how microbial diversity relates to lizard body condition — a proxy for animal health. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction & welcome (Rachel Nepia) 04:50 Speaker introductions 06:44 Martin Breed – Urban aerobiomes and bioaerosols 16:00 Greg Jacobson – NZ lizard and soil microbiomes 26:10 Q&A Topics discussed: Urban aerobiomes and bioaerosols Soil microbial diversity and restoration Microbial exposure, immune training, and human health Vegetation complexity in urban green spaces New Zealand lizard microbiome research Ecological restoration and ecosystem resilience Future applications for urban planning and public health Presenters: Professor Martin Breed — Flinders University Dr Greg Jacobson — University of Waikato Hosted by Dr Rachel Nepia as part of the Thriving Cities webinar series from People, Cities and Nature. Find out more: https://www.peoplecitiesnature.co.nz