this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2026
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This is green washing no matter how you slice it. While it's an interesting idea, artificial refugia, like bat boxes or these balls, have to be very carefully designed so they don't have one of these negative outcomes:
There's some good work about this on (fuck, fine rummaging for paper) Australian quolls
I actually reached out to Cowan to asks a few questions. He was pumped that we were citing his work and using it in reclamation planning as landscape enchantments.
Anyway, artificial refugia should, at best, be viewed as a temporary fix, or a way to layer habitat on the landscape, never a full substitution.
Not to mention that just leaving tennis balls out in the wild for wildlife means all that rubber and plastic and glue and whatnot leeching into the soil and environs.
I'm in a completely different field, but there's nothing more awesome than seeing your work get used in real life situations that actually match up with your goals.
And people showing a genuine interest is a close second.
Thank you, I treasure comments like this! Does he weigh in on swift bricks anywhere? I do hope he likes those, at least.