Bird Baths and other cooling infrastructure for animals

About this pattern

Heat stress can have a devastating impact on the animals cohabiting with us in our cities. This pattern identifies (and provides a basis for protocols for) infrastructures of care for cooling animals. These may be deliberately designed permanent structures, such as Fiona Foley’s Lotus Line water sculpture at Redfern Park that invites multiple species; architectural features of built environments that incidentally gather water and/or provide shade; or more temporary solutions, such as bowls of water put out for animals to drink. The provision of habitat is another aspect of caring for animals in hot cities.

The need for infrastructures of care for cohabiting animals in the urban common spaces is driven in part by human practices, such as water diversion for irrigation.

Birds such as Ibises, which have migrated to cities because their wetland habitats are disappearing, are perceived as urban interlopers – alien and homeless. Cockatoos and Corellas have followed in their tracks. Providing cooling infrastructures of care thus challenges negative perceptions of animal-human urban cohabitation.

Pattern Conditions

Enablers

• Creative thinking and engagement with communities to find solutions to questions such as: What are people willing to share? Not bubblers says Sydney Water – therefore a need to move away from the bowl-like design of drinking water fountains.
• Delineating human only, animal only or shared use by design is an important condition of this pattern.

Constraints

• Competing interests around ‘water efficiency’.
• Policies limiting the access of animals to parks and other commons.

Commoning Concerns

Access: While there are distinctive policies limiting the access of companion animals to parks, public transport and other commons, the point would be for such infrastructures of care to be as freely accessible as possible.

Use: Thirsty, hot, tired animals; temporary and intermittent use.

Benefit: Animals, human carers, community of carers.

Care: Local Government Authority with community monitoring the conditions of permanent structures. Temporary infrastructures could be housed with other commoning resources and cared for by the community.

Responsibility: Local Government Authority and community of commoners monitoring heat conditions and responding appropriately.

Ownership: Permanent water features owned by Local Government Authority; private buildings and private gardens owned by residents; commoning resources owned by community.

Commoning concerns include knowing how to safely help and manage heat stressed animals; the impacts of large congregations of animals; cleaning infrastructures of care; collecting animal poo; smells; bee stings, bites and other injuries. Private residents may remove water to limit animal access or thriving mosquito populations.