Designing with biological and social ecologies and synergies between them

There is a vast tradition of research on the biotic relationships between organisms, whereas there is only a small literature on social ecology, and very few document the synergies between them - especially in a way that would be relevant to a designer. This thesis first develops fieldwork techniques to document existing examples of the biological and social ecologies of Metrosideros excelsa and the synergies between these two types of ecology in an urban situation. This research is probably unique in employing and bringing together fieldwork studies of these two types of ecologies. The understanding of social ecologies draws upon the idea of ecological affordance, coined by J.J. Gibson (1992). It then explores how to design with this new understanding of these two ecologies and the synergy between them.