My thesis research focused on stormwater infrastructure in Kitchener-Waterloo and on the biota that inhabit stormwater management infrastructure, such as stormwater management ponds.

Across Ontario, stormwater management ponds are rapidly replacing natural wetlands. These ponds are installed in suburban areas as a requirement of municipalities to capture runoff before it enters creeks and rivers. Due to their infrastructure priorities, they capture pollutants like fertilizer, salt, and pesticides.

Liminal in the context of stormwater management ponds is twofold. First, liminal from the perspective of an ecologist, where the terrestrial and aquatic realms of an ecosystem meet. Second, from an artist's perspective, the aesthetic of a stormwater management pond occupies a space between an engineered design and a natural space.

Liminal Habitat is a parallel piece of work to complement the scientific work of my thesis. I employed traditional landscape photography techniques to capture the role stormwater management ponds play in maintaining aquatic habitat in cities. Using photography as a tool for science communications, I aim to inform the public that these pieces of infrastructure unintentionally become habitat in urban areas. I ask the audience to re-signify the role that stormwater management ponds play in our cities, and to re-imagine the co-benefits of providing habitat alongside flood protection.