Who Else Lives Here?

‘Who Else Lives Here?’ is a unique vertical meadow in central London that brings nature into urban spaces. Featuring native plants, sensors to track pollinators, and an immersive audio experience, it connects people with biodiversity in a creative way. Illustrated hoardings and QR codes invite passers-by to explore the species and stories behind the installation. 

The Crown Estate set its ambition for nature recovery in October, with goals to increase biodiversity and people’s connection with nature. 'Who Else Lives Here?' is a collaboration between Miles Irving (Forager, Worldwide CIC), Alistair Law (Vertical Meadow), James Pyne (Pala). We hear more from them about the project:

So Miles, as one of the trio with James and Alistair can you explain briefly what is the Who Else Lives Here campaign?

Well, the initial brief was for "scalable solutions for urban greening," and that immediately made me think that the real greening we need is for people to become part of nature again. There’s a big gulf between us and the natural world. Because we're disconnected, we're oblivious to the fact that we're wiping insects out. You don't care about what you don't notice. But it's a huge problem for us, too. People are losing something essential, because they have no roots in nature.

So, the campaign started by asking a simple question: "Who else lives here?" We walk around as if it's just us, but we're part of a multispecies community. The idea was to bring together a living wall—an actual habitat—with storytelling, to draw people back into that community and help them remember they're part of a living system.

Alistair, can you briefly explain how it came about?

Fundamentally, the project comes from a simple truth: if people don't engage with nature, they're not going to look after it. We believe the root of nature's decline is this loss of engagement. Research has recently shown that people need that connection to actually start to act.

So, "Who Else Lives Here?" is designed to spark that initial engagement. The Vertical Meadow acts as a focal point, a tool to bring nature right into the urban environment and get people to stop and engage with the living things around them. The next level, we want, is for them to act in supporting Nature Recovery based on this great awareness of nature. .

James, how are you revealing the unseen at Spring Gardens?

I grew up in the sticks, and whenever I come back home and step off the train at Euston, I'm just blasted with the stimulus of the city—advertisements, billboards, traffic. It's so easy to forget that London has this incredible interplay of species all around us.

I was inspired by the history of biological remote sensing. In the 1950s, making the first recordings of beluga whales was expensive and difficult. But recently, there’s been a revolution in the availability and practicality of the technology. We can now use tiny, high-quality sensors—an AudioMoth the size of a credit card, or machine-vision cameras—to listen and see with greater accuracy than our own senses allow. We can then use machine learning to process hours of data to find out who's living on the wall. The vision is that this could become like the establishment of weather stations a century ago, building a vivid blueprint of the biodiversity in any given space.

Alistair, what is so special about this Vertical Meadow installation beyond your other installations?

While the Vertical Meadow itself is a useful tool—we’re growing native wildflowers selected with the Wildlife Trust and Buglife—what makes this project so special is the purpose and the collaboration. It’s the story we’re telling with it.

It's not just about a wall of plants; it's about using the wall to change perceptions. For instance, we can elevate the humble dandelion from a weed you tread on in the street to an object of beauty on the vertical, almost a piece of art. The storytelling from Miles and the data from James enhances that awareness, revealing the importance of the species we so often overlook and showing people what nature in our cities could be.

James, what unusual things have been spotted on the wall?

It's been fascinating to go through the data and see the story of the urban ecosystem coming together - the fact that the sensors are picking up these species shows the living wall is creating a healthy, functioning habitat. For instance, in terms of insects, we’ve detected:

• Hoverflies - We have seen significant quantities of hoverflies on our walls including Marmalade Hoverflies. 

• 22-Spot Ladybirds: Everyone is aware of the usual 7-spot variety, but these are orange instead and look super cool. It’s interesting because they feed on mildew, which shows the wall is maturing through its natural life cycle.

• Solitary Wasps: These are particularly interesting because they subvert the usual idea of wasps as just pests at a picnic. We've identified several types, including Spider-hunting Wasps, Potter Wasps that build tiny pot-like nests from mud, and the parasitic Ichneumon (or Darwin) Wasps. Seeing them tells you there must be a healthy population of spiders and caterpillars nearby.

• Lacewing Larvae: These are fantastic because they eat tons and tons of aphids. It’s a sign of a robust, natural pest control system at work.

• Predatory Capsid Bugs: These are so effective at hunting pests that they’re often sold commercially. We're finding them establishing themselves here naturally.

Each discovery hints at the existence of all these other relationships, and proves a diverse community is really taking root.

Miles, what has been the reaction from the public?

What we're seeing is that the project creates an atmosphere that entices people out of their busy mindset. The soundscape really seems to grab their attention as they're walking past—they hear these bird songs and natural noises, and it makes them more receptive.

You see people stop, and they get drawn right in. They’ll come close to touch the plants and gaze into the meadow. It's wonderful to see that moment of connection happen. It creates an opportunity for something to touch their heart. The installation makes them stop and feel that they're a part of this beautiful, living world, even in the heart of the city.

‘Who else lives here?’ came from an open call-out for innovators in urban greening, with a pitch competition held by The Crown Estate launched with the Conduit Club. This is a collaboration between Miles Irving (Forager, Worldwide CIC), Alistair Law (Vertical Meadow), James Pyne (Pala) and The Crown Estate. Artwork created in collaboration with Liquona and video by Rob McCourt. For more information on The Crown Estate’s Ambition for Nature visit Stewarding the natural environment | The Crown Estate