The project “Protagonist Fox-Rewilding Ecosystems” explores how Animal Aided Design can be used to mainstream biodiversity into the urban areas of Stockport with the help of foxes. Foxes being an opportunistic predator sits at the top of the food chain, and are an adaptable species being a friend and foe to humans. The project aspires to resolve and build the relationship between foxes and humans through the landscape of a concrete jungle which tends to be one of the most challenging sites in Stockport.
Using different tactics like Surface, Movement, Object and Territory presented in the book called Re-Readings into the design will strategise different elements. It will also focus on territorial and transitional space segregation for foxes. Rewilding derelict industrial sheds and introducing woodland-wetland ecosystems will attract birds and mammals within the area, which will give foxes an opportunity to express their instinctive nature to hunt. The creation of intimate homes and playscapes within a derelict building shed, called overground fox dens is a haven to raise their kits and relax. It will have an entrance and exit with a few multifunctional rooms, all designed to suit the needs of the foxes. This overground fox den is one of the most important elements of the design and is made up of reclaimed materials from the site. Workshop allotments and the orchards are a space for the foxes and humans to interact, where humans can experiment with growing vegetables and fruits and foxes can come in for the food. The introduction of a hidden fox path will help foxes to move across the site. These routes intertwine and subtly connect each space together, additionally connecting to the fox tunnels. These fox tunnels are created to avoid vehicle-fox collisions.
The elements and features introduced for foxes via landscape into the project will help them to roam freely and safely giving them a sense of exploration in Stockport.
