Dr. Martin W. Seltmann is the principal investigator of our project and he is part of the Lummaa Lab at the Department of Biology, University of Turku. His research interests lie broadly in the fields of animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, and conservation physiology, with a particular focus on how individual differences – like personality – influence an animal's interactions with its environment and social group. He is fascinated by the intricate ways in which animals adapt and respond to challenges, from the stress of human interaction to the complexities of social dynamics. He has 26 scientific publications (13 as leading or senior author).

PhD Mélissa Gagnière is the doctoral student of our project. She is working on the relationships between urban carnivores, pets, and citizens in Turku since 2024. Her main work focuses on the influence of human attitudes towards urban carnivores, human-nature relationships and the behavioural adaptation of meso-carnivores in urban environments. She has a solid background in wildlife conservation, management, and behavioural ecology. She has field experience with mammal population and research experience in animal cognition and behaviour from projects in France and Finland, including work on reindeer personality at the University of Turku.

Senior Professor Timo Vuorisalo worked as a senior environmental scientist at the University of Turku since 1992. Being retired nowadays, he is still involved in several projects, including Urban Biophilia, bringing his extensive expertise in urban ecology and environmental history. His principal research interests included evolutionary theory, urban ecology and environmental history. He has studied the urbanisation of birds and mammals in Finland from both ecological and historical perspectives. His work includes co-editing two international books on World War II and urban environmental history and publishing over 370 scientific and popular articles.

Iida Vanttaja is one of our two puppet artists who will deliver art performance during our workshops. She graduated from the Department of Scenography of the Visual Arts School in Helsinki in 1989, and is nowadays a freelance-puppet theatre professional in Turku. Having several experiences in puppeteering, she is also specialised in writing stories’ script and building different types of puppets. In 2021, she participated in the art event Huoneiden kirja, where the entire production team received a State Prize for the Performing Arts.

Sirpa Järvenpää is one of our two puppet artists who will deliver art performance during our workshops. She is a performer (puppeteer and an actor), and has been working professionally since 2009, when she graduated from Turku arts academy. Theatre and puppet theatre are truly inspirational for her, loving its intensity, moods, how different everyday life can look when you see it from a different point of view, and how far you can go with it.

Kaisa Hanka conducted her bachelor's thesis with our team in 2025 at the University of Turku. Her topic was: "Adaptation of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to the urban environment", working with us on the behavioural experiments.

Thomas Réau worked with our team in 2024 at the University of Turku while doing his Master's thesis. He helped us conduct our first behavioural experiments.