For the last 50-odd years, mysterious green aliens have been swarming around North-Western European cities and towns. Where do those screeching creatures come from? And why did they choose to live among us? And do they come in peace or should we be scared of them? Some think they can be traced back to Adam and Eve, the original couple released by Jimi Hendrix on Carnaby Street in 1968. Others believe that they found their way into our skies via an abandoned typewriter factory in Amsterdam. 

In the end, we will never be certain where they came from. But does it really matter? In spaces where most species are not “native”, new (non-human and human) arrivals have been integral to historical ecology of our cities. Let us embrace the visual and acoustic diversity they have brought us! 

For the last 50-odd years, mysterious green aliens have been swarming around North-Western European cities and towns. Where do those screeching creatures come from? And why did they choose to live among us? And do they come in peace or should we be scared of them? Some think they can be traced back to Adam and Eve, the original couple released by Jimi Hendrix on Carnaby Street in 1968. Others believe that they found their way into our skies via an abandoned typewriter factory in Amsterdam. 

In the end, we will never be certain where they came from. But does it really matter? In spaces where most species are not “native”, new (non-human and human) arrivals have been integral to historical ecology of our cities. Let us embrace the visual and acoustic diversity they have brought us! 

You might also like: