Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
political leaders to address the State of Nature along with the State of the City
or the State of the Union. Tracking our natural world provides the feedback
we need to gauge our ef ects and i nd the motivation to reduce them as needed
for the sake of other species.
Watching the ecological struggles that occur in our yards, parks, and
workplaces builds wonder that enables restraint. Few who watch young wood-
peckers cry for food from the protection of their nest cavity would cut down a
snag. Those who receive daily deliveries of dead warblers on their porch from
a free-roaming cat would i nd it hard to support a local spay-neuter-return
policy. Holding a tiny hummingbird, stunned after a recent collision with a
window, encourages us to reconsider feeder placement and window transpar-
ency. Experience shapes our ethics and actions. If experience no longer includes
nature, then our ethics cannot rel ect the full needs of our natural world. Our
interaction with nature is reciprocal—as we af ect it, it af ects us. Strengthen-
ing our place in the city's ecological web builds resilience to change and al-
lows us to coexist with a wonderful diversity of life. Cutting our ties to the
web is like cutting the belay line climbers rely upon as they stretch for a dis-
tant handhold. As we stretch to live within a rapidly changing world, are we
ready to gamble on an unprotected, solo climb?
My hope is that we forego a lone ascent and instead seek creative ways to
coexist with a wide diversity of birds and other creatures. Sacrii cing to do
this keeps nature intact and supports its inl uence, from our cities to their
hinterlands. Facing our urban future in collaboration with our wild neighbors
celebrates our appreciation for their intrinsic values as well as for the many
ways that they improve our own beings. A lasting celebration increases the
world's capacity to adjust to environmental change and quenches our thirst to
remain part of nature.