i’ve been reading a lot of books about urban naturalism recently, and the one big thing they all talk about is how you HAVE to stop seeing nature as something that happens somewhere else. nature is not just charismatic megafauna and state parks and mountain ranges. nature is that abandoned lot that’s growing native milkweed in it. nature is the murder of crows that lives in your block. nature is the moss growing on your roof and the dandelions growing in the sidewalk cracks and the song birds at your neighbor’s birdfeeder. and you should care about it! you should notice it! that’s YOUR nature!
the two that most directly pertain to this post are Nature Obscura by Kelly Brenner and Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Both are written by naturalists living in Seattle about their practices as urban naturalists, Nature Obscura through the vehicle of multiple creatures found in different seasons, Crow Planet mainly through the behavior of the crows living in West Seattle. though i’m spoiled and also live in seattle i think both of these books are super useful introductions to anyone who’s interested in building a personal practice as a naturalist anywhere. (both also have extensive bibliographies that i have mostly yet to work through.)
more broadly i also read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer which everyone tells you to read for good reason, it rocks. it’s less about how to be a naturalist and more about how to create a relationship with the earth, but i think having read it will make any other book about urban naturalism carry more weight.
i’m also going to shout Underland by Robert Macfarlane out here as well, which is not at all about urban naturalism but did introduce me to the concept of deep time and rocked my entire world.
and i haven’t read this one yet, butSlow Birding by Joan E. Strassmann is on my tbr, it’s about birding as a way to connect with nature in your backyard and sounds excellent.
I can say that Slow Birding is a very interesting read, she highlights a bunch of common birds with really cool facts and gives good tips on birding at home. Also Underland was FASCINATING and I read it twice. Braiding Sweetgrass is a classic at this point. The other 2 I haven’t read and am adding them to my tbr pile
oh good to know slow birding is good, i’m excited to get to it! i think both the authors of the two you haven’t read have other books (i know haupt does) but i haven’t gotten to them yet.
