Are we inadvertently delineating Nature as "out there?" Do we designate natural spots in town so often that children infer Nature to be defined by a parcel of land? Must it be a reserved or preserved plot with undeveloped status (or as quasi-natural as we can get it)?
Don't get me wrong, our conserved lands are learning labs of high value and need to be visited and studied. Let's not forget, however, that the natural world surrounds children all the time, and they need to identify this. This natural world is grossly disguised with blacktop and concrete or totally shut out via bricks and glass. Cultural shrouding has, all too often, wall-papered nature out. Even so, children need to be able to identify their surroundings as such: Nature that is always there, but sometimes culturally impeded. So, there is the common mindset that one's neighborhood and even backyard don't qualify as a strand of Nature. Sure, there are squirrels and buckthorn and waskely wabbits that eat Mom's hasta shoots. But that's still not legit. "It's just the backyard." Not necessarily Nature.
Case in point: I have a small backyard with a few trees. As a somewhat seasoned birder, I've kept notes and tallies of bird sightings from many spots in North America. Guess where I finally settled in to watch the feathered ones. My backyard. Instead of gallivanting all over the state at 5:00 AM on spring mornings, I settled into an Adirondack chair behind the house with the binocs. Surprise... The little chirpers are there! Many folks keep "yard records" and I now know why. It's not necessary to go "out" in search of nature.
Here's the list of sightings from the yard so far this calendar year - through May 13th. (Technically my yard extends vertically in altitude to, say, 2,000 feet.)
Canada Goose
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon (2 flyovers!)
Sandhill Crane
 |
| Cedar Waxwing |
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Chimney Swift
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-Capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Veery
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing (flock of 12)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Chestnut-Sided Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Chipping Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Dark-Eyed Junco
Brown-Headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Great-Crested Flycatcher
Thirty-nine species that will either stick around for the summer or migrate through to northern climes. And migration hasn't ended, by any means. I am thrilled with the anticipation and sightings all around me. Out the back door. I don't need to spend gasoline carbon by going off to "hotspots" around the state. This is a relatively new awakening.
We cannot neglect conserved land of any sort and must work to preserve every acre from developers. But, we must be mindful of every little bit of our natural environment, and challenge kids to do the same. (Check out a bird tracking program each winter from Cornell called FeederWatch.) What's in your backyard? What's in your friend's backyard? When is the tent going up in the backyard? Are we going on a snipe hunt in the backyard?
Further
We have also witnessed over the decades the housing development manifest destiny syndrome. We've named streets Deerpath Rd. and Hawk Crossing and Fox Run which, ultimately, becomes the death knell for said organism mentioned. If said organism, plus its coyote and turkey friends, happen to show up in said suburban setting we shoot and trap and fear until their sovereign territories are swallowed up. Is it any wonder neighborhoods are not considered a part of nature?
Walking a sidewalk to school or waiting at the bus stop is part of this backyard nature jurisdiction for kids. When slinging the backpack down "Badger Lane," there are multitudes of growing things to be observed throughout the seasons. (Phenology does creep into and between yards.) Kids need to get out of bed and out of the house without a rush, which can be accomplished. :-) With a slower, less crazed walk to the bus, they can take in natural surroundings that peek out through man-made structures: Sky, temperature, blooms, worms on the sidewalk, depth of snow, leaf piles, a new sound.
Otherwise, it's only wallpaper.
