Postscript

The natural world is the best show on earth, yet I find it a challenge to construct a simple statement that encapsulates what I value about it. There are two difficulties. The first is that any attempt to distill the essence is ambushed by the detail: the first time each year that I see a nestling bobbing up and down in the osprey nest in the local city park; my greater awareness of goldenrods in meadows and waste places once I knuckle down to identify some of the species; the sparkle of fresh snow in winter sunshine; and the grandeur of a summer thunderstorm.

The second and greater difficulty is that the natural world is not a place of tranquility and ease. Conflict and change are inextricable elements because all organisms struggle to survive and reproduce in a world of variable resources and often unsuitable conditions. Overlaying this biological reality is the outsized impact of one superabundant species—us. The insatiable human demand for space and resources and the unplanned impact of our activities on the global climate are impossible to ignore.

Much is written about the scale of environmental degradation and ongoing mass extinction, and ways to mitigate these anthropogenic changes have been proposed. Most of the solutions are large-scale and few are implemented with any consistency, if at all. As individuals, it is easy to feel powerless. But despite this seemingly bleak outlook, a small and necessary part of the solution lies in the hands of the individual. Each of us has a responsibility to honor the natural world close to home, an opportunity to revel in the splendor of the familiar.

“Local” is powerful because it is worldwide. Your “local” may be an unknown faraway place for me and vice versa, but, in the tangled bank of this planet, everywhere is local and demanding of respect. I hope that this book on my local natural world helps spark a greater appreciation of your local natural world, wherever that may be.