Nature [publisher's letter]

Reading the feature article on page 14 in this edition brought up some philosophical thoughts for me. As the article suggests, there are many opinions on what wilderness is, and I wholeheartedly agree with conservationist Douglas Tallamy, who is quoted as saying, “A wild place could be a 15-minute drive from home where we can walk among plants in a meadow, or a tree-lined street, or front and back yard, if landscaped with wild creatures in mind.”

I grew up in nature. To me, my yard, my street, and the field at the end of the street were all part of “my” natural environment, and I was a part of it. I also had the Rocky Mountains as my big playground, thanks to my parents who would allow me some freedom to explore when we took weekend trips there. Whether I was in that wilderness standing in a stream, or simply playing in a puddle on my driveway, both places were “my wild world” in which to learn about how things worked.

If we are to view ourselves as part of nature, and not separate from it, then one could make the argument that our cities, homes and ourselves are “in” the wilderness, and the wilderness is, in turn, a part of our built environment. That might be harder to comprehend when we think of the concrete jungle we live in, and, of course, there are differences between backpacking in the Rockies and going to the neighborhood park, but the laws of nature apply no matter the location.

And then there is a little thing called biodiversity. While the beauty of a spruce forest cannot be disputed, it is often the scrubby-, ratty-looking areas that provide a diverse home for a plethora of bird, insect and other animal species. A fine example of this is the Leslie Street Spit, in Toronto, Canada. Originally a human-made landfill that received excavation and construction waste (and parts still do today, I believe), it has naturally regenerated over the years to become home to more than 300 species of birds. It is actually a very interesting story, and I encourage you to read more about it at Wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Street_Spit.

I don’t think anybody would dispute the fact that we are losing our “out there” wilderness areas at depressingly alarming rates, and that there should be areas that people are either not allowed to go, or can visit but with restrictions. However, I do think that we have a lot more that we can do to preserve, protect and promote the wild where we live; it’s a matter of taking responsibility and realizing that we are a part of, not separate from, the natural world.