Urban Natural History

Join me at Austin City Hall (Boards and Commissions Room on the first floor) at noon on Tuesday August 28, 2012 for my monthly Lunchtime Lecture.

This month I will be giving an overview of urban natural history which will primarily be an explanation as to why urban natural history is not an oxymoron.  Thoreau famously declared, “In Wildness is the preservation of the World” and that “cities import it at any price.”  Urban nature is incorporated into the urban landscape in parks, gardens, and preserves as official sites of sanctioned nature. Additionally, nature emerges in the shadows and alleyways as unofficial sites of unsanctioned and often unwanted nature. All of this urban nature has a rich tradition of study exemplified in urban natural history. The natural history of European cities like London, Berlin, and Paris has been studied for centuries, and the more recently created cities of America have also been documented through the work of naturalists. Join us for an overview of the history of urban natural history and a bit of Thoreau!