Nature at Your Door: Connecting with the Wild and Green in the Urban and Suburban Landscape

by Sara A. Gagné

Overview

We are an integral part of the ecosystem where we live. In this book we learn that what we do in our yards matters just as much as the way our local parks and nature preserves are managed. Author and professor of landscape ecology Sara Gagné focuses on the ecological importance of our day-to-day activities and spaces we are most familiar with and can most influence. With cutting-edge science, anecdotal experiences, and practical recommendations, Sara brings the message of how people and nature are vitally connected in the urban and suburban landscape.

Each chapter is dedicated to a particular space—beginning with the yard, moving onto the street, the park, the greenway, the neighborhood, and the town/city. She tells stories of the latest ecological research, interwoven with her own experiences studying animals, to show readers how they affect nature and how nature in wilder, greener spaces affect us in both positive and negative ways. Sidebars feature practical steps readers can take to deepen their connections with nature.

Based on the author’s fifteen years of research and teaching in urban ecology, the wide variety of places and topics covered in this book adds a fresh perspective to urban nature writing and appeals to those who want to take action to make the places they live greener, healthier, and more biodiverse for themselves, the wildlife, and the earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811772266
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2023
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	526,785
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 8.69(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dr. Sara Gagné is associate professor of landscape ecology in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at University of North Carolina Charlotte. She has trained with the best ecologists in the world and published scientific articles in high-impact journals such as Ambio and Bio Science. She’s done research on coyotes and carabid beetles and is a member of an interdisciplinary department of physical and social scientists. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

In the late spring, I walk daily to enjoy the warmth and the changes of nature. In my yard, I observe my plant population’s problems. I ponder if I should exchange more of my beloved bushes and perennials for less water-demanding native plants. Then I lament the new areas of heavy rain’s erosion in the hill on which my home sits. My garden’s minor problems reflect the subtle changes caused by weather’s effect on local ecosystems.

If you have similar problems on how to maintain and support your surrounding locations, an excellent book for answers is Nature at Your Door by Sara A. Gagne, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Gagne discusses nature’s disruptions in human-dominated ecosystems of yards, streets, parks, greenways, neighborhoods, and cities. Each section has information backed by academic studies that discuss each area’s general problems and solutions.

Short “sidebar” segments provide practical advice for individuals who want to become involved with activities to strengthen our urban ecosystems. Some of the most interesting of these information tidbits discuss internet apps, such as iNaturalist, eBird, Merlin Bird ID, and Zooniverse, which help in recognition of and by reporting on animal species’ locations.

Triangle Gardener

Naturally, TheBackwoodsman has a ton of readers who reside in rural regions, but we also have our fair share who live in urban & suburban areas. Nature is everywhere when you really think about it. This is why I think some of you would really enjoy & benefit from the new book from Stackpole Books titled Nature At Your Door: Connecting With The Wild And Green In The Urban And Suburban Landscape by Sarah A. Gagne, a PHD associate professor of landscape ecology in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Sarah explains how all of us are an integral part of the ecosystem and teaches us what we do in our yards matters just as much as the way local parks and nature preserves are managed. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular space, beginning with the yard, moving onto the street, the park, the greenway, the neighborhood, and the town or city. Sidebars feature practical steps readers can take to deepen their connections with nature. You can find Nature At Your Door for #29.95 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, and at other retail stores. Material provided by Stackpole Books.”—The Backwoodsman

From the Publisher

"Sarah explains how all of us are an integral part of the ecosystem and teaches us what we do in our yards matters just as much as the way local parks and nature preserves are managed. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular space, beginning with the yard, moving onto the street, the park, the greenway, the neighborhood, and the town or city. Sidebars feature practical steps readers can take to deepen their connections with nature."

The Backwoodsman