New
By: Menno Schilthuizen(Author), Jono Nussbaum(Illustrator)
291 pages, 19 b/w illustrations
![The Urban Naturalist]( "The Urban Naturalist")
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About this book
A manifesto – and a field guide – for a new dawn of natural history, practiced by community scientists in their own urban jungle.
Imagine taking your smartphone-turned-microscope to an empty lot and discovering a rare mason bee that builds its nest in empty snail shells. Or a miniature spider that hunts ants and carries their corpses around. With a team of citizen scientists, that's exactly what Menno Schilthuizen did – one instance in the evolutionary biologist's campaign to take natural science to the urban landscape where most of us live today. In this delightful book, The Urban Naturalist, Schilthuizen invites us to join him, to embark on a new age of discovery, venturing out as intrepid explorers of our own urban habitat – and maybe in the process do the natural world some good.
Thanks to the open science revolution, real biological discoveries can now be made by anyone right where they live. Schilthuizen shows readers just how to go about making those discoveries, introducing them to the tools of the trade of the urban community scientist, from the tried and tested (the field notebook, the butterfly net, and the hand lens) to the newfangled (internet resources, low-tech gadgets, and off-the-shelf gizmos). But beyond technology, his book holds the promise of reviving the lost tradition of the citizen scientist – rekindling the spirit of the Victorian naturalist for the modern world.
At a time when the only nature most people get to see is urban, The Urban Naturalist demonstrates that understanding the novel ecosystems around us is our best hope for appreciating and protecting biodiversity.
Customer Reviews
Biography
Menno Schilthuizen is a senior scientist at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden and Professor of Evolution and Biodiversity at Leiden University. He is the director of a non-profit for community science, the Taxon Foundation, and with his wife, cave biologist Iva Njunji , he runs Taxon Expeditions, a scientific travel agency focused on discovering new species of wildlife.
New
By: Menno Schilthuizen(Author), Jono Nussbaum(Illustrator)
291 pages, 19 b/w illustrations
"There's something here for everyone who wants to know what's outside their door, even if what's outside is a concrete jungle [...] A wide-ranging yet thorough resource for the would-be urban citizen scientist"
– Library Journal
"A fascinating dive into community-science projects that will surely encourage and inspire interested readers."
– Booklist
"In The Urban Naturalist, the Dutch ecologist Menno Schilthuizen invites us to explore the small natural oases found in every city [...] Mr. Schilthuizen points out that being in nature, even in a city, contributes to mental and physical health. You don't have to find a new species of ant, snail or spider to succeed as an urban naturalist, but with the author's advice and encouragement, that might happen too."
– The Wall Street Journal
"I find science fascinating, but laughing is my favorite activity. Menno presents scientific facts with his absolutely irresistible humor. Reading his book is illuminating. I laughed a lot and learned even more."
– Isabella Rossellini, actress, filmmaker, founder of Mama Farm, author of Green Porno and My Chickens and I
"With clarity, wit, and passion, Schilthuizen celebrates the surprising biodiversity found in cities and invites readers to explore, embrace, and make it their own. The Urban Naturalist is both a journey of discovery and a call to action."
– Thor Hanson, author of Close to Home
"From a fungi DNA lab on a Brooklyn kitchen counter to the firefly ambassadors in Kuala Lumpur, Schilthuizen's chronicles of everyday naturalists show how anyone can unleash their own inner scientist."
– Beth Shapiro, author of How to Clone a Mammoth and Life as We Made It
"An excellent primer for would-be citizen scientists, inspiring you to explore the unexpected biodiversity lurking in every urban corner. Schilthuizen's writing has a poetic quality that makes this a pure delight to read!"
– Carin Bondar, author of Wild Moms
"What if everyone realized that doing citizen science in urban areas is quirky, social, and cool? Schilthuizen's romp through these entertaining examples makes the case with elegance and passion."
– Christopher Preston, author of Tenacious Beasts
"Menno Schilthuizen writes enthusiastically about all the ways that you can explore nature in cities and contribute to science and conservation, using both simple equipment and the increasing power of digital tools. A joy to read."
– Richard Primack, author of Walden Warming
"As this fine book illustrates, the first step to conserving urban nature is learning to observe and appreciate it, and in the process expand our care for cities' human and other-than-human residents. Don't mourn, protect!"
– Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods
