Urban exploring, a new inner-city “adventure sport,” is about gaining access to old and abandoned buildings to photographically record what is being left behind. But urban explorations can also be discovering natural public access areas that are not well traveled.
There are pieces of natural areas tucked away everywhere within the concrete jungle of a city. A patch of woods behind an outlet store, a stream than meanders behind a mini-mall or a weed-filled field beyond an old factory opens up new places to poke around and discover.
The Need for Urban Greenspace
These small slices of nature are little buffer zones between the industrialization of urban developments. They are often rich in life, homes for inner-city deer, birds, small mammals and aquatic life – a piece of paradise enclosed in the massive maze of bricks and mortar.
What makes these macro ecosystems so special? These greenspaces are essential to maintain life systems which are being thwarted by roadways, parking lots and buildings that comprise urban settings. Rainwater needs a way to get back to natural soil to replenish a diminished water table. The removal of trees and foliage from a piece of earth creates prime territory for erosion. Greenspaces enhance environmental health by providing habitat for birds, insects and butterflies as trees provide shade and reduced air temperatures during the summer.
There is no doubt that natural areas make important contributions to the quality of life in places that are becoming more populous. People need places to refresh and relax from the busy hubbub of city life. Another reason is that if people haven’t been exposed to nature, they won’t care about it.
While many groups are doing all they can to preserve parks and create new ones, many wonderful natural areas often miss the eye because they are hidden behind the arcaded façade of retail sales and industrialization.
Seeking Natural Solitude in a City Setting
A new idiom for city dwellers should be, “You can’t see the forests for the stores.” People stopping to shop at a Lowe’s, Home Depot or Target should take a moment to observe what lurks behind the stores. Chances are there will a parking lot for another store, but sometimes there is a ridge or valley that was not conducive for development, thereby a natural area was temporarily preserved. Now is the chance to park the car, go and explore this area before a mega-theater covers it up.
Another area rich for exploration are the brownfields left over from deceased industrial complexes. There, an explorer can see the amazing recovery as nature reclaims these forgotten areas, even with a history of chemical contaminations. Do pay attention to fences and no-trespassing signs while infiltrating these areas.
It can be amazing to enter a zone of urban wilderness and observe deer grazing, cardinals feeding their young and swallowtails basking in spots of sunlight with the sounds of city traffic buzzing by.
People who are employed in a city can often walk to a natural area during a lunch hour. It can be a park or a woodlot that buffers a business district from a residential area. And quite often, it will be a place never noticed before.
Nelson Shogren - Nelson Shogren spends a large amount of time outdoors, paddling kayaks and canoes, hiking, backpacking, camping, road and mountain biking, ...
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