Want to become an urban naturalist? Try trailing a toddler

To the toddler, the clover flower is as splendid as the dahlia; the dried worm as tragic as a starving polar bear; the walnut shell as mysterious as the queen conch. The lesson to us is that while we unconsciously rank and sort nature into human-centric categories of lesser or greater value, from despised invasive weeds to iconic endangered species, kids just see a bunch of interesting and beautiful stuff. And they are right. It is all interesting; it is all beautiful; it is all nature.

Want to become an urban naturalist? Try trailing a toddler.