Photograph By kudybadorota – Pixabay License

One of my most passionate topics to write and teach about is what I call “powers of observation”…which many of us have clearly lost. Nature and wildlife are not supposed to be something that we take for granted and pave over. One of the worst things to come out of modern society is the tendency for people to blame deer and other wild animals for being a problem to us.

I prefer to look at this issue much differently. We need to go back and look at history and see how as humans developed cars, roads, and factories; the effects of all of this modernization was to place our priorities over that of nature. Instead of developing a plan that learned from animals we stampeded over their habitat.

When I look around the suburbs here in the Washington, DC area I get extremely frustrated at the lack of land preservation and the way planning did not work holistically with the earth and animals. There are ways to improve the quality of life for humans as well as wildlife. Instead of plowing over every ounce of nature, why don’t developers work with nature and still make money?

I once lived in an apartment complex that was bordered by a stream and woodland. After joining the community evironmental committee, I found out that the developer had paved over a beautiful pond filled with aquatic life. What was once a thriving eco-system was now a parking lot. That is just a tiny fraction of the loss of life and habitat that goes on behind the scenes of any development.

Why don’t developers go out to the land they are going to develop and think about something other then the money they are going to make? They should have to sit on that land and learn something from the land and the animals before they pave the whole thing over. Our planning agencies need to focus on retaining more green space so there is some habitat left for birds, wildlife and people.

We can envision and implement new types of development that would be far more attractive to humans as well as wildlife. Imagine developments where there are protected areas of forest and ponds. Today houses are built in super high density which puts too many people smashed together. There is nothing healthy about human over population and loss of habitat.

One of the greatest break throughs are wildlife over passes or tunnels, that are constructed over and under major highways throughout the world. You Tube has several good videos that show how wildlife over and under passes are major progress towards creating a more humane world.

I suggest that you keep a journal and watch the animals and birds around you. When you drive to work, when you are out at a park, or even in your yard – learn from the animals. The next time someone complains about the deer or other wild animals- I suggest you try walking in their challenges. See the world from their point of view. We need to increase our powers of observation to create a more balanced world that includes the creatures.

What ideas do you have that could help to build a more balanced and humane world? I would like to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Copyright – August 2023 – Cynthia Fain