(Photo by Robert Barossi)

It can be argued that the most important place to preserve green spaces is in cities and urban areas. As people move into these heavily populated and tightly developed places, they can lose touch with nature, losing that all-important connection with the natural world. In many cities, there are small green spaces dotting the urban landscape. Parks and squares and patches of green earth, all of which need care and love from volunteers, so that every city dweller can enjoy them. This recent article from New York Daily News discusses one such effort. Volunteer docents are now offering guided walking tours of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Every Sunday, the volunteers lead groups through the park, discussing the ecology as well as the park’s history and significance. Education is an important element of these tours, especially when it comes to young schoolchildren. These kinds of efforts are essential to keeping our connection with nature, especially the small bits of nature found in cities, and no doubt are happening in urban areas across the country.

The volunteer tours are coordinated by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. Check out their website here.