An overview of how to get started studying urban ecology

1. The Guide To
Urban Ecology
Dr. Danielle N. Lee
Department of Biology
University of Missouri – St. Louis
Become an urban ecologist, your backyard
and local parks are your laboratory!
What is urban ecology?
Urban ecology is the study of plant and animal
communities in cities. Wild animals and plant
communities have successfully lived alongside
people in our
 Backyards
 Local parks
 Nature areas
 Parking lots
 Empty lots
A baby goldfinch I found in Forest Park, St. Louis, MO
summer 2010.
What education do you need to become an
urban ecologist?
You can study urban wildlife now. After-school Ready to get started?
programs, summer programs, and online Firefly Watch Project
programs offer many chances for you to study https://www.mos.org/fireflywatch/
urban wildlife and meet scientists. A summer survey of fireflies you see in your
Outdoor experiences such as nature hikes, neighborhood. Your research is added to the
bicycling, rock climbing, swimming, collecting worldwide database.
wildflowers, fishing, bird watching, nature
journaling, and photography are a great way to Celebrate Urban Birds
get started. You can also volunteer to help with http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/
a neighborhood biodiversity survey. Multiple hands-on programs to attract birds,
preserve habitat, and help scientists collect data
What sort of education do we have? about bird populations.
 High School: Take science and math Young Bird Watchers
courses including biology, chemistry, http://www.aba.org/yb/
physics, and trigonometry This is a bird watching club for young people.
 College: Major in Biology, Zoology,
Botany, Fish & Wildlife, Environmental Missouri Department of Conservation
Science, and Conservation http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/
Offers classes in fishing, outdoor education,
What skills do you need? wildlife watching. You can also order free
materials, magazines, and activity booklets.
 A love of nature and spending time
outdoors helps.
Or visit my webpage. Try out an activity, ask
 Curiosity about how plants and animals
questions, and share your own Backyard
interact in nature.
Biology experiences.
 Patience and attentiveness. You’ll have Urban Science Adventures! ©
to sit still and be quiet to notice all of the http://urban-science.blogspot.com
different plants and animals that call Danielle N. Lee
your neighborhood home. dnlee5@ymail.com