Dear HCN,
I want
to thank HCN for its cover story (HCN, 10/28/02:
Shawdow creatures) about nonhumans in Seattle and elsewhere. I work
near the University of Washington, and I feel grateful every day
that some nonhumans consent to be there at all, much less to thrive
on our wastes, in our hedgerows and backyards. The “nuisance” in
cities is the appalling noise, the endless miles of impervious
surfaces, both horizontal and vertical, the stench of exhaust, the
ubiquitous artificial light. To me, seeing a solemn gathering of
crows on the edge of a Dumpster in the alley, or the wrangling
between a gull and crows on a rooftop, or the impeccable timing of
an English sparrow foraging for crumbs on the sidewalk, gives some
respite from the relentlessness of purely human activity that makes
the city not “the wild.”
I welcome every critter
who has the adaptability to cross the boundaries we so
thoughtlessly erect. These include the unconscious assumption,
apparently still held by many people, that non-humans in our cities
are a “nuisance.”
Linda T.
Campbell
Seattle,
Washington
P.S. Canada goose
poop makes great fertilizer!
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Nonhumans aren’t a nuisance.
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