Urban Nature Search

Do you think of nature as being someplace that you have to travel to? That wildlife is only found in “wild” places? Think again! Take a quick walk around your schoolyard or backyard and you will soon see that nature and wildlife are everywhere! Birds, bugs, trees, worms, and squirrels, just to name a few, are all found in our urban areas. Take students on an urban nature search and see what you can find! Use Project WILD’s “Urban Nature Search” for more activities!

Young Child Extension
Take young children out to the schoolyard and see what they can find! Young children love getting down on their hands and knees and looking at plants, and under rocks – perfect places to find urban wildlife!

Book List
Grades PreK-2
Bunting, E. 1996. Secret Place. Clarion Books.
Capogna, V.V. 1999. Did You Ever Wonder about Things You Find in Your Backyard? Marshall Cavendish Inc.
Cooper, A.C. 2000. In the City. Rinehart P.
Davis, W. 1998. City Park. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Di Salvo-Ryan, D. 1994. City Green. HarperCollins Publishers.
Epstein, S. 1989. Bugs for Dinner?: The Eating Habits of Neighborhood Creatures. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Fife, D.H. 1996. The Empty Lot. Sierra Club Books for Children.
Fleming, D. 1995. In the Tall, Tall Grass. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.
Fleming, D. 2000. Where Once There Was a Wood. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.
Giogas, V. 2007. In My Backyard. Sylvan Dell Publishing.
Herberman, E. 1989. The City Kid's Field Guide. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Hester, N. 2004. The Living Town. Watts Pub Group.
Huelbig, C. 1996. City Kids and City Critters! McGraw-Hill Companies.
Koontz, R.M. 1998. The Complete Backyard Nature Activity Book: Fun Projects for Kids to Learn About the Wonders of Wildlife and Nature. McGraw-Hill.
Lunis, N. 1996. Life in Your Backyard. Newbridge Educational Publishing.
Morrison, G. 2004. Nature in the Neighborhood. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Raintree Steck-Vaughn. 1987. Animals in Cities and Parks. Steck-Vaughn.
Rammell, S.K. 2006. City Beats: A Hip-Hoppy Pigeon Poem. Dawn Publications.
Rockwell, A. 2006. Backyard Bear. Walker & Company.
Ruurs, M. 2007. In My Backyard. Tundra.
Schwartz, D.M. 1997. In the Park. Creative Teaching Press, Incorporated.
Thornhill, J. 1996. Wild in the City. Sierra Club Books for Children.
Wheeler, J.C. 1993. Beastly Neighbors. ABDO Publishing Company.

Grades 3-5
Barrons Educational Series. 2000. Urban Animal. Barron's Educational Series, Incorporated.
Bash, B. 1992. Urban Roosts: Where Birds Nest in the City. Little, Brown & Company.
Green, J. 2002. In a Backyard. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Gustafson, K.B. 2005. Aunt Gussie And Grandfather Tree. Beaver's Pond Press.
Hirschi, R. 1987. City Geese. Penguin Group.
Hodgkins, F. 2000. Animals among Us: Living with Suburban Wildlife. Shoe String Press, Incorporated.
Kirkland, J. 2006. Take a City Nature Walk. Stillwater Publishing.
Maurer, R. 1989. City Kid's Field Guide. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Morgan, S. 2001. Cities. World Book, Incorporated.
Morgan, S. 1998. Homes and Cities: Living for the Future. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Morrison, G. 2004. Nature in the Neighborhood. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Sanders, S.R. 2002. Crawdad Creek. National Geographic Society.
Shattil, W. 1997. City Foxes. Alaska Northwest Books.
Stetson, E. 2004. Kids' Easy-to-Create Wildlife Habitats: For Small Spaces in City-Suburbs-Countryside. Williamson Books.
Turner, S. 1999. Communities. Raintree Publishers.

Grades 6-8
Aldis, R. 1992. Towns and Cities. Silver Burdett Press.
Barrons Educational Series. 2000. Urban Animal. Barron's Educational Series, Incorporated.
Bruning, N.P. 1992. Cities against Nature. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Cochrane, J. 1988. Urban Ecology. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Gralla, P. 1999. How Cities Work: Open Your Eyes to the Wonders of the Urban Environment. DIANE PublishingCompany.

Grades 9-12
Adams, C.E. 2005. Urban Wildlife Management. CRC Press.
Bosselaar, L.A. 2000. Urban Nature: Poems About Wildlife in the City. Milkweed Editions.
Lomberg, M. 2004. Healthy Cities: Improving Urban Life. Smart Apple Media.