Urban Ecology

Want to take a fascinating adventure and learn about wildlife in the city? Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science and How we Share our Cities by Cylita Guy and illustrated by Cornelia Li is an excellent resource for budding urban scientists.

Throughout this middle grade, non-fiction book, Cylita Guy, with the help of some urban ecologist friends, teaches readers all about studies and observations that help us understand how and why animals live in our cities and how we can all best share space.

The book is gripping! Broken into eight chapters featuring different urban scientists and different urban species, readers have the opportunity to learn about some important studies in urban communities. The stories of how these scientists collect their data are riveting. At times dangerous and suspenseful, readers will be inspired to become urban scientists by doing the Urban Ecology Challenges at the end of each chapter.

Not only does this narrative non-fiction book explain different studies happening in cities, it also demonstrates how urban ecology and social justice go hand in hand. Cylita Guy describes racist encounters faced by Black, Brown and Indigenous scientists as they are conducting their studies as well as how racist practices have shaped cities and how that impacts biodiversity.

There are a ton of sidebars within each chapter to further learning about bats, rats, bears, bees and trees. This book will help dispel some of the feelings humans may have about certain species we can find in our cities and how we can learn to live together, safely.

Cornelia Li’s illustrations are colourful and dynamic, capturing science in action. The illustrations engage readers and make this a book readers will always want on hand.