As humans "develop" every "useful" parcel of land on the planet, we conservationists know how important it is to protect the large swaths of natural habitat that remain. But it is also important to conserve small preserves that still survive within our urban and suburban areas.
One such preserve is the Norma Sutherland Smith Park in northeastern Columbia, Missouri. This morning, my wife and I paid our first visit to that refuge, which stretches southward from a new residential community. Only 50 acres in size, the Park contains the usual suburban amenities: a parking lot, toilets, a picnic shelter and a playground, all of which comprise less than a tenth of the preserve's area. Of interest to naturalists and conservationists is an old farm pond, lined with cattails and wetland wildflowers and bordered by a mixed forest. Trails lead around the pond and up through the woods to the parking area.
While such a small refuge may seem insignificant in our efforts to protect natural diversity and battle climate change, the sum of these plots, dotting cities and towns across the globe, is enormous. Even if their impact on the welfare of flora and fauna is limited, their roles in carbon capture and in the introduction of natural science to children are invaluable.
