The following story is set in Milwaukee. I hope there are neglected places in your city where similar stories may be told.
 
In the midst of active rail lines and towering industrial buildings, I find the activity of beavers most mysterious. Discovering the little haven of nature in a place so completely altered by humans is itself unexpected. The presence of a beaver, an animal also driven to modify its environment, seems miraculous and symbolic.
 
Against long odds, a wetland remains within the historic estuary of the Milwaukee River.

Our buddy Melissa in Chicago sent us a map from Biohabitats, a national ecological restoration firm. It shows a number of the projects they've completed in our dear watershed. As Melissa reminds us, "A crucial part of revitalizing the basin is restoring ecosystem services (aka, the things that nature does to provide us the conditions that allow us to exist)." Uh, yeah, that does seem important...