The Incidental Steward

May 6, 2013
In this charming series of essays, Busch (Patience) demonstrates the ways in which volunteers in her area of Upstate New York have learned to notice the natural world around them. In the same way that Thoreau took time to examine his corner of the pond, "citizen scientists" observe and report on the wilderness near their homes. Each essay concentrates on an aspect of change, with invasive species and diseases that attack plants and animals her main focus; for instance, weeding water chestnuts that clog rivers becomes a time of reflection on the ecosystem. Busch views "mile-a-minute vines" that smother trees as a metaphor with a clear message: "hen events happen too quickly, it is no good." She also notes that nature adapts to some invasive plants, like loosestrife, making it do the job of the plants it has replaced. One of the stranger newcomers is the eastern coyote, who moved from the west, interbreeding with wolves and dogs, until it became a new and variegate animal. In recounting her experience, Busch shares her considerations on nature and how individuals can use their observations to add data to scientific studies; her work is both informative and inspirational.

February 15, 2013
Essayist and former Metropolis contributing editor Busch (Patience: Taking Time in an Age of Acceleration, 2010, etc.) shows how ordinary people can play an important role in protecting the natural environment simply by "paying attention" to the creatures around us. In a surprising footnote to history, the author tells of how a field notebook of birds in the Hudson Valley, which Franklin Roosevelt kept as a boy, was used by a climate researcher a century later, "correlating the earlier arrival of certain migratory birds with climate records." Busch bases her book on her writings since 1987, when she returned with her husband to the region where she had grown up. The author records her joyful experiences reconnecting with nature, citing New York Times writer Daniel B. Smith's use of a Freudian metaphor in a discussion of "deep-rooted ecological instincts," which we suppress at our emotional peril. Busch writes with appreciation of citizen scientists, the volunteers who participate in keeping records of changes in the environment and participate in events such as the annual Christmas Bird Count in communities throughout the United States. Her survey of the local flora and fauna includes bats, which are no longer an endangered species but now appear to be subject to a new fungal disease. She also examines how insect-eating salamanders and wood frogs kill off insects that endanger human health, examines the pros and cons of so-called invasive species, which are sometimes destructive in their new environment but, in other instances, benefit local wildlife--e.g., the purple loosestrife plant--and discusses how northern coyotes interbreed with wolves and dogs and play important ecological roles as predators. An appendix lists citizen-scientist volunteer opportunities. Sure to inform and delight nature lovers.

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Starred review from April 15, 2013
Hudson River valley native Busch (Nine Ways to Cross a River, 2007) portrays that verdant region under the influence of environmental change in a suite of sparkling, inquiring, and inspiring essays. She begins on Mohonk Mountain, where a nature preserve founded in 1869 is home to sustained and scrupulous meteorological records and observations of animal and plant life. This serves as a template of attention for Busch's eloquent call for the practice of citizen science, in which volunteers collect data for research projects supported and shared via digital technologies as demonstrated by the enticing list Busch provides of citizen science programs and their apps and websites. In her sensuously lush and thought-provoking chronicles, Busch recounts her adventures counting herrings, glass eels, eagles, and a species of dislocated bats driven north in search of cooler temperatures and helping assess damage wrought by the invasive mile-a-minute vine. She has an extraordinary gift for combining glimmering personal reflections and sharp insights as she celebrates passionate watchfulness and committed stewardship, endeavors made urgent by the consequences of global warming. Elegantly illustrated by Debby Cotter Kaspari, this is a beautiful and incisive affirmation of how full engagement with the natural world enriches the human experience. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)