The natural environment is inescapable regardless of how insulated we may feel in the bustling metropolis of our decidedly urban surroundings. No matter how conceptually distant our homes and workplaces seem from idyllic cascades of meadow grasses susurrating in the breeze or sun-dappled sylvan ponds buzzing with frantic activity, wildlife is there to confront us at every turn. Common raccoons scavenge nourishment from apartment dumpsters, White-tailed deer rest their fawns in imperceptible indentations in suburban lawns, Northern mockingbirds chatter their frustration at interloping house cats, and Swallowtail butterflies pollinate the blossoms in our community gardens. Convenient or not, we constantly interact with native creatures great and small, and, as we expand into their territory, this cohabitation will only become more and more apparent. As this inevitability instantiates itself in our day-to-day-lives, it becomes incumbent upon us to take our roles as stewards of the environment seriously and acknowledge the ways…