Biodiversity is both increasingly important and increasingly threatened due to human activity. Habitat destruction, global warming, and pollution threaten to wipe out 20–50 percent of Earth’s biodiversity. As centers of global population and consumption, cities are among the most responsible for biodiversity decline, yet they are also among the most capable to change global trends.
Biodiversity is the variety of all life on Earth. It includes interactions among all species, and between species and their environments. In St. Louis, we can find biodiversity in native prairies of Forest Park, the crops grown in the city’s thriving urban farm scene, and even the wildflowers growing on roadway medians.