Conservation Reading Group: A Natural History of Empty Lots

Author, Christopher Brown

Our summer 2026 Conservation Reading Group selection takes us to Austin, Texas, where author Christopher Brown uncovers the hidden beauty and resilience of overlooked landscapes. In  A Natural History of Empty Lots, we follow Brown in the late 2000s after he purchased a parcel in an industrial section of the city, a brownfield site crossed by an abandoned petroleum pipeline and scattered with concrete debris and landfill trash. Though an unlikely place to make home, the property became the center of a twenty-year journey observing how wild nature adapts to and thrives on the margins.

Alongside his son, Brown explores the urban edgelands around Austin, “ruined” places once shaped by agriculture and industry then abandoned as the city rapidly expanded into a 21st-century boom town. What he discovered in these overlooked environments was an abundance of life and remarkable ecological resilience.

Inspiration Behind the Selection

As an urban conservation organization, Birds Connect Seattle believes every part of our urban ecosystem has value, even the places most people overlook. Vacant lots, industrial corridors, and other urban landscapes are often dismissed as lifeless and undervalued by conservationsists, yet this book reveals them to be spaces full of resilience, biodiversity, and potential for restoration.

Through his exploration of abandoned urban spaces in Austin, Christopher Brown challenges readers to rethink what counts as “nature” and where connections with wildlife can happen. His observations show how birds, plants, insects, and other wildlife continue to adapt and thrive within heavily altered environments.

For birders, naturalists, scientists, and outdoor recreators, the book broadens traditional ideas of wilderness and conservation while encouraging us to notice and care for the overlooked habitats woven throughout our cities.

Joining The Conversation

The Conservation Reading Group will meet on June 13, 2026, at the Birds Connect office for an in-person discussion led by Conservation Committee member Emily Knudsen.

If you’re unable to attend in person, you can still participate as a “remote reader” through Adabook, where we’ll be sharing reading prompts, reflections, and discussion notes leading up to the meeting. We encourage all participants to use the platform to share thoughts, questions, and observations throughout the reading experience before gathering together in June.