Conservation Reading Group
Read and learn with us to become better advocates for birds and nature.
How the Conservation Reading Group Works
The Conservation Reading Group meets quarterly. Sign up and complete the selected reading by the announced date. During the reading period, you’ll receive optional reflection prompts by email to support deeper engagement, with no requirement to participate. Those who register as Discussion Participants will be invited to join a small, in-person discussion at the Birds Connect Seattle office; space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. To conclude, we’ll share a summary of the reading along with key takeaways and community-focused recommendations.
Our reading group is proud to partner with Addabook, a new book journaling platform on a mission the help us get more out of the pages we read by taking the time to reflect and record our thoughts. See the Conservation Reading Group book list here.
Current Selection
A Natural History of Empty Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places
Read by date: June 13, 2026
A Natural History of Empty Lots is a genre-defying work of nature writing, literary nonfiction, and memoir that explores what happens when nature and the city intersect. To do this, we must challenge our assumptions of nature itself.
During the real estate crash of the late 2000s, Christopher Brown purchased an empty lot in an industrial section of Austin, Texas. The property—a brownfield site bisected with an abandoned petroleum pipeline and littered with concrete debris and landfill trash—was an unlikely site for a home. Along with his son, Brown had explored similar empty lots around Austin, “ruined” spaces once used for agriculture and industry awaiting their redevelopment as Austin became a 21st-century boom town. He discovered them to be teeming with natural activity and embarked on a twenty-year project to live in and document such spaces. There, in our most damaged landscapes, he witnessed the remarkable resilience of wild nature, learned how easy it is to bring back the wild in our own backyards, and discovered that, by working to heal the wounds we have made on the Earth, we can also heal ourselves.
Beautifully written and philosophically hard-hitting, A Natural History of Empty Lots offers a new lens on human disruption and nature, offering a sense of hope among the edgelands.
Learn more on Addabook and sign up to read with us!
Past Selections
Crossings by Ben Goldfarb
Spring 2026
One million animals are killed by cars each day in the U.S. Creatures from antelope to salmon are losing their ability to migrate; road salt contaminates waterways; and traffic noise chases songbirds from their habitat. In Crossings, you’ll meet conservationists building bridges for California’s mountain lions, animal rehabbers caring for Tasmania’s car-orphaned wallabies, and community organizers working to undo the havoc highways have wreaked upon American cities.
Crossings is a sweeping, spirited investigation into how humans have altered the natural world—and how we can create a better future for all living beings.
Learn more on Addabook. Purchase your copy from Birds Connect Seattle.
Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney
Winter 2026 selection. Learn more on Addabook. Purchase your copy at bookshop.org.
Silent Earth by Dave Goulson
Fall 2025 selection. Learn more on Addabook. Purchase your copy from Birds Connect Seattle.
Questions and Comments:
Josua Morris, Conservation Director, coordinates the Conservation Reading Group. Please email joshm@birdsconnectsea.org with questions and comments.
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