Urban Nature / Urban Wildlife - updated

I have arranged for us to have an exhibition at the Toledo Metroparks National Center for Nature Photography.

You will begin working on this right away. I strongly suggest that you start by doing research. Additionally, start making note of the various animals and such that you see around the city/suburbia. Deer, squirrels, and song birds are the obvious ones, but what about bats, possums, coyotes, raccoons, rats, etc that you don't always see but you know are around? What is growing over Southwyck mall as well as all the others abandoned places in the area?

You will have to do some real research on this. I don't know how to find coyotes at night. You will have to figure it out. You may need to get permission to photograph somewhere. It may take time to procure permission. You will need to get the ball rolling on this as soon as possible.

The idea for this show comes from the BBC/Natural History Museums Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. The Detroit Zoo regularly has the traveling exhibit on display there where I have seen it in the past. There is an Urban Wildlife category that I find most interesting. They define the category thus:

Urban Wildlife
Images must capture the magic of the commonplace. They must be surprising, stirring, revelatory compositions that focus on nature’s occupation of the man-made environment.

Here is a link to three of the winners in this year's competition.

I love it. However, given the time frame I am broadening the scope from wildlife to nature in general with an emphasis on wildlife when possible.

Some things that I would like you to consider:

How do urbanites experience nature?

Nature in the urban environment.

Collision of cities and nature.

Essentially, I would like you to consider how you and other city/suburban dwellers experience nature. Consider the idyllic representation of the deer in the pond at dawn surrounded by mist and the sun rising versus the reality of the deer in the backyard eating mom's garden.  
 
I suggest that someone contact the appropriate UT folks to photograph the peregrine falcon that lives in the tower on campus.