First chapter enjoyed a mostly free range existence on this planet: early childhood climbing trees in urban parks in Denver, mid-childhood exploring woods and fields in suburban Connecticut, and pursuing similar adolescent outings in suburban Philadelphia. An English major, "Flora of Colorado" was my singular college biology class, a memorable field trip laden month of collecting and curating a mini-herbarium of natives to my home state. However it wasn't until a organic farming apprenticeship ten years later (at Green Gulch Zen Center, flanked by old growth coastal California habitat) that my experience of place-based ecoliteracy really began. A year later (1997) I was living and working in a newly fledged urban national park in San Francisco, the Presidio. Ever since, my work has focused on connecting urban people of all ages with urban nature, with an emphasis on local biodiversity. As anyone on iNat knows the everyday rewards for paying attention are numberless, serendipitously delightful and wonder-filled.