The Value Of Taking Small Steps

Awhile ago, a friend came to visit me. It was the first time in a long time that I’d hosted someone who hadn’t ever been to Amsterdam. During our walks around town I was able to see the city through her eyes enjoying the typical sites, — the bikes, the boats, the water, and the leaning houses on the canals. While we walked, she helped me notice something I had not been paying attention to. All over the city, there are spaces beside roads and canals where instead of having manicured lawns or neat flower arrangements, the city has agreed to leave space for nature and let wildflowers grow. In almost every one of these spaces, there’s a plaque acknowledging how members of the neighborhood were supporting the initiative, and how people in this way wanted to contribute to the biodiversity in their neighborhoods.

My friend also reminded me about the nets holding tall grasses on the sides of canals. These reed nets support plants that clean toxins from the water. They’ve been part of the landscape for at least 20 years, with more springing up each year. And that reminded me of how in the last few years, people have started to swim in some canals, something that was unthinkable when I arrived in Amsterdam in the early nineties.

As we continued our walks, I kept noticing small things that contribute to the livability of the city — for people and other life — , and how…