Why Are There Birds?
Week of April 19, 2026 – April 25, 2026
by Amelia Gross, Environmental Educator
“Why are there birds? They don’t do anything.”
This was quite a jarring question to hear as I stood in front of 20 fourth graders with two minutes left in their Nature in the City lesson. How could I possibly explain the nuances of what each diverse bird species “does” in that time?
Connecting back to our discussion on food chains earlier in the lesson reminded them that every animal plays an important part in the ecosystem. To lose birds would impact every other living thing in the environment including plants, insects, bigger animals, and even us. The student nodded, satisfied with that answer, and with that it was time to head to the next class. This innocent question stayed with me long after the lesson and left me thinking about how we as people view the Earth.
Most of us spend a lot of time talking about what nature does for us, and that is because it does a whole lot! Especially this time of year, we are reminded of all the beautiful things we get to experience in our environment. Seeing flowers start to bloom, being able to sit outside in the sun again, and serving as a space to recreate or unwind, we are provided with something of incalculable value. To satisfy the student’s question, we care that there are birds because they are something fascinating we can observe, they pollinate the flowers we love, and eat the bugs we don’t. The instrumental value of a bird (or any other living thing) is, in part, the role it plays in its ecosystem.
But as we approach Earth Day, I am reminded of the intrinsic value of nature too. This is the idea that all things in nature have value, regardless of the benefits for humans. A living thing doesn’t need to provide us with anything important to be deserving of respect. Tying back to the student’s question, birds don’t live to give humans anything. More broadly, the Earth existed long before us, and continues to exist without the purpose of serving us.
Celebrating Earth Day this year, we can appreciate both the intrinsic and instrumental value of nature. We can simultaneously celebrate the local outdoor spaces we love to visit regularly as well as the flora and fauna who exist without ever being seen by a person.
Happy Earth Day to you, and all the living things on this planet!
We invite our members to enjoy a weekly blog written by our naturalists. Every blog will be uniquely different but always inspired by nature. We may share a memory from a recent hike at The Woods or teach you about an animal or plant that lives on the preserve. No matter the topic, we will be sharing with you our passion for nature and celebrating the connections we all have to the natural world. Each blog will be connected to a weekly set of activities and ideas to help you put nature in your hands, even if you’re at home!