Take an online wildlife walk through downtown Tucson, Arizona. It’s quite interesting what you can see and learn in the heart of the city.

Sometimes we come across a Web site that makes us wonder … why hadn’t someone thought of this before?

That’s the case with the delightful Tucson’s Urban Wildlife Walk web site, developed by Kimberly Creagan, ASLA, for her Master’s in Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona.

As Kimberly told me: “I developed a strong interest in urban wildlife habitat and native plants when I moved to Arizona in 2005. For a while, I worked at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix and was amazed to see how many species of wildlife were using that urban habitat patch. Tucson and the Sonoran Desert have such unique flora and fauna and I was interested in doing my part to help maintain healthy populations so that everyone has the opportunity to experience them.”

For school age kids, the web site not only provides an introduction to native habitat, it also shows the value of observing what’s right around you. But I’d say the site is great for kids of all ages.

note: Kimberly won a Communications Honor Award in the Student category from the American Society of Landscape Architects last year for the Urban Wildlife Walk site.