What To Plant! A Grassroots Biodiversity Talk February 18

Wildlife ecology researched and award-winning author Doug Tallamy will talk about insect species at risk and what we can do to help on Saturday, February 18, at the Fairfield Public Library.

Nature needs our help! Recent headlines about the global decline of bird and insect populations are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our conservation efforts have been. Fortunately, there is much we can do on the local level to help create landscapes that support local ecosystems. On Saturday, February 18, Doug Tallamy will give a talk via Zoom at the Fairfield Public Library at 1:30 p.m. “The Grassroots Solution to the Biodiversity Crisis” is an approach that empowers everyone to play a significant role in the future of the natural world.

Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored over 100 research publications and taught for 41 years. Chief among his research goals is a better understanding of the many ways that insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.

His books include Bringing Nature Home, The Living Landscape, Nature’s Best Hope, and The Nature of Oaks, winner of the American Horticultural Society’s 2022 book award. In 2021 Tallamy cofounded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari. He has won awards from the Garden Writer’s Association, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, and American Horticultural Association.

Learn about which of our local species are threatened and which plants we can add to our landscapes to help them. To register for in-person attendance (limited to 30) or to receive the Zoom link, call the library at (641) 472-6551.

This event is sponsored by Southeast Iowa Sierra Club, Jefferson County Conservation, Iowa Prairie Network, Leopold Landscape Alliance, Nady Conservation Coalition, Sustainable Living Coalition, and the Fairfield Public Library.