Kathleen Groll Connolly, Landscape & Garden Designer, Speaker, Writer
According to Douglas Tallamy, a well-known entomologist and ecologist, “We cling to the notion that nature should be saved where nature remains, not where humans work, live, farm, or play.” It need not be this way, he says. Learn about the Homegrown National Park.
Some writers have a way of saying things that helps me "get it" the first time. One of those writers is Douglas Tallamy, the University of Delaware professor, entomologist, and ecologist, whose latest book, "Nature's Best Hope" came out late last year. (Timber Press, 2019).
He offers ecological shorthand for those of us who don't want to take a lifetime to understand what we can do to slow the loss of plants, birds, and insects.
“Plants, in essence, enable animals to eat sunlight,” he says, summarizing ecological science in eight words. “Insects are the animals that are best at transferring energy from plants to other animals.”
What is a native plant, really? Why should we care? And what should be done about the undeniable fact that many, many nonnative, invasive plants are taking up the ecological niches of native plants worldwide?
"Bringing Nature Home" helps the nonscientist understand the roles and values of native species of plants, animals and insects in their native terrirtories. University of Delaware entomologist Douglas Tallamy explains how to think about native species of all sorts. One of the major values in this book is how Tallamy shows, in everyday language, that the ecological functioning of an area depends on our individual plant selections and planting practices.
