Growing a Homegrown State Park
On August 26, 2021, we co-sponsored Growing a Homegrown State Park: Hear Doug Tallamy at a Community Workshop & Dinner with the Vermont Natural Resources Council. The event was attended by a full house of 150 people and hosted by Lareau Farm Inn and American Flatbread in Waitsfield.
Doug Tallamy, one of the country’s most renowned conservation scientists and educators was the featured speaker at this free community workshop and dinner. In his captivating speaking style, illuminated with beautiful photos, attendees learned why biodiversity is so vital to functioning ecosystems and what they can do to provide space and healthy habitats Vermont species need to thrive.
Complementing Doug’s remarks was a potpourri of conservation resources and tips attendees could put to use on their own land, in their towns and schools:
How to create friendly habitat for the Vermont’s many bird species;
What you can do to protect the water that wildlife depends upon;
Forest management practices that support biodiversity;
How to deal with invasive species;
The central role Vermont plays as species move in response to climate change;
How to build habitat to support an array of local wildlife; and
What’s entailed in conserving property.
Experts from workshop co-sponsors staffed stations throughout the event to address these and other relevant topics:
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 104 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 40 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book Bringing Nature Home was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers' Association. The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, was published in 2014; Nature's Best Hope, a New York Times Best Seller, was released in February 2020, and his latest book The Nature of Oaks was released by Timber press in March 2021. Doug is the impetus behind Homegrown National Park, a national effort to inspire 20 million acres of native plantings in the U.S.
Watch a video of Doug Tallamy’s inspiring presentation below, and view photos from this event in the gallery below, courtesy of Sean Beckett.
