A University of Delaware (UD) entomologist’s new book details ways people can help protect the environment in their own backyards.
Dr. Doug Tallamy argues that the environment is at a greater risk than ever before.
And he hopes that his latest book - Nature’s Best Hope - will empower people to make conservation a priority.
You are nature’s best hope - I mean that is the message," said Tallamy. "We’ve made a couple of mistakes in our pursuit to conserve the natural world over the last century. And one of them is the assumption that humans and nature can’t co-exist. We always have humans here and nature someplace else. And everyday there are fewer someplace else’s.”
Tallamy adds that he wants people to think about ways to consider the ecosystem in their landscapes.
Tallamy says the book shows homeowners everywhere how they can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats.
“We need functioning ecosystems to produce what we call ecosystem services that support humans. It’s not an option to lose our pollinators, it’s not an option to mess up our watersheds and to not have viable food webs that support all the other animals" said Tallamy. "So we need to build landscape that do all those things.”
Tallamy has authored 95 research publications, including work focused on better understanding the ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.
Tallamy will hold a book launch and lecture next week on Tues., Feb. 4 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin.
