Photo by Curt Hart
Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, will speak on the importance of native plants in healthy ecosystems during a public lecture on Monday, April 14 at 4 p.m. in the Overby Center Auditorium.
Tallamy has found in his own research, and in the research of others, that native plants provide essential food for native insects, which in turn are food for other animals. Thus, native plants provide the foundation for a healthy, diverse ecosystem, which has many benefits for humans.
“Gardening with natives is no longer just a peripheral option …,” Tallamy writes in his book. “It is an important part of a paradigm shift in our shaky relationship with the planet that sustains us — one that mainstream gardeners can no longer afford to ignore.”
Tallamy travels the country in a lecture series explaining this idea, providing both information and inspiration. Prior to the public lecture, Tallamy will help facilitate roundtable discussions of concrete ways that native plants can be incorporated into the landscapes of the community. Ole Miss students, faculty, staff and others in the Oxford community who would like to participate in these discussions (for which space is limited) are encouraged to contact Anne McCauley in the Ole Miss Office of Sustainability.
For more information about Tallamy, his book and native plants, click here.