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Recent headlines about global insect declines, the impending extinction of 1 million species worldwide, and 3 billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at sustaining the plants and animals that sustain us. Such losses are not an option if we wish to continue our current standard of living on planet Earth. The good news is that none of this is inevitable. Doug Tallamy, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, will discuss simple steps that each of us can take to reverse declining biodiversity and explain why we are nature’s best hope.

Tallamy earned a doctorate in entomology from the University of Maryland and a maser of science in entomology from Rutgers University. He currently teaches insect taxonomy, behavioral ecology and other related subjects. 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. Tallamy won the silver medal from the Garden Writer's Association for his 2007 book "Bringing Nature Home," and authored "The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden" with Rick Darke in 2014. Among his awards are the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation, the Tom Dodd Jr. Award of Excellence in 2013, and the 2018 AHS B.Y. Morrison Communication Award.