TGIF! If you’re looking at the graphic above and thinking how pretty it is, it’s the clover of Angela Larck’s “lawn” and it’s much friendlier for the bees than traditional grass. That theme connects to our podcast episode of the week, which you must listen to if you haven’t already! And if you have any questions about converting your lawn to habitat, you have friends on this team to give their advice!
EcoRight Speaks, Season 8, Episode 13: Homegrown National Park co-founded Doug Tallamy
If you’ve been listening to the podcast/reading Week En Review, then you know that I’m passionate about my garden, specifically about adding native plants that are good for pollinators, can handle drought conditions, and take little fuss from me.
Now, I’m just a novice. But I listen and watch and ask questions and a name that kept coming up in my cirlces regarding the Homegrown National Park, a project to encourage more people to plant native gardens where their lawns would be, was Doug Tallamy.
Then episode six guest, Dr. Mike Curren, mentioned that Tallamy had been his professor. And I got a connection.
Without further ado, Tallamy is an American entomologist, ecologist and conservationist. He is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and has written and co-authored several books as well as papers.
An advocate for home gardens and landscaping that bridge the gaps between parks and preserves in providing habitat for native species, he has spoken at length on the connections between plants and insects and how those relations are important to birds. As mentioned, he’s a co-founder of Homegrown National Park.
Check out our conversation and then share your planting tips with me!
Coming up next week on the EcoRight Speaks, my long overdue conversation with American Conservation Coalition founder and author Benji Backer!
If you want to dig deeper on the issue of native plants, insects, and the food web and the benefits to “rewilding” your yard, this week’s must read is this Smithsonian Magazine deep dive on Tallamy and his Homegrown National Park efforts.
From the article:
Tallamy estimates that the worldwide population of arthropods, chiefly insects, has declined by 45 percent from preindustrial times. Without insects, it would be the case that lizards, frogs and toads, birds and mammals, from rodents up through bears, would lose all or a large part of their diets. “The little things that run the world are disappearing,” he says. “This is an ecological crisis that we’re just starting to talk about.”
ICYMI: Our Virtual Town Hall
In case you weren’t able to make our webinar this week with Congresswoman Marianette Miller-Meeks, we recorded it! It won’t be quite the same as being there, but you can watch as my brain messes up what a state fair is and wants to say state farm, which I blame on effective insurance marketing.
No, really, it was a great conversation and we were happy to see so many familiar and new faces attend and ask a robust set of questions of the new chair of the House Conservative Climate Caucus!
Hottest month, hottest year, plus Warming Stripes Day
It’s official: May 2024 was the hottest on record globally.
It’s official: The last 12 months were the hottest on record globally.
(Here’s the Fox Weather report if you want to read for yourself.)
Related: June 21 is warming stripes day. If you want to take a look at what the specific stripes look like for where you live, head over to Show Your Stripes and see for yourself. The image featured above is Washington, DC. Also, I love the inspiration of Dr. Katharine Hayhoe to knit a scarf of warming stripes… anyone else have cool ideas to display the warming trends?
With all that, our friends in the southwest are under a heat dome. Be careful. Hydrate. Stay safe.
To everyone, have a good (cool) weekend.