Tallamy’s New Book a Must Read

Most of us have seen the documentary, “Hometown Habitat,” in which Dr. Tallamy provides the narration that strings together the urban and rural stories of how humans can work with nature to save our planet. Dr. Tallamy’s new book, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard builds on the stories portrayed in the film as well as in Dr. Tallamy’s two previous books.

As interesting and enlightening as the material is, those of you who have heard him speak know that Dr. Tallamy is a dynamic speaker. He is not what you would expect of an entomology lecturer. He is an engaging, entertaining speaker who keeps his audience involved with exceptional photographs, interesting graphs, and an occasional quick time list to illustrate his points.

The forty-five-minute talk ran through the key concepts that Tallamy makes in his books, most importantly that “whether we like nature or not, none of us will be able to live for long in a world without it.” What made the presentation so engaging were the stories that are woven throughout: how monarchs and bees returned to New York City’s famous High Line, about the 103 species of birds in a small yard near the mostly bumper to bumper Kennedy Expressway in Chicago and an easy list of what each of us can do to make a difference.

The new book is much like the presentation. Nature’s Best Hope is, above all, inspirational. 

Gardeners and nature lovers alike can relate to Tallamy’s call to expand the use of native plants and dig up our lawns. 

In the book, he writes that “conservation is not beyond the reach of the individual,” in fact, individuals acting in concert will do much more than government policies or laws could ever do.

I strongly encourage you to read Nature’s Best Hope and go out of your way, if you can, to hear Dr. Tallamy speak. It was worth every minute of the six hours on the road!