Noted author and conservationist Doug Tallamy, will speak at Guilford High School Performing Arts Center Monday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Tallamy is the an internationally known speaker and author of numerous books including Nature’s Best Hope, Bringing Nature Home, The Nature of Oaks, and The Living Landscape. He is also a professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware.

According to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust (GLCT), Tallamy is noted for his research revealing the link between native plant species and native wildlife. When native plants disappear, insects disappear as well, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals including humans, according to Tallamy and his research.

“We are at a critical point of losing so many species from local ecosystems that their ability to produce the oxygen, clean water, flood control, pollination, pest control, carbon storage, etc., that is, the ecosystem services that sustain us, will become seriously compromised,” Tallamy wrote on his website Homegrown National Park.

Tallamy advocates for home gardens that can assist in bridging the fracturing between parks and preserves by providing habitat for native species. Tallamy is a noted advocate as well, for smaller lawns and the planting of native species, and on the connections between plants and insects and how those relations are critical for birds.

President of the GLCT Spencer Meyer said this event will be an important opportunity for Guilford residents to hear one of the leading experts on the environment impart his knowledge on conservation.

“We at the Guilford Land Conservation Trust are so excited to welcome Dr. Doug Tallamy to Guilford. Dr. Tallamy has been inspiring conservationists and gardeners alike through his research and popular books for years,” said Meyer. “He has helped spur on the backyard conservation movement and we're thrilled to host him for a talk. I'm so excited for Dr. Tallamy to help us learn how to protect and foster native plants and animals in our woods, meadows and marshes. Guilford has so many wonderful ecosystems and Dr. Tallamy will share his expertise on how we can help stitch them together by conserving native plant and wildlife habitat in our own backyards.”

Guilford Land Conservation Trust is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization that protects more than 3,200 acres of conservation land in Guilford. For more information or to register for the event, visit guilfordlandtrust.org.