15th Anniversary Celebration and Community Expo 6/20/22

2007–2022

Wild Ones River City
15th Anniversary Celebration

Healing Our Earth…small steps make a big impact

June 20, 2022

Aquinas College Performing Arts Center
1703 Robinson Road S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49506

5–7:00 pm – Expo with Community Partners/Booksigning

7–8:30 pm – Keynote Speaker

Dr. Douglas Tallamy
presenting
“Nature’s Best Hope”

Dr. Tallamy’s books will be available for purchase at the event

FREE Event • Registration required

Download the event flyer pdf

There are a few tickets available now.

If full, periodically check the link below to see if tickets become available.
OR, come the day of the event as there will likely be some no-shows.

https://worc-15th-anniversary.eventbrite.com

Also the Expo portion of the event does not require registration.

Dr. Douglas Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored eighty research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, Humans and Nature, and other courses for thirty-two years. 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.

His book Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 silver medal by the Garden Writer’s Association. Tallamy was awarded the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd Jr. Award of Excellence in 2013.

Douglas W. Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. In Nature’s Best Hope, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. Nature’s Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. Because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is immune from the whims of government policy. Even more important, it’s practical, effective, and easy—you will walk away with specific suggestions you can incorporate into your own yard.

If you’re concerned about doing something good for the environment, Nature’s Best Hope is the blueprint you need. By acting now, you can help preserve our precious wildlife—and the planet—for future generations.

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT

Come join us to celebrate Wild Ones River City’s 15 years of educating and advocating for native plant landscapes! The “Healing Our Earth… small steps make a big impact” Celebration is scheduled for June 20, 2022 at the Aquinas Performing Arts Center. The Celebration will include an Expo with our community partners and a keynote speaker. The organizations at the Expo will provide information on environmental issues and local resources. They can help you discover ways to connect and make a difference in our natural world.

Our keynote speaker is Dr. Douglas Tallamy, a premier expert on biodiversity. Dr. Tallamy has been calling for action to increase biodiversity by installing native plant landscapes for many years. In his book Nature’s Best Hope he asks the question:

“… what if each American landowner converted half of his or her yard to productive native plant communities?… If Americans replanted half of their lawns with native plants, shrubs and trees, we would have more wildlife habitat than all the national parks combined.”

This celebration is for those who have been landscaping with native plants for many years as well as for those who are just starting out. We want Dr. Tallamy’s message to be available to anyone who is interested—and feel that no one should have to pay to hear it. With the help of a few sponsoring organizations/businesses, we believe this is possible. Wildtype Native Plant Nursery, Michigan Wildflower Farm, Comstock Park Urban Prairie, Native Edge Native Gardens & Landscapes, Native Plant Guild, The Garden Guru Kazoo LLC, Designs by Nature LLC, Brett Vredevood (Green Homes GR), Wild Birds, Unlimited Nature Shop, Romence Gardens and the Wild Ones River City Chapter Board of Directors have generously offered to be sponsors for this event. If you know of other organizations or businesses that might consider being a sponsor, please contact Linda Gary [email protected].