Noted ecologist, champion of natural yard movement to visit Oxford
Doug Tallamy, an ecologist and leading advocate for "rewilding" our yards, will speak at events for Miami University and the Oxford Lane Library.
Miami University students and Oxford residents alike will have a chance to hear from one of the ecologists leading the rewilding yard movement in the U.S.
Doug Tallamy, an ecologist, author and native plant expert, has been tapped for this year’s Belk Lecture at 6 p.m. March 6 in Peabody Hall’s Leonard Theater. Tallamy will discuss his book, “The Nature of Oaks,” and how to care for the trees. The Belk lecture is in honor of Dr. Ethel Belk, a botany faculty member at Miami University from 1939 to 1968.
After speaking at Miami, Oxford Lane Library will host a book signing and author talk from 6-9 p.m. March 7. Tallamy will be available to sign books at the start and end of the time, while his author talk on creating landscapes that support natural ecosystems will run from 7-8 p.m.
Tallamy’s love of the natural world began when he was born, he said. In third grade, he witnessed his favorite pond get buried by a bulldozer, and that’s when he decided that people need to save the parts of nature they hadn’t yet destroyed.
“It took me another 50 years to realize, that’s not enough,” Tallamy said. “We actually have to rebuild the natural areas that we’ve destroyed, and that turns out to be a lot easier than most people think.”
On his own property, Tallamy has restored what was once a field for hay into a new growth deciduous forest. He’s recorded dozens of bird species that have bred on his property, and he’s documented more than 1300 unique plant and animal species on his property overall.
At his lectures, Tallamy said the audience often has a lot of enthusiasm for rewilding. The movement is especially important in the face of environmental deregulation under the current presidential administration, he said.
“We’re not going to get a lot of help from above,” Tallamy said. “It’s got to come from grassroots initiatives.”
Many Oxford residents have already embraced the natural lawn and rewilding movement. Wild Ones Miami Valley formed in the past few years and has attracted more than 40 members dedicated to increasing biodiversity in their own yards. The Oxford Free Press previously profiled Jon Ralinovsky and his efforts to nativize his own lawn, and Oxford passed legislation in 2023 to distinguish between unkempt and natural lawns.
