Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: "Hometown Habitat", a Film featuring NPCC Advisor Doug Tallamy helps homeowners use native plants to create habitats and corridors for local wildlife

October 24, 2019

 

Hometown Habitat is a film about "Hometown Habitat heroes", who are reversing detrimental impacts on the land and in the water of major U.S. watersheds, one garden at a time. The film travels the U.S. to show examples and explain the science behind how native plant enthusiasts, landscape architects and conservation groups are showing 20th century-minded city planners, businesses and developers the myriad 21st century benefits oflocally adapted, low-maintenance, sustainable, wildlife friendly gardens and landscapes.

 

Hometown Habitat features renowned entomologist Dr. Douglas Tallamy, whose research, books and lectures sound the alarm about habitat and species loss. Tallamy provides the narrative thread for inspiring stories of conservation landscaping that illustrate Tallamy’s vision by showing how humans and nature can co-exist with mutual benefits.

 

 

 

The stories in the film touch on all aspects of the benefits of native plants and brings to light a sense of community that makes conservation landscaping possible. The stories the film tells include:

 

Douglas Tallamy, PhD, Entomologist, teacher, author and environmental activist. Tallamy leads the charge to inform and inspire audiences all over the country as he eloquently speaks about diversity and the critical, ecological connections between native insects and native plants. This is a very inspiring and informative segment which provides the framework for the documentary. *Professor Tallamy is an advisor to the NPCC.

 

Million Trees NYC (Ecosystem Services) The Bloomberg administration created PlaNYC- a sustainability and resiliency blueprint for New York City. The Million TreesNYC campaign was just one of the 127 initiatives launched by PlaNYC to keep pace with population increase in New York. Hometown Habitat focuses in on the partnerships formed and the habitat heroes that make planting one million trees in ten years feasible.

 

Be A Habitat Hero Program (Water conservation) offers hands on experience to “wildscape” yards to “grow a network of habitat for songbirds and pollinators across the Rocky Mountain region and beyond, and restore the joy of seeing nature every day in the places where we live, work and play.”

 

Sustainable Practices (Redefining the Horticulture Industry) looks at the role the horticulture community can play in helping to educate homeowners about conservation landscapes. The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council is developing a Bay wide certification program to re-educate designers & installers.

 

Steven Apfelbaum (Restoration and Conservation Development) “Once we recognize the important ecological roles that plants play, we can incorporate those roles into existing developments or new developments. We can design them so they are functional ecosystems. For example instead of “planting” 600 acres of houses, the film shows a project where half of the acreage is devoted to native prairie habitat, which manages storm water and provides people with daily access to nature.

 

Sacred Grounds (Interfaith Environmental Movement) An initiative of the Garden for Wildlife program of the National Wildlife Federation, that taps into the natural partnership between religion and the notion that we should preserve “God’s Green Earth”. 

 

Wild Ones (Grass roots, service based, environmental activism). Hometown Habitat visits two Wild Ones chapters in the Great Lakes watershed. *(Wild Ones is an NPCC Affiliate Organization)