14 Sept 2026
Conservation can't stop at the park boundary with Doug Tallamy | Episode 101
What if protecting the parks and natural areas we still have simply isn't enough?
Dr. Doug Tallamy has spent decades studying the relationships between plants, insects, birds, and the ecosystems that sustain them. His conclusion is both sobering and empowering: our remaining parks and preserves are too small and too isolated to carry the entire burden of conserving biodiversity.
We have to put nature back everywhere else, too.
Doug is an entomologist, professor at the University of Delaware, bestselling author of Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope, and cofounder of Homegrown National Park (https://www.homegrownnationalpark.org) — a movement encouraging people to restore ecological function to the landscapes where they live and work.
In this conversation, Doug and Chris explore what restoration actually looks like at scale, why native plants matter so much to food webs, how conservation professionals should think differently about protected land, and why individual landowners have more power than they may realize.
Key takeaways:
Why Doug believes parks and preserves alone cannot prevent continued biodiversity loss
How restoring his own ten-acre property resulted in 62 breeding bird species and more than 1,300 moth species
Why invasive species management may be one of conservation's biggest challenges
The case for combining voluntary incentives with meaningful conservation policy
Why reducing lawn doesn't mean eliminating lawn
How native landscaping can work within cultural expectations instead of fighting them
Why Doug compares targeted herbicide use to chemotherapy
Practical ways to restore prairie, savanna, roadsides, farms, and private property
Why oaks are ecological powerhouses for wildlife, water, carbon, and food webs
Doug's message to people working professionally in parks and conservation: “You are literally saving life on planet Earth.”
Learn more about Doug Tallamy and Homegrown National Park at HomegrownNationalPark.org (http://HomegrownNationalPark.org).
Join the Next Level Leadership Community
If you're ready to grow as a leader while making a greater impact on your organization, your community, and the places you care about, join the Next Level Leadership Community. Learn more and join us at ParksandRestoration.com (http://ParksandRestoration.com).
About Parks and Restoration
Better leaders. Better parks.
Parks and Restoration LLC helps parks, conservation, natural-resource, and outdoor recreation leaders build healthier teams and stronger organizations. Through the Parks and Restoration Podcast, speaking, writing, and consulting, we explore leadership through the lens of ecology—turning lessons from land stewardship into practical tools for workplace culture, public service, and organizational resilience. Our goal is simple: better leaders, better parks.
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