Date: 9/10/26 9:14 am From: Eve Waterman via groups.io <eve.m.waterman...> Subject: [hmbirds] Save the Date: Live with the Caterpillar Experts — October 14 🐛
For anyone interested in boosting and supporting the biodiversity in their
yard, this looks like a fantastic opportunity to learn from the experts via
access to “The Extraordinary Caterpillar” documentary followed by a webinar
hosted by experts in this field. There is built in flexibility as the
webinar will be available to those registered through November 14 if you
can’t make the live webinar.
Eve Waterman
HMBC Conservation Cte
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Homegrown National Park <info...>
Date: Thu, Sep 10, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Subject: Save the Date: Live with the Caterpillar Experts — October 14 🐛
To: Eve <eve.m.waterman...>
SAVE THE DATE
Caterpillars Aren’t Just for the Birds
A live panel discussion of *The Extraordinary Caterpillar* featuring
Homegrown National Park co-founder Dr. Doug Tallamy, The Caterpillar Lab
director Sam Jaffe, botanist Laura Reeves, moderated by *The New York Times*
columnist Margaret Roach.
*October 14 · 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET*
This spring, we hosted *The Extraordinary Caterpillar*, a 60-minute
documentary about the hidden world of caterpillars, and the response has
been incredible. People around the country have hosted and scheduled over
400 local screenings, reaching more than 39,000 viewers and counting.
Now we're going further. One registration gives you two ways to take part.
*1. Watch:* Stream *The Extraordinary Caterpillar* on demand, free with
registration, anytime before the webinar on October 14. Watch it as many
times as you'd like, on your own or with your household.
*2. Join us live:* Join a live panel webinar, *Caterpillars Aren't Just for
the Birds*, featuring experts from the film on October 14.
Bring your questions! This is your chance to hear directly from the people
who study these ecological powerhouses.
*Margaret Roach* is a longtime garden writer—first for *Newsday* newspaper,
then for *Martha Stewart Living* (where she became the company’s
EVP/Editorial Director) and the last five seasons for *The New York Times*,
where she began her journalism career as a copy girl decades ago. She also
creates a website, podcast, and weekly newsletter called *A Way to Garden*,
the title of her 1989 book that was reissued in 2019 in an all-new edition.
She has been honored for her contributions to horticulture with the Scott
Medal from Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore and the George Robert White Medal
of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, among other awards.
*Dr. Doug Tallamy* is an entomologist, conservationist, and professor at
the University of Delaware, whose work has transformed our understanding of
the relationship between native plants and wildlife. His research and
books, including *Bringing Nature Home* and *Nature’s Best Hope*, have
inspired millions to see their own yards as part of the solution to the
biodiversity crisis. Driven by the belief that everyone can play a role,
Doug co-founded Homegrown National Park to encourage people to plant
natives in the spaces they care for. As Tallamy explains, caterpillars are
essential to the food web: a single chickadee nest requires six to nine
thousand caterpillars to survive their first two weeks of life. Even
grizzly bears rely on caterpillars to fatten up for winter.
*Sam Jaffe* is the founder and Executive Director of The Caterpillar Lab.
Sam studied ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown University, earned a
master’s degree in environmental education from Antioch University New
England, and is an Associate in Entomology at Harvard’s Museum of
Comparative Zoology. His work combines close observation, scientific
inquiry, and visual storytelling to reveal caterpillars not only as
beautiful or bizarre creatures, but as participants in an extraordinary web
of relationships unfolding in our own backyards and fundamental to local
ecosystems. A lifelong naturalist, photographer, and educator, Sam has
spent decades studying and documenting the lives of caterpillars. He
founded The Caterpillar Lab to bring these dynamic animals directly to the
public through immersive educational programs, photography, film, and
natural-history research. Today, the Lab works throughout New England and
beyond, sharing thousands of live caterpillars with audiences while
uncovering the life histories of hundreds of species, many of which remain
poorly known to science.
*Laura Reeves* is a botanist and naturalist who regularly shares her
passion for wild plants through hands-on workshops, presentations and
private land consultations. She has over 20 years experience. She received
her BSc. (Botany) from the University of Manitoba in 1997. She is the
founder of Prairie Shore Botanicals and author of “*Laura Reeves’ Guide to
Useful Plants – From Acorns to Zoom Sticks*”. In the film she helps the
audience understand the secret world of caterpillars and their ecosystems.
*Copyright (C) 2026 HOMEGROWN NATIONAL PARK®. All rights reserved.*
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Our mailing address is:
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02111-1929 USA
