What can a world lost 66 million years ago tell us about the one we're shaping today?
In this special Wildr webinar, paleontologist Dr. Kenneth Lacovara and ecologist Dr. Doug Tallamy take the long view of life on Earth, from mass extinction and resilience in the fossil record to the living systems just outside our doors.
Recorded at The Age of Stewardship, an invitation-only gathering at the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, these two talks approach the future of biodiversity from radically different timescales.
Lacovara looks deep into Earth's past to explore extinction, change and our remarkably brief place in the planet's history. Tallamy brings the story into the present, examining how native plants and the places where we live can support the food webs and wildlife around us.
From deep time to the ground beneath our feet, this is a conversation about what survives, what changes, and what we choose to do next.
Dr. Kenneth Lacovara
Paleontologist, geologist, author, founder of Edelman Fossil Park & Museum
Dr. Kenneth Lacovara is a paleontologist and geologist whose work explores some of the most consequential moments in the history of life on Earth. He is Professor of Paleontology at Rowan University and Founding Executive Director of the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, where he leads research into the mass extinction that ended the age of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Lacovara has led expeditions around the world and discovered some of the largest dinosaurs ever found, including Dreadnoughtus schrani, a massive titanosaur unearthed in Patagonia. His research combines paleontology, geology, and modern technology to reconstruct ancient ecosystems and better understand how life responds to profound environmental change.
A recipient of The Explorers Club Medal, Lacovara is also the author of Why Dinosaurs Matter, winner of a Nautilus Book Award. His widely viewed TED Talk and public work invite audiences to see deep time not simply as the distant past, but as a powerful perspective on the planet we inhabit today.
Dr. Doug Tallamy
Entomologist, ecologist, author, co-founder of Homegrown National Park
Dr. Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, ecologist, author, and one of the leading voices connecting native plants, wildlife, and the ecological potential of the places where we live. He is the T.A. Baker Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware.
For more than four decades, Tallamy has studied the relationships between plants and insects, including how plant choice shapes food webs and biodiversity. His research has helped bring widespread attention to the critical role native plants play in sustaining insects, birds, and other wildlife.
Tallamy serves on the Science Advisory Board for Wildr Places and helped inform the development of the Wildr Score, which translates ecological research into a practical measure of how well a place supports biodiversity.
He is the author of many influential books, including Bringing Nature Home, the New York Times bestseller Nature’s Best Hope, The Nature of Oaks, and How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard. He is also co-founder of Homegrown National Park.