Discover something unexpected. Discover so mething small. Discover something extraordinary. Watch the movie trailer \;(2.5 minutes) and you'll b e hooked! In celebration of Native Plant Month (April)\, join us for this amazing movie about one of the smallest\, but most important creatures in our ecosystem.
\nHomegr own National Park is the U.S. organizer of the impact campaign for&nbs p\;The Extraordinary Caterpillar. The film features our co-founder\, Dr. D oug Tallamy\, and shines a spotlight on the critical&mdash\;but often over looked&mdash\;role caterpillars play in biodiversity.
\nCaterpillars are the engine of food webs. They feed birds\, support pollinators\, and keep ecosystems thriving. By restoring native plants\, we restore caterpil lar populations&mdash\;and that&rsquo\;s at the very heart of our mission.
\nOver 98% of the living world on Earth is smaller than a bee. Yet humans view the planet as a world centered around themselves. Landscapes a re deconstructed to suit human needs\, often with little regard for the na tural systems that sustain the food web. \;The Extraordinary Caterpill ar \;follows the scientists and community activists with this peek int o the dazzling world of nature&rsquo\;s tiniest superheroes.
\nTo re veal the inner workings of our planet&rsquo\;s foundational food web\, nat uralist \;Sam Jaffe \;from \;The Caterpillar Lab \;uses da zzling macro-videography to magnify tiny\, fantastical\, anime-like creatu res &ndash\; caterpillars! Sam&rsquo\;s images reveal a weird and wonderfu l world beyond imagination of behavior\, form\, and function that will ins pire people to take a second look at the hidden world happening in their o wn yard.
\nA poor understanding of biodiversity and native species h as allowed for unchecked harm to be done to the natural world. Entomologis t \;Doug Tallamy \;co-founded the Homegrown National Park movement to restore the ecosystems that provide habitats\, clean air\, and water. As Tallamy explains\, caterpillars are essential to the food web: a single chickadee nest requires six to nine thousand caterpillars to survive thei r first two weeks of life. Even grizzly bears rely on caterpillars to fatt en up for winter.
\nOn a quest to document thousands of caterpillars &ndash\; many never seen or photographed before &ndash\; entomologist&nbs p\;David Wagner \;hopes to record them as global insect populations ha ve dropped by 45% since 1970. As he completes his latest book\, The Caterp illars of Western North America\, Wagner has seen firsthand the devastatio n of caterpillar populations.In Toronto\, a group of youth walk through a patch of urban forest\, encouraged to take a closer look at their environm ent. They are a part of \;EcoSpark&rsquo\;s mission to connect people of all ages with the living world. Hands-on experience helps them understa nd the importance of biodiversity\, especially the keystone plants that he lp caterpillars to survive and thrive.
\nToronto gardener \;Aman da McConnell \;demonstrates how private and public spaces can become t hriving caterpillar habitats. For nearly four decades\, Amanda has transfo rmed her neighbourhood in The Annex into a treed and planted community. He r work shows how habitat restoration can begin in backyards\,back lanes\, community spaces and city parks.
\nHelping to understand the secret world of caterpillars and their ecosystems are research coordinator \; Jack Forrester \;from The Caterpillar Lab\, entomology technician \;Antonia Guidotti \;from the Royal Ontario Museum\, botanist and natu ralist \;Laura Reeves\, and horticulturalist \;Andrea F. Stauber.< /p>\n
From suburbia to exurban meadows\, abandoned lots to city parks\, The Extraordinary Caterpillar shows that exploring our environment begins not in distant wilderness\, but right outside our doors!< /p>\nhttps://jcplin.libnet.info/event/15159356 URL;VALUE=URI:https://jcplin.libnet.info/event/15159356 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR