The Clifton Institute and Citizens for Fauquier County are partnering to bring you this program. Plants and insects make our terrestrial ecosystems work. Recently, however, articles published in SCIENCE magazine and the National Academies of Science indicate that insect numbers are declining. Join entomologist Nate Erwin to explore the inter-relationships between insects and plants that birds, mammals (including humans), and other vertebrates depend on to survive. Learn how to regenerate your landscape to increase the diversity of insects and plants to help birds and other animals where you live.

Entomologist Nate Erwin works with clients ‘bugscaping’ their properties to increase the diversity of insects, consults with museums on exhibit development, and lectures on insect natural history at venues. After five years as a forest pest entomologist with the State of Maryland and four years as staff member with the Rachel Carson Council, Inc., Erwin managed the Smithsonian Institution’s Insect Zoo from 1992-2012, located in the National Museum of Natural History. In 2006 and 2007, he worked with a team to develop the popular Partners in Evolution: Butterflies and Plants exhibit adjacent to the Insect Zoo. Erwin has appeared on National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, National Public Radio, the Late Night Show and local and national news television with live residents of the Insect Zoo.