The Linn Landowners Forum focuses on educating attendees about the importance of native habitat and how to restore it on private land. The forum brings together landowners and topical experts, along with vendors that can help with habitat projects. The forum is held at Clearwater Farm in Marion, and attendees participate in a full afternoon of educational sessions.

For the fourth annual forum, which will be held on September 29, 2019, Doug Tallamy, professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, will be the keynote speaker.

Tallamy is a popular, engaging, and motivational speaker and the author of 88 research publications and several books, including “Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants” and “The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden.”

His books are available at the Cedar Rapids and Marion public libraries.

Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.