By JENNIFER DAVIS
of Peoria Public Library

For more than 20 years, Peoria Public Library has hosted a citywide literary event inviting all residents to read the same book at once. We call it Peoria Reads, and we choose a book that we believe has the ability to resonate with all Peorians.

This year, Peoria Reads’ theme is Nature’s Best Hope: Exploring Conservation and Climate Change and we’ve chosen a book that empowers us all to make the planet a better place. Our chosen book is “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard” by Douglas W. Tallamy, a New York Times best seller which he also adapted into a middle school edition. Instead of despair about our environment, Tallamy outlines a grassroots approach to conservation that is practical, effective, easy and — yes — even fun. With our partners, Peoria Public Library will host Tallamy for a virtual author event in April, just before Earth Day.

Peoria Reads 2024 kicks off during National Library Week, April 7-13, but will continue through the fall with a variety of conservation-themed programs.

“Peoria Reads is more than just inviting people to read the same book,” said Alyce Jackson, head of Peoria Public Library’s Peoria Reads Committee. “We often deliberately choose a book that can help us broach tough topics together. In the last few years, for instance, we’ve tackled sensitive issues like censorship, death, racism and police brutality. Books help us step outside ourselves and see things from a new perspective. That’s what Peoria Reads is really about.”

Tallamy’s first book, “Bringing Nature Home,” explored the issue of disappearing wildlife and native plant life. In “Nature’s Best Hope,” Tallamy gives everyone a blueprint for bringing them back by creating easy conservation corridors in our yards.

In 2021, he cofounded Homegrown National Park, the largest grassroots conservation project “ever conceived or attempted” with the initial goal of 20 million native plantings across the U.S.

Homegrown National Park “has no political, religious, cultural or geographic boundaries because everyone — every human being on this planet — needs diverse, highly productive ecosystems to survive,” touts the website, www.homegrownnationalpark.org.
Tallamy has spent decades researching the many ways insects interact with plants and how those interactions impact the diversity of wildlife. He is the T.A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 112 research publications and taught for 43 years.

“Not only do we have dozens of hard copies of Tallamy’s book for people to check out, but there are unlimited digital versions, either an ebook or audio book,” Jackson noted. “We’re also extremely pleased that this year we have a middle school edition of this book to share. In addition to the programming we, the library, are offering, we really hope neighborhood associations and book clubs will embrace this book.”

Peoria Public Library and its Peoria Reads partners — Bradley University, Methodist College and Neighborhood House — are also excited to bring both Tallamy and children’s author Candace Fleming to Peoria this spring as highlights of Peoria Reads programming, which also includes a visit from the Illinois State Climatologist on Earth Day.

For more details on how to get involved in Peoria Reads 2024 — Nature’s Best Hope: Exploring Conservation and Climate Change, visit Peoria Reads at the Peoria Public Library website.