Good afternoon. An earlier video version failed to launch.  Those interested in the video can view it here. 

We are currently immersed in a biodiversity crisis. Extinction is  happening at an alarming rate. While none of us expects to return to a  time where passenger pigeons nested in trees over saber-toothed tiger  dens, we can slow extinction rates and even improve biological diversity  where we live and work. To bring back birds for example, we need to  start at the base of the food web by planting the plants and trees that  support diverse invertebrate communities. The “bugs” in turn support  birds and other insectivores.  Vickie Hird’s book “Rebugging the Planet”  advocates this approach, and Saint Michael’s College students in their  Biology Senior Seminar learned directly from the author how these  approaches can be applied on campus and beyond. Please enjoy this  presentation, the Q&A that follows, and by all means visit our  spectacular campus and enjoy four miles of Natural Area Trails linked from this site.