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SPEAKING TOPICS

Nature's Action Guide author Sarah F. Jayne is available to speak to your group about how to take the actions needed to support biodiversity. All talks feature regional photos and resources where applicable and include a link for a detailed PDF handout. Talks are typically 45 - 55 minutes plus Q & A, and a 3+ hour block is ideal for a workshop, but timing can be tailored to your event. Attendees will leave inspired, informed, and ready to make a difference!

Supporting Biodiversity:
15 Critical Actions to Support Your Local Ecosystem

Insects need a sequence of flowers, such as violets, shrubs, and asters.

Supporting biodiversity and our local ecosystems is something that everyone can do! In this fast-paced, practical workshop, we’ll explore 15 urgently needed actions to create healthy, functioning ecosystems in residential and community spaces. Learn how to reduce night light, protect your local wildlife, remove the invasive plants that reduce biodiversity, identify the ecologically beneficial plants in your ecoregion, attract pollinators, and encourage butterflies and birds to make your property home. Learn strategies for designing and caring for wildlife friendly spaces that fit within your neighborhood's standards. Join us to learn how to make short work of these urgently needed actions wherever you live!

Ideal audience: General audience, including non-gardeners or gardeners new to ecological gardening who have an interest in doing what they can to help address the biodiversity crisis where they live and work.

An attractive landscape such as this features strong branch structure and a native underplanting.

Ecology and Beauty!: Creating a Landscape that Welcomes Wildlife and People

Now more than ever our yards and community spaces need to support biodiversity. How can we ensure that our spaces are both ecologically rich and beautiful? We’ll look at which plants matter most when it comes to your local biodiversity; how to procure them for generous plantings; and how to place them to increase their appeal to wildlife and people, along with strategies to protect the wildlife our natural plantings attract. We’ll consider strategies to ensure that our landscapes gain community acceptance such that they become invitations for others to transform their landscapes. A cost-conscious, DIY approach makes taking action doable.

Ideal audience: People who are starting to transition their spaces to more wildlife-friendly habitats and who are interested in supporting biodiversity within an HOA or traditionally landscaped neighborhood.

Growing the Circle:
15 Critical Actions to Support Your Local Ecosystem

Supporting biodiversity and our local ecosystems needs to be something everyone takes part in. There are the core members of the biodiversity movement: native plant gardeners, ecological landscapers, restoration professionals, environmental scientists, and so forth who are making invaluable contributions. Yet the urgency of the biodiversity crisis requires that we extend this circle way beyond its current circumference. How do we reach busy homeowners and renters, new gardeners, and other members of our communities? We’ll look at how to help people to take the first steps of 15 urgently needed actions to support biodiversity and abundance.

Ideal audience: Community members, such as Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, Watershed Stewards, and Native Plant Society and Wild Ones members who want to enhance the wildlife habitat where they live as well as help empower others to take action to support biodiversity.

The Baltimore oriole is an example of a migratory bird.

Welcome Migratory Birds to Your Yard: Simple Steps for a Bird-Friendly Landscape

Twice a year, millions of migratory birds embark on epic journeys across thousands of miles. Finding safe places to rest, refuel, and shelter is a matter of survival. In this engaging talk you’ll discover how simple, changes in your own yard can make a world of difference. We will explore easy ways to provide essential food sources, fresh water, and safe roosting habitats for migratory and resident birds using native plants, simple water features, and bird-safe practices. You’ll receive a downloadable PDF packed with tools, and resources to help you get started right away. Whether you have a spacious yard or a cozy patio, learn how to turn your outdoor space into a vital, life-saving stopover for migratory birds and a healthy home for year-round residents.

Ideal audience: General audience, including non-gardeners or gardeners new to ecological gardening who want to support migratory birds and welcome year-round resident birds to stay.

Weather & Wildlife: How to Fortify Your Ecological Landscape for the Future

Providing water is key to helping wildlife survive weather events and habitat loss.

As the biodiversity crisis deepens, what you do matters. Many of the actions we take to create vibrant wildlife habitats that support biodiversity are the same actions that help wildlife to withstand weather events and climate shifts when they occur. Addressing climate instability and restoring biodiversity are mutually beneficial actions. In this talk, we’ll look at how we can build resilience into our ecological landscapes to help wildlife weather the future.

Ideal audience: General audience, including non-gardeners or gardeners new to ecological gardening who have an interest in doing what they can to help address both the biodiversity crisis and climate instability.

Wildlife habitat must offer food, water, cover, and nesting

Design Your Wildlife Habitat: A Hands-on Workshop

Ready to turn your outdoor space into a thriving wildlife habitat? Develop your vision for an ecological landscape that boosts biodiversity around your home and fits into your neighborhood. Discover resources to help you design a layered garden filled with native plants that offer food, shelter, and nesting sites for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. You’ll also learn efficient, wildlife‑friendly care practices and ecological design strategies that welcome wild visitors and inspire community appreciation for natural beauty. With a detailed handout and practical guidance, you’ll leave with the tools and confidence to bring your landscape to life.

Ideal audience: People who are starting to transition their spaces to more wildlife-friendly habitats and who are interested in supporting biodiversity and their local ecosystems where they live and work.

CONTACT SARAH F. JAYNE

Email: sarah[at]naturesactionguide[dot]com