The Nature of Oaks By Douglas W. Tallamy

This book takes a magnifying glass to our mighty oak trees and the critical ecological role they play wherever they are planted.  Tallamy guides the reader through a year of intricate food web interactions that are supported by this keystone species.  Each chapter focuses on a single month, with several subheadings to help break up scholarly revelations and statistics with easy-to-understand explanations and witty storytelling.  The appendices include valuable tips for choosing an appropriate oak for your area, as well as how to select and germinate an acorn, overwinter it, and protect a sapling for the best success in growing a strong, self-sufficient tree.  From cover to cover, every page is a call to a single action: plant an oak! 

Doug Tallamy is an entomologist with decades of studying insects and teaching about the profound effects they have in the surrounding landscape.  He has contributed to and published over one hundred research articles and branched out to write best selling books Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope.  He is also co-founder of Homegrown National Park, a grassroots conservation project encouraging people to plant natives on part of their private and public properties, with each plot connecting and contributing to vibrant corridors that support maximum biodiversity and environmental health.