OGUNQUIT — Douglas Tallamy, award-winning author of “Bringing Nature Home,” will speak at the Ogunquit Playhouse at 7 p.m. June 27. Tallamy’s talk, “Rebuilding Nature’s Relationships at Home,” will discuss how the special relationships between plants and animals determine the stability and complexity of local food webs, why it is important to restore life to residential properties, and what gardeners can do to ensure their landscapes support thriving ecosystems. The event is free, although donations accepted, seating is unreserved, and doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, email ogtnativeplants@gmail.com.

“The wild creatures we enjoy and would like to have in our lives will not be here in the future if we take away their food and the places they live,” Tallamy said. His message to gardeners is that their properties may represent last chance to sustain plants and animals that once were common.

Tallamy is a professor of entomology and wildlife biology at the University of Delaware whose main interest lies in understanding the many ways that insects interact with plants, and how those interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.

As an expert on plant and insect interactions, Tallamy urges people to manage suburban and urban landscapes as wildlife preserves. He encourages gardeners to use native species and to consider the needs of insects and wildlife when planting.

His book will be available for purchase at the event and the author will stay to sign books after his talk.

William Cullina, executive director of the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, says “Tallamy presents a powerful and compelling illustration of how the choices we make as gardeners can profoundly impact the diversity of life in our yards, towns and on our planet.”

Tallamy has taught for 34 years and authored 84 research publications. He has been awarded the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd, Jr. Award of Excellence.

The presentation is sponsored by the Ogunquit Marginal Way Committee in partnership with Great Works Regional Land Trust, Marginal Way Preservation Fund, Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative, Ogunquit Conservation Commission, Ogunquit Playhouse, UMaine Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, Wells Reserve at Laudholm, York County Audubon, and York Land Trust.