Nature Connection 2026 Presents Doug Tallamy's "Homegrown National Park"

Bay County Audubon Society's Nature Connection 2026 Program is bringing Doug Tallamy - Ph.D., American entomologist, and native plant conservationist behind the Homegrown National Park movement - to Captain Anderson’s Event Center (nearby the famous Restaurant) on Panama City Beach. Love the Nature Connection focus on wildlife, ecology, and education? Scott Rashid - Owl Expert from Estes Park, Colorado, and author, watercolorist, and bird rehabilitator - will be coming to the area for a presentation at the FSU Holley Center on March 28th. Click the Scott Rashid link at the bottom of this post for more on his Nature Connection 2026 event, including tickets.

Main Program for SATURDAY, MARCH 21 at Captain Anderson’s Event Center:

• 8am - Plant Fair
• 9am - “Meet and Greet” Doug Tallamy, coffee and refreshments
• 9:40am - Student Acorn Planting Session
• 10am - Main Event: “Homegrown National Park” presentation by Doug Tallamy
• 11am - Audience Q&A w/ Doug Tallamy

On FRIDAY, MARCH 20, at 6pm, there will be a “Meet & Greet” with Doug Tallamy (location TBD) for major donors and those who purchase applicable tickets (see the ticket info below each ticket listing to see if the ticket you're purchasing qualifies).

The Plant Fair will be open to the public, but tickets are required to attend the Friday 6pm Meet & Greet and Saturday Main Program. Ticket levels are as follows:

• Caterpillar - $35
• Family/homeschool ticket – $50 for a family of four, $10 each additional
• Milkweed - $25
• Monarch - $60
• Mighty Oak - $100
• Go Native - Sponsorship Level $250 to $999
• Ecocentric - Sponsorship Level $1,000 and up

*More information on what is included in each ticket purchase is listed below in the ticket selection section. “Step Up For Students”/PEP participants can request an invoice for submittal, to be honored after purchase. Net donation proceeds will go to local educational and conservation organizational non-profits such as the Bay Education Foundation, Inc., which funds grants from Nature Connection Program donations to public/charter schoolteachers for nature-related classroom projects, and to wildlife and bird injury rehabilitators such as Panhandle Wildlife Rescue , Inc., and Birds Gone Wild, Inc.

This Doug Tallamy Program event is hosted in conjunction with Panama City's Sweetbay Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society with assistance from Sandhills Native Nursery & Landscaping.

Learn more about Bay County Audubon Nature Connection 2026 Presenting Scott Rashid.

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Host or Publisher Bay County Audubon Society