Dr. John Hainze appears in conversation with Dr. Heidi Liere, Ecologist and Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Seattle University where she studies, among other things, insects in urban gardens and in urban agriculture. They will consider human relationships with insects and other tiny creatures, especially in built environments.

Registrants will receive the Zoom link a few days before the event.

Fruit flies, silverfish, dandelions, and crabgrass are the bane of many people and the target of eradication. In a compelling reassessment of the relationship between humans and the natural world, Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us, John Hainze considers the fascinating and bizarre history of how these so-called pests have coevolved with humanity and highlights the benefits of greater respect and moral consideration towards these organisms. In an engaging and accessible natural history, Hainze draws on religion and philosophy as he passionately argues that creepy crawlies and unwanted plants deserve both empathy and accommodation as partners dwelling with us on earth. John Hainze is an entomologist and ethicist. He is an affiliate at the Seattle University Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability, an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University, and president of BioOpus LLC.

Dr. Heidi Liere is an ecologist and Professor of Environmental Studies at Seattle University where she studies, among other things, insects in urban gardens and in urban agriculture.

Buy the book at Elliott Bay Book Company.

"In a world where insects are in horrible decline, this fascinating call for understanding and affection for the small creatures around us is a powerfully necessary book!" Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

"Nature Underfoot illuminates the overlooked wonders of ignored plants, creatures, and other forms of life we encounter daily - and their implications for our place in nature. A stunning book as riveting as a sunbeam to a young child." Thomas Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University.

Co-presented by Seattle University Department of Environmental Studies and College of Arts and Sciences and Elliott Bay Book Company.