‍Earth Day 2026

On April 22, 2026, the Hanover Garden Club and our community partners hosted a free presentation of The Extraordinary Caterpillar, a film about nature’s tiniest and mightiest superheroes. Using macro videography by Sam Jaffe, founder and director of The Caterpillar Lab, the film gets up close and personal with the enchanting and miraculous caterpillar. The capacity crowd of all ages at the Nugget Theaters also enjoyed a live exhibit of caterpillars in the lobby presented by The Caterpillar Lab’s Jack Forrester, a Q&A, a drawing, and printed resources to help take action right away.

In the film, writer, director, and producer Jeff McKay explores the caterpillar’s role as a lynchpin in the conversion of plant energy to food source in the complex web of life on our planet. From chickadees, who need six to nine thousand caterpillars to feed one clutch of hatchlings in just the first two weeks of their lives, to bears, bats, spiders, lizards, and more, caterpillars are a critical source of food. In addition to Sam Jaffe, the film also features Doug Tallamy, renowned entomologist, author, and co-founder of Homegrown National Park, entomologist David Wagner, and other experts and activists.

(Check out the trailer and The Caterpillar Lab’s website for other ways to see or sponsor a viewing of this Merit Motion Pictures film.)

Following the film, Jack Forrester joined Amber Jones (VT Center for Ecostudies), Alicia Houk (A Wild Garden), and Heidi Holman (NH Butterfly Monitoring Network) in a Q&A that covered caterpillars and native plants, creating insect and bird habitats at home, and strategies for yard rewilding. The evening concluded with a drawing for some great caterpillar swag: a native perennial CSA share from Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center consisting of 15 pollinator-supporting native plants; The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle donated by Barbara McIllroy for the youngest attendee; How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard, Doug Tallamy’s latest book donated by Hanover Garden Club; and t-shirts and a puzzle from The Caterpillar Lab’s shop.

Presented by the Hanover Garden Club, A Wild Garden, Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center, Hanover Conservancy, Hanover Conservation Commission’s Biodiversity Committee, Hanover Improvement Society, LindeMac Real Estate, Northern Woodlands, Norwich Conservation Commission, Sustainable Hanover, Vermont Center for Ecostudies.