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An Outdoor Volunteer & Learning Activity
Leaders: Christine Campe-Price, Friends of New Germany State Park & Liz McDowell, MNPS
Want to help preserve our regional biodiversity? Then bring your work gloves, kneeling pads, favorite weeding tools, & some elbow grease to remove unwanted plants from the native plant garden. As you work, you’ll learn how to identify common weeds and why protecting native plants is so critical for wildlife. Meet at the native plant garden near the dam. Please bring your own water bottle, insect spray, & sunscreen. In case of rain this activity will be cancelled.
Directions: From I-68 take exit 22 and follow signs for New Germany State Park. Turn left into the park onto McAndrews Hill Road. The program will be held in the native plant garden near parking lot #5.
No registration.
Location: Fountain Rock Nature Center, 8511 Nature Center Place, Walkersville, MD 21793.
This sale is organized by Master Naturalist alumni to benefit Fountain Rock Park.
More information: https://naturecouncilfc.org/plant-sale or email fountainrockplantsale@gmail.com
Robinson Nature Center Native Plant Palooza
Location: Robinson Nature Center 6692 Cedar Lane, Columbia, MD 21044
Shop this annual, outdoor native plant sale! Select from a large variety of shrubs, wildflowers, ground covers, trees, and edible native plants. Native plants are more tolerant to local climate, pest species and soil nutrients and require less water, fertilizer and pesticides while providing food and habitat for local species of butterflies, insects and birds. Vendors support Robinson Nature Center through donations.
Information: 410-313-0400
Free for all ages.
Participating Vendors
Parking Information: In the event that the parking lot fills, off-site parking, thanks to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics lab, at 11100 Johns Hopkins Road. To inquire about parking availability at the nature center before your arrival, please call 410-313-0400.
There will be shuttles to and from the off-site parking. Plant purchases will be moved with the assistance of volunteers to the Nature Center front circle, where guests may load their car after returning from off-site parking.
https://www.howardcountymd.gov/plantnatives
Co-sponsoring Organizations: Maryland Biodiversity Project and MNPS Eastern Shore Chapter
Leader: Jim Brighton (co-founder of the Maryland Biodiversity Project)
Description: We will spend the day exploring various habitats on Assateague Island National Seashore. In the fall many unusual plants can be found while exploring the wetlands and sand dunes of the island. Special attention will be made to see Spiranthes bightensis, a globally rare orchid that has been found growing along the roadsides of the island. No guarantees that we will see the orchid, but this will be one of the main targets of the trip. Of course, since this trip is led by Jim Brighton, we will also be looking for other biodiversity. Fall on Assateague Island can be great for native pollinators feeding on the plethora of blooming Seaside Goldenrod. It's also one of the best places in the state for fall bird migration. Ah, and we might see wild horses.
Notes: Assateague is on the Southeastern most part of Maryland. Please check distance from home and plan your trip accordingly. If you are coming from western MD, reserve extra commute time due to potential Bay Bridge traffic. Assateague Island National Seashore is a fee area. Fortunately, Saturday, September 27 is National Public Lands Day and park entry is free! If we decide to explore the northern section of the island which is under Maryland State Parks there will be a parking fee of $10.
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Limited to 16 people. Registration through September 20 for members only. Directions will be included in registration confirmation.
Bring: Please bring your lunch, snacks, and water (no place to buy those items on the Island). Additional gear recommendation will be sent after you register.
Cancellation Policy: Trip will proceed in drizzle or light rain, but will be canceled in case of thunderstorms or severe rain that might flood the area. Cancellation will be emailed at least 3 hours before meeting time.
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Note that An "Account" is not A "Membership" Our website allows non-members to have a "Contact Account" to receive emails about upcoming field trips, programs, and other events. When you login, click on your name (it should be on the top right of the page); if there are no details on membership, you have a "Contact Account" only. Consider joining to support our programs and take advantage of members-only early registration.
Leaders: Anne & Jim Watson & Karyn Molines
Location: Guided tour of Southern Maryland waterfront farmland as a conservation area. Lusby, Calvert County, MD
This conservation project is on a six-acre privately owned parcel located on a peninsula on Mears Cove off the Patuxent River. The property was part of larger fallow, former tobacco and cattle farm. The property owners’ conservation processes include invasives removal, run off management using Hugelkultur practices, reforestation with native species, conversion of large lawn areas to tree groves, gardens/meadows, and the creation of oyster reefs channel-ward from a living shoreline on the waterfront. The property owners make biochar from recycled woody debris from the property which is then used as a soil amendment. The field trip will include a biochar and a Hugel trench demonstration. The most recent project is extending the riparian buffer by converting hayfields using mass tree plantings and meadow creation.
Dr. Anne Watson is a Master Gardener from a farming background. Admiral Jim Watson is a retired US Coast Guard officer with a special interest in biochar. Karyn Molines is a MNPS board member and the Southern Maryland Chapter's Conservation Advocate.
Notes: Easy with some uneven terrain with less than a one-mile walk.
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Limited to 15 people. Directions will be included in registration confirmation. Members Only Registration through 9/1/2025.
Note that An "Account" is not A "Membership" Our website allows non-members to have a "Contact Account" to receive emails about upcoming field trips, programs, and other events. When you login, click on your name (it should be on the top right of the page); if there are no details on membership, you are have a "Contact Account" only. Consider joining to support our programs and take advantage of members-only early registration.
Speaker: Jim Brighton
Hybrid Meeting
In Person Location: University of Maryland Extension Central Maryland Research and Education Center 4240 Folly Quarter Road Ellicott City, MD 21042
During this talk, we will explore how to use the Maryland Biodiversity Project website to gain useful information on the flora and fauna of Maryland.
Jim is a native of the Eastern Shore. He was born and raised, and currently lives, in Cambridge with his family. He studied contemporary literature at Salisbury University, but decided to follow the family tradition of working on boats. He has spent the past 27 years working at Campbell’s Boatyards in Oxford. During his time off from the boatyard, Jim runs the non-profit Maryland Biodiversity Project (MBP), and works for the University of Maryland performing plant surveys. As co-founder and President of MBP, Jim spends time documenting the flora and fauna of Maryland, along with managing many of MBP’s field projects. Jim was the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Champion in 2017 and the Maryland DNR Conservationist of the Year in 2019. Through his work on the Maryland Biodiversity Project, Jim promotes community science and education by helping to build a vibrant nature study community.
Zoom Option: YOU MUST REGISTER IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK
Zoom opens at 7:00PM for pre-program board update and member Q&A. Presentations begin at 7:30PM and generally run until 8:45PM.
We can accommodate the first 300 people who enter the Zoom meeting at the meeting time. After you register, you will receive a registration confirmation email with a link to the Zoom meeting. Registering does not guarantee a space in the Zoom meeting.
The program is free and open to the public.
This will be recorded and available on our Webinars page.
If you enjoy MNPS programs please consider clicking here to make a donation. And don't forget to renew your membership!
Note that if you donate through the event registration, and subsequently cancel, the donation will temporarily appear as a credit. It will take time for the donation to be reinstituted to your account. Donations and membership dues are non-refundable.
Webinar Recordings page and on the MNPS YouTube channel
Program Resources and Handouts
