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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.
An Outdoor Learning Activity
Leaders: Ashley Bachtel-Bodkins, UME, and Liz McDowell, MNPS
Join University of Maryland Extension and Maryland Native Plant Society for an introduction to the basic skills and information needed for pruning in your home landscape. Learn why, when, and how to complete simple pruning to encourage plant health and prevent disease. Then take a closer look at a few native woodies and discover why they are so important for regional biodiversity. These digital presentations will be followed by a live-demonstration of how to make clean cuts using sharp pruning equipment. Bring your own pruners, if you’d like to practice on some shrub and tree samples in the pavilion.
This program is free and open to the public (registration is not required). Participants should bring a water bottle. This activity will be held rain or shine.
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 begin at the Tall Oaks Pavilion (first structure on the left after entering the park). There is parking in a lot off of McAndrews Hill Road (2nd left after entering the park) as well as diagonal parking along McAndrews Hill Road.
Native Plants in Baltimore from Forests to Gardens: “A good member of a plant community”
Speakers: Katie Lautar & Sarah D'Adamo
Co-sponsor: The University of Maryland Extension with host Lisa Kuder,
In-person Option at CMREC (University of Maryland Extension Central Maryland Research and Education Center) 4240 Folly Quarter Road Ellicott City, MD 21042
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.
In recent years, Baltimore has quietly emerged as a leading US city for conservation stewardship across its forested and vacant to greened land. Local environmental land trust Baltimore Green Space (BGS) is a leading organization in these conservation efforts, which highlight the existing conservation value in the city’s green spaces while at the same time working to expand it through partnership-based community outreach, resourcing, education and stewardship cultivation. This talk will highlight some examples of this work and its impacts for conservation education and land enhancements in the urban setting, as well as for programming community-based work with native plant ecosystems from forests and their edges to more landscaped meadow patches and pollinator gardens in pocket parks and community gardens.
During the talk you will learn about the BGS forest stewardship network’s strategies for increasing and protecting native plantings from enhancing native plantings along forest edges, protecting rare species, and invasive species management. Presenters will share data on stewardship success increasing native species and decreasing invasive species. They will also showcase the Pollinator Power! Project that focuses on native landscaping through the resources of protected green spaces and communities of stewards across the city.
Presenters will highlight particular species that succeed in urban environments and work across the growing season’s increasingly erratic conditions under climate change to provide conservation value. Across these examples, they will reflect on the importance of native plant education and engagement in urban communities and the possible advocacy implications of what they've learned about how to be good members of native plant communities in these settings.
YOU MUST REGISTER IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK
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.
About our Speakers: Katie Lautar took the helm of Baltimore Green Space as its Executive Director after seven years working as our Program Director. Born and raised in Baltimore, she came to this work through her love of Baltimore, nature, and communities. Katie has more than 16 years of experience in community organizing, designing non-profit programs, and creating educational programs. She earned a Master's Degree in Environmental Education from Lesley University, while living outdoors in different bio-regions. She earned her Bachelor's degree at Goucher College in Elementary Education with a Minor in Peace Studies. She directed youth development and education programs at Strong City Baltimore and is a founder of the 2640 Cooperative. She also has considerable experience in consensus building models and collaborative program development.
Sarah D'Adamo leads the programming and site support related to green space preservation in the city as well as garden stewardship. Sarah grew up in Catonsville and then spent many years living and working abroad before returning to the area and claiming Baltimore city as her home in 2015. As part of her career in secondary and postsecondary education, often working with international students, Sarah completed a PhD in Cultural Studies in 2022 that focused on higher education as social infrastructure in the US and Canada. This long-term interest in infrastructure also extends into urban ecology, botany, local agriculture, mutual aid and land-based history and rehabilitation. Sarah has become an active member of Baltimore's urban agriculture community since 2019. She has been a core member of two green spaces preserved by Baltimore Green Space, Hidden Harvest Farm in the Greenmount West neighborhood and Ash Street Garden in Hampden. Through those spaces Sarah has pursued community organizing and partnership-based community led development, food distribution, ecological education and youth outreach in the city. You can often find Sarah in one of these gardens or at another of the city's farms, or walking in the city's forests, trails, and along the Jones Falls, where she is an avid birder.
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.
Leaders: Kevin Dodge, Garrett College, and Liz McDowell, MNPS
Location: Meadow Mountain Trail, Savage River State Forest, Garrett County
Description: This trail follows the crest of Meadow Mountain along the Eastern Continental Divide, which separates waters flowing east to the Atlantic Ocean and west to the Gulf of Mexico. There’s a variety of wildflowers, shrubs, and trees, some of which are only found in Mountain Maryland. This will be an easy walk along a mostly packed gravel trail. Bring a hand-lens for a closer look at the wildflowers, and binoculars for viewing tree-tops and warblers.
Note: This is a primitive site with no rest rooms.
For additional information: Contact Liz McDowell at wmtchapter@mdflora.org
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED! Limited to 15 people. Registration through July 25 for members only. Directions will be included in registration confirmation.
Bring: Participants should wear trail shoes and bring water, insect/tick spray, and sunscreen.
Cancellation Policy: Trip will proceed in light rain, but will be canceled in case of severe weather; the cancellation notice will be posted under the trip listing on the MNPS website by 7:00 am.
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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 are have a "Contact Account" only. Consider joining to support our programs and take advantage of members-only early registration.
Washington College 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620
To attend virtually, please register at https://mdflora.org/event-6194027
Co-sponsored by Washington College, Center for Environment and Society, Natural Lands Stewardship.
Discover the unique plants and natural areas of Maryland's Eastern Shore and learn about the Herculean efforts to conserve them.
AGENDA Saturday:8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Check-in and breakfast 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Presentations 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Bag lunch 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Field trips
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.: $30 additional fee. Evening social with student posters and dinner with Bill McAvoy’s talk on Eastern Shore Plant Communities and Habitats: From Marsh to Mounds. Please select the Social option during registration.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Field trips
PRESENTATIONS AND SPEAKERS:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONRegistration includes the Saturday morning program, Saturday afternoon field trips, and Sunday morning field trips, as well as breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Also, visit tables to learn from Eastern Shore environmental organizations helping to preserve native plant communities in the area. The Saturday Social is an additional $30 fee.
Field trips include exploration of unique plant communities of the Eastern Shore that grow on Delmarva Bays, Serpentine Barrens and Shell Middens as well as conservation efforts leading to habitat and wildlife restoration. Registration for field trips will start at least 2 weeks prior to the conference.
SATURDAY EVENING SOCIAL AND DINNER The Saturday evening social and dinner is not included in the registration fee and costs an additional $30. The dinner will feature retired Delaware State Botanist Bill McAvoy’s talk on Eastern Shore Plant Communities and Habitats: From Marsh to Mounds. Before dinner, students will be presenting posters. A cash bar will be offered during this event.
PLANT SALES! A Saturday morning plant sale will take place at the meeting location. This sale will feature multiple local vendors with plant sitting provided by Wild Ones Delmarva. On Sunday, Adkins Arboretum will be hosting their fall plant sale where MNPS members will receive discounted rates.
*Members of Maryland Native Plant Society or other native plant societies.
Registration closes August 23
If you need to cancel, email Karyn Molines at conference@mdflora.org. Full refunds (except for administrative fees) are available for cancellations prior to August 6. A 50% refund will be issued for any cancellation received by August 23. Refunds are not available for cancellations after August 23.
Sponsorships help keep the registration fees affordable. Sponsors will be provided a table for their displays as well as In Person Registration(s) depending on the level. Sponsor logos must be provided by August 6.
Saltmeadow Cordgrass $250: Provided one complimentary registration. Your logo will be placed on the slides between presentations as well as on the Conference web page. Your literature, products samples, coupons, and promotional materials will be given to registered conference attendees.
Marsh Elder $500: Provided two complimentary registrations. Sponsor may bring a banner to place at the Registration area. Your logo will be placed on the opening and closing slides of the conference, in between speakers as well as on the Conference web page. Your literature, products samples, coupons, and promotional materials will be given to registered conference attendees.
White Oak $1000: Provided five complimentary registrations. Tabling opportunity during the conference. Sponsor may bring a banner to place at the Registration area. Your logo will be placed on the opening and closing slides of the conference, in between speakers as well as on the Conference web page. Your literature, products samples, coupons, and promotional materials will be given to registered conference attendees.
For levels that receive additional registrations, please be prepared to register them when you register as a Sponsor. Otherwise, contact Karyn Molines conference@mdflora.org for further instructions.
Undergraduates and graduates studying plant taxonomy, plant ecology, landscaping with native plants, and restoration ecology are invited to submit a poster proposal. https://forms.gle/BEZUDh8VcPYzSYTm7
To attend in person, please go to this event: https://mdflora.org/event-6189931
AGENDA Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Presentations
Registration includes the Saturday morning program.
Virtual Attendance does NOT include field trips.
Virtual Attendance Registration Fees
Webinar Recordings page and on the MNPS YouTube channel
Program Resources and Handouts
