Fall Conference Sunday Field Trip: The Humane Gardener Sanctuary Tour (Sykesville)

Registration will open on 9/3. Conference participants do not need to register.

The Humane Gardener Sanctuary welcomes everyone, from butterflies and tree frogs to rabbits and deer. More of an ever-evolving natural habitat than a static garden, the 2.23-acre land is home to dozens of volunteer native grasses, trees and wildflowers that mingle with the many other native plants Nancy and her husband, Will, have added over the years. Once all turf dotted with a few unhelpful species (Bradford pear, barberry, miscanthus), the pesticide-free space is now a many-layered feast and refuge for wildlife. Nonnatives are still a fact of life here, always hovering around the edges, but the balance has shifted and the native plants have gathered strength, now dominating a once barren landscape.

Leader: Nancy Lawson

Level of Difficulty: Easy to moderate.  Short walk, but there are relatively narrow paths and some bumpy terrain.

Nancy Lawson is a nature writer, habitat advocate and author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife and Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature. She founded Humane Gardener to pioneer creative wildlife-friendly landscaping methods, and she co-chairs Howard County Bee City to advocate for native bees. Her work and garden have been featured in Science Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah magazine, Entomology Today, and Ecological Entomology. Nancy is the wildlife columnist for American Gardener magazine and an honorary national director for Wild Ones.

Event Co-Hosts: University of Maryland Extension Maryland Native Plants Program and University of Maryland School of Landscape Architecture

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS  REQUIRED. Limited to 12 people.

Directions will be included in registration confirmation.

      

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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.