MNPS Program: Bringing Back the Grasslands, One Lawn at a Time

Speaker: Jorge Bogantes Montero, Stewardship Program Specialist, Anacostia Watershed Society

Grasslands have always been part of Maryland's biodiversity even though the state's historical ecosystems were likely dominated by forests and wetlands. But grasslands have not received the conservation attention devoted to forests and wetlands. Recently the decline in populations of fauna that call open-land habitats home (e.g., birds and bees) has put this important habitat on conservationists' radar. Thousands of acres of lawns on public parks, FEMA floodways and other grassy fields need herbaceous vegetation and for one reason or another are unsuitable for a tree canopy. These sites, often in urban and suburban places, could be converted into attractive grasslands teeming with wildlife! Maintenance costs could be cut, carbon emissions reduced, sediment and nutrient inputs into waterways reduced, and other ecosystem services provided. Jorge Bogantes Montero will describe the efforts of the Anacostia Watershed Society to create grasslands or meadows in some of these heavily manicured and ecologically underutilized habitats.  

Location: Kensington Park Library.

Directions: From the Washington Beltway (I-495)

Take Exit 33, Connecticut Avenue, north to the third signal after the Beltway. Turn left onto Knowles Avenue and go 2 1/2 blocks to the library on the right. 4201 Knowles Ave.

The meeting is open to non-members.

Registration is not required.