Speaker: Rod Simmons

If you have been recording observations on iNaturalist for the City Nature Challenge, you can bring your device, and, starting at 5:00 we will work together on IDs. Rod's presentation will begin at 7:30.

Rod Simmons is the Plant Ecologist for the City of Alexandria, Virginia

Doors open at 5:00.

Location: Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Ave, Kensington, MD.

The program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Discover the important connection between native plants, people & wildlife at this 7th annual event!

Native Plant Nurseries - A large variety of native ferns, sedges, grasses, flowers, shrubs, & trees will be available for sale (cash or check only) from these regional plant nurseries:

Wood Thrush Native Plant Nursery, Floyd, VA

Evergreen Heritage Center, Mount Savage, MD

Go Native Tree Farm, Lancaster, PA

Orders may also be placed with these vendors ahead of time for pick-up the day of the event.

Speakers - There will be hour-long, digital presentations geared for teens & adults in the Recreation Hall including:

The Second Wave of Earthworm Invasion - Katalin Szlavecz, Research Professor,Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University

The Meadow at Home - Ian Caton, Owner/Operator, Wood Thrush Native Plant Nursery

The Past, Present, and Future of Climate Change - Matt Fitzpatrick, Associate Professor, Appalachian Lab, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Conservation Organizations - There will be local experts available to answer questions about native plants & and other natural resource topics at their display booths in the Lake House including:

Evergreen Heritage Center

Friends of New Germany State Park

Garrett Trails

Maryland Conservation Corps

Maryland Native Plant Society

Trout Unlimited

University of Maryland Extension - Garrett County Master Gardeners

Family-friendly Activities (hour-long, led by MCC crew members; meet at MCC display in Lake House)

New Germany State Park and the Western Mountains Chapter of the Maryland Native Plant Society are co-sponsoring this FREE event. New Germany State Park and the Western Mountains Chapter of the Maryland Native Plant Society are co-sponsoring this festival. The event is free but your support of these organizations and native plant vendors through your purchases is deeply appreciated. Visitors may pack a picnic lunch or buy snacks and drinks at the Lake House. For more information phone the ranger station at 301-895-5453 or visit www.dnr.maryland.gov or www.mdflora.org  

To get a better idea of why this continues to be such a nice event, view this video created by our friends at Engage Mountain Maryland https://youtu.be/eFkj4lahKcw

Directions: From I-68 take exit 22 and follow signs for New Germany State Park.Turn left into the park onto McAndrews Hill Road. Signs will direct you to parking for this special event.

More details to follow as available.

Mountain Laurel Garden Club (MLGC)

Topic — Appalachian Edible & Medicinal Plants

Speaker — Sunshine Brosi, Professor of Forest Ecology & Ethnobotany, Frostburg State University

Discover the local native plants of Mountain Maryland and their important cultural and ecological roles in the Appalachian forest.

This presentation is open to the public, but pre-registration is required to attend the program and/or to stay for lunch afterwards. The deadline to register is May 14. Contact Susan Offutt directly at 240-381-3168 or susan.offutt@gmail.com 

Speaker: Greg Kearns

Greg Kearns has been a Naturalist with M-NCPPC for over 35 years at Paxuxent River Park.

Doors open at 7:00.

Location: Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Ave, Kensington, MD.

The program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Mountain Laurel Garden Club (MLGC)

Topic — The Humane Gardener: Nurturing Habitat for Wildlife

Speaker — Nancy Lawson, Author, Speaker, & Garden Habitat Consultant

Beneficial insect or pest? Desirable plant or weed? In this myth-busting talk, learn how common growing methods divide the natural world into false dichotomies and perpetuate misperceptions about the wild species living among us.

This presentation is open to the public, but pre-registration is required to attend the program and/or to stay for lunch afterwards. The deadline to register is June 11. Contact Susan Offutt directly at 240-381-3168 or susan.offutt@gmail.com 

Topic: "Name That Fern" 

Speaker: Dwight Johnson, MNPS

This will be a power-point presentation on how to identify the common ferns of Maryland. Mr.  Johnson is a self-trained naturalist that leads botany walks for the Maryland Native Plants Society, Irvine Nature Center, Cylburn Arboretum, and other organizations. 

The public is welcome to attend this free program which will start promptly at 7:00 pm in the Lake House. 

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 Lake House.

Speaker: Dr Emily Southgate

Dr Southgate is a paleoecologist and the author of People and the Land Through Time. Linking Ecology and History (Yale Univ Press 1st ed 1997, 2d ed 2019).

Doors open at 7:00.

Location: Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Ave, Kensington, MD.

The program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Tentative topic: "Native Grasses"

Speaker: Kevin Dodge, Director of the Natural Resources & Wildlife Technology Program, Garrett College 

Details to follow.

This free program will begin promptly at 7:00 pm; the public is welcome to attend.

Directions: From I-68 take exit 33 (Braddock Rd & Midlothian Rd exit). Follow Braddock Road approximately 1.3 miles to stop sign. Turn left onto Park Avenue. Drive a short distance and turn left, following signs for the Compton Parking Lot.

No registration is required.

Topic: "Making Central Appalachian Forests More Resilient"

Speaker: Pabodha Galgamuwe, Forest Science Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy

Details to follow.

This free program will begin promptly at 7:00 pm; the public is welcome to attend.

Directions: From I-68 take exit 33 (Braddock Rd & Midlothian Rd exit). Follow Braddock Road approximately 1.3 miles to stop sign. Turn left onto Park Avenue. Drive a short distance and turn left, following signs for the Compton Parking Lot.

No registration is required.