Welcome to the Nature and Environment section of our website. The emphasis here will not be so much about public policy matters, but rather a range of information and activities related to the natural world around us, especially in Frederick County and the surrounding area.
Outings and Environmental Education
“Nature and Environment” will offer blogs and selected news items about our local and regional ecology, specific plants and animals, natural history and more. We will also be sponsoring a variety of outings in our area, including challenging hikes and slow meanders, for a few people or quite a few, some focused on birds or wildflowers or geology or something else.
In addition, we’ll be setting up some focused, seminars for small groups and presentations or films for larger groups, inside and/or in the field, about subjects such as native plants, home composting, rain gardens, nature photography and more. Please keep an eye out for more about theses things, here, on our calendar, and in our newsletter.
On our calendar and in other ways, we will also be highlighting similar activities and opportunities around the county (and, at times, beyond it) that are organized and sponsored by other groups, nature centers, etc.
Through a combination of well-written information, outdoor activities and a variety of educational discussions, seminars and presentations, we hope to encourage and nourish a greater understanding of, appreciation for, and connection to the natural history, landscapes and beauty of Frederick County.
Nature and Gardening with Chris Pax
We are very pleased that Christina Pax will be writing a regular column (or blog) here, covering many things from natural history to gardening. She lives in the Catoctin Mountains of northern Frederick County. She is a landscape designer who specializes in planting design with native plants. She completed her master’s degree in sustainable landscape design from George Washington University and has been a full-time designer of native plant landscapes since 2007. She teaches landscape design classes at Adkins Arboretum in Ridgely MD, and has served on the steering committee for the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council.
Guest columns (blogs)
In addition to having one or two or three local naturalists and experts writing regular pieces related to nature and the environment, we know there are some of you who have something to offer, even if only once, or once in a while. We will be pleased to consider individual commentaries from you that fit the broader subject.
Be creative! Such contributions could include anything from how to keep a nature journal to a photo essay about a place, or a season, etc.
Community Projects and Volunteer Opportunities
There are many ways that small groups can volunteer their time to help improve or protect the beauty and nature of Frederick County. A variety of such opportunities already exist (such as organized litter clean up days, or tree plantings, etc.). We will do our best to help promote those activities, and to help coordinate new ones.
Links to the Outside World
Finally, there is a lot of outstanding material about nature and the environment out there on the web. We’re going to set up a new page in this section dedicated to offering descriptions of and links to a carefully selected cross-section of some of the best items we come find.
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