Environment & Natural Resources

Note: One Zoom link will cover all four sessions.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any event or activity, please contact the educator, Dr. Henley, on or before May 8th, 2025, at shenley@umd.edu

Herbs are easy to grow for beginning gardeners and they taste delicious. Join Harford County Master Gardeners to discover best practices on adding herbs to your garden. Each person attending must register prior to the program.

Learn easy compact techniques that may work for you and easily fit in your backyard.

A garden is about the overall sensory experience it provides.  Learn how plants use scent and how humans respond to scent.  Register via the CCPL website.

Join the Cecil County Master Gardeners for an informative workshop!  LEARN:  Best plants to seed save, How to secure those seeds, Several strategies for storing seeds, and Techniques to try to ensure successful germination.

Get ready to dive into the fascinating world of Maryland’s native bees! Join Madeline Potter, UME Faculty Specialist for Entomology & IPM, for this interactive webinar where we will explore the critical role native bees play in sustaining native plants and resilient landscapes, while spotlighting the diversity and unique stories of our local pollinators. Learn how to support a variety of native bee species by creating bee-friendly habitats—from planting diverse natives to leaving bare ground and stems, minimizing pesticides, and offering clean water sources. Along the way, we will share train-the-trainer tips to help educators inspire others to take action for native bees. Whether you’re a pollinator advocate or just bee-curious, this session will leave you buzzing with ideas to make a meaningful impact in your greenspace and community!

Get ready to celebrate National Pollinator Week (June 16-22, 2025)! Join Madeline Potter, UME Faculty Specialist for Entomology & IPM, for an interactive session to equip you with tools, resources, and creative outreach strategies to support pollinator-themed education during National Pollinator Week. We’ll explore ideas for engaging community events and activities, walk through planning tips, and collaborate in a brainstorming session to spark inspiration. Bring your ideas and let’s build impactful, pollinator-friendly programming together!

Have you noticed something odd about crape myrtles in your area? Have you heard of the invasive crapemyrtle bark scale? Join Madeline Potter, UME Faculty Specialist for Entomology & IPM, to learn about a spreading invasive insect that is impacting many crape myrtles throughout Maryland. During this engaging, science-based session we will bust common myths, learn how to spot crapemyrtle bark scale in the landscape, and talk through sustainable management strategies. We will also explore how this pest ties into the bigger picture of biodiversity and building healthier, more resilient landscapes. Bring your questions—this will be an interactive webinar with Q&A and a hands-on brainstorming activity to help you create outreach tools and strategies for effectively informing your communities about invasive insect pests.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1053870100
Directed by Ian Cheney for the Wonder Collaborative
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Film Background: At the height of the pandemic, many scientists were concerned about how their work had become so divisive and how public trust in science had eroded. At the same time, many admitted that the very things that first drew them to science—the joy of discovery, the awe of understanding the world, the endless curiosity—had been overshadowed by the pressures of grants and career demands. With that in mind, the producers wanted to make a film that speaks to this moment and honors science in a way that reconnects it to the broader human experience?

They set out to celebrate an activity essential to both research and humanity itself: observation. The goal was not to lecture but to invite dialogue, to honor scientific inquiry without demanding that there is only one path to knowledge. In short, this is an experiment, in science filmmaking at some level, but more generally in creating community around the instincts that guide us all. And that’s why Observer does not end with the final credits. Part of the experiment is finding new ways to take it out into the world to learn from all of those willing to share their powers of observation.

The film screening will be followed by a brief, guided group activity in which viewers become the Observers.

From planning to pruning, mistakes can be made when landscaping.  Advice from a Pro?  The more you know, the better it will go!