Program Guide FA L L 2 0 1 3
The Fall Landscape— Capturing Fall Colors, Shapes, and Textures Discover and photograph the Arboretum’s fall landscape and colors. Learn how to get the best possible landscape images from your camera and lenses. See page 12. Photo by Josh Taylor
Adkins Arboretum, a 400-acre native garden and preserve, promotes the conservation and restoration of the Chesapeake region’s native landscapes.
Art Exhibits Tree Tricks, site-specific sculpture by Centreville artists Howard and Mary McCoy, is on view in the Arboretum forest through September 15. Working primarily with natural materials found on-site, the McCoys approach their installations as collaborations with the natural landscape.
The Arboretum sponsors art exhibitions throughout the year, including an annual competition and outdoor environmental art. Call 410-634-2847, ext. 0 or e-mail info@adkinsarboretum.org for gallery hours.
Open Book 2, Lynda Smith-Bugge, burled maple, 34” x 15” x 20”
River View, Lani Browning, oil on canvas, 18” x 36”
Since her recent move to the Eastern Shore, Centreville painter Lani Browning has been entranced by the beauty of its rich farmlands and tree-lined waterways. On view through September 27, Landscape
The Arboretum will sponsor its fourteenth annual Art Competition,
Impressions, the Eastern Shore and Beyond captures the beauty of her new home. By turns intimate or panoramic, her stunning oil paintings are flooded with light and color. There will be a reception on Saturday, August 24 from 3 to 5 p.m. In her superbly crafted sculptures, Lynda Smith-Bugge, of Falls Church, Virginia,
uses traditional woodworking methods to reveal the natural beauty and fascinating imperfections of wood. On view October 1 through November 29, Undressing Trees is East of…, Linda Bills, work on paper, 6½” x 6½” a show full of wit and playful imagination, as Smith-Bugge puts bare roots on formal pedestals and slices open knobbly burls of wood to expose the rich history of scars and patterns of growth hidden inside. There will be a reception on Saturday, October 5 from 3 to 5 p.m. With airy swaths of color and energetic line work, Baltimore artist Linda Bills summons the atmosphere of her family’s farm and her lakeside retreat, two landscapes that she knows well and loves deeply. On view December 3 through January 31, Deep Snow and Other Memories presents abstract mixed media works on paper that masterfully explore what Bills calls the “felt presence” of the land. There will be a reception on Saturday, December 7 from 3 to 5 p.m.
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to exhibit in February and March 2014. The theme of the Competition— Discovering the Native Landscapes of Maryland’s Eastern Shore—celebrates the Arboretum’s mission of conservation. The competition is open to all original two- and threedimensional fine arts, including outdoor sculpture and installations.
The deadline for submissions is January 6, 2014. Visit adkinsarboretum.org for submission information.
Fall Native Plant Sale —at the Nursery! Members-only Sale Friday, September 13, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Shop the Members-only Sale for the best selection. New members are welcome! Members receive a 10% discount on plants; members at the Contributor ($100) level and above receive a 20% discount. Members may place presale orders at adkinsplants.com through August 29.
Public Sale Days Saturday, September 14, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday, September 15, noon–4 p.m. Enjoy fall in the garden! Take advantage of autumn’s cool, moist weather to add color and wildlife habitat to your landscape. The region’s largest selection of native perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees will be for sale. Arboretum docents will be on hand to answer plant questions, help with selections, and lead guided walks. Members, including those who join on the sale day, receive a 10% discount on plants, gift shop items, and new books. Members who join at the Contributor level and above receive a 20% discount on plants. Sale days are popular and can be crowded, so please leave dogs at home. The sale benefits the Arboretum’s education programs and introduces the public to the beauty and benefit of gardening with native plants.
Used Book Sale The Arboretum is accepting donations of gardening and naturethemed books and magazines for sale during the plant sale. Donations may be dropped off at the Arboretum Tuesday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Shop for books and magazines at great prices on the sale days!
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You are invited
an enchanted evening to benefit Adkins Arboretum Saturday, September 28 6–9 p.m. BROWSE the unique auction items… SAVOR delicious food by Magnolia Caterers… ENJOY the jazz music of B Natural…
Introducing
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WIN trips worth up to $7,000 for the price of a $100 raffle ticket! With only 100 tickets being sold, you have an EXCELLENT chance of winning a valuable item such as:
EVENT TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE Individual event tickets $125 ($75 per ticket is tax deductible)
• A
San Francisco Bay vacation and America’s Cup sailing experience for two,
Tables of ten by reservation Raffle tickets $100 (not tax deductible)
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Canadian Rockies vacation for two at breathtaking Fairmont Banff Springs.
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Online: magicinthemeadow.org
Only 100 raffle tickets will be sold. Visit magicinthemeadow.org to buy tickets and to see the other valuable Live Auction items you could win for only $100!
GREEN LEGACY SPONSORS
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GREEN SUPPORTER SPONSORS Accounting Strategies Group EDiS Company Morgan Stanley Smith Barney PNC
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Phone or e-mail: Meg Gallagher at 410-634 2847, ext 23, mgallagher@adkinsarboretum.org
GREEN STEWARD SPONSORS Apple Signs Avon Dixon Insurance Agency Babikow Greenhouses Big Island Ventures Brodie Collins Consulting Choptank Electric Cooperative Croft Investment Management Davis, Bowen & Friedel Gilbane Building Company Joanne Shipley Graphic Design MidAtlantic Farm Credit Provident State Bank
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GREEN SPONSORS Avery Hall Insurance Group Clear Ridge Nurseries Delmarva Business Network Severn Grove Ecological Design
and CASE Foundations named him Professor of the Year for Tennessee, an award given to college professors who have achieved national distinction and whose work shows “extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching.” The Oxford American featured him in 2011 as one of the American South’s most creative teachers, and his teaching has been profiled in USA Today, The Tennesseean, and other newspapers. Haskell holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University. He is Professor of Biology at the University of the South, where he has served both as Chair of Biology and as an Environmental Fellow with the Associated Colleges of the South. He is a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and was granted elective membership in the American Ornithologists’ Union in recognition of “significant contributions to ornithology.” He served on the board of the South Cumberland Regional Land Trust, where he initiated and led the campaign to purchase and protect a portion of Shakerag Hollow, where the book is set, a forest that E. O. Wilson has called a “cathedral of nature.”
The Third Annual Tent Symposium presents: “The Forest Unseen” Sunday, September 29, noon–3 p.m. Fee: $35 members, $45 non-members
Immerse yourself in a full day at Adkins Arboretum for the third annual fall symposium. Stroll along the paths that bisect the Arboretum’s rich and unique native plant habitat—mature and young native forests, meadows, wetland, and native gardens.
He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he and his wife, Sarah Vance, run a micro-farm (with goat milk soaps available for purchase at cudzoofarm.com). David blogs at Ramble, where you can read his latest explorations in natural history, science, and literature.
Visit the Native Plant Nursery, plant sale, and forest watch and journaling exhibits, then enjoy lunch followed by an insightful presentation by scientist, author, poet, professor, and microfarmer David Haskell about his year’s watch of one square meter of forest. He will share both scientific and personal insights from the project and give short readings from his book The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE 10 a.m.–noon
Native Plant Sale (with experts on hand for advice) Gift Shop open
Exhibits
Experiencing Adkins in Silence Nature as Muse iNaturalist
Haskell’s work integrates scientific and contemplative studies of the natural world. His research and teaching examine the evolution and conservation of animals, especially forest-dwelling birds and invertebrates. The Forest Unseen was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction and received the 2013 Reed Environmental Writing Award and the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature. The book also was short-listed for the PEN/E O Wilson Literary Science Writing Award for 2013. A profile in The New York Times says of Haskell, “[he] thinks like a biologist, writes like a poet, and gives the natural world the kind of open-minded attention one expects from a Zen monk rather than a hypothesis-driven scientist.”
Noon–12:30 p.m. Lunch—Buffet Menu by Magnolia Caterers: Iced Tea and Lemonade, Turkey Boursin Focaccia, Curried Chicken Salad Croissants, Grilled Vegetable Wrap, Cherry Tomato and Garbanzo Salad, Minty Melon Salad, Cookie Basket
His classes have received national attention for the innovative ways in which they combine scientific exploration, contemplative practice, and action in the community. In 2009, the Carnegie
The native plant sale, gift shop, and exhibits are open until 4 p.m.
10:30–11:30 a.m. Guided walks by Arboretum docents (registration requested)
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12:30–2 p.m.
David George Haskell—The Forest Unseen
2–2:30 p.m.
Thanks and gift raffle
2:30–3 p.m.
Book signing
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A Celebration of Winter Holiday Wreath Sale
Candlelit Caroling Celebration
Saturday, December 7, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Saturday, December 14, 6–9 p.m. Fee: Adults: $20 members, $25 non-members Children 18 and under: $6 Children 2 and under: free
Ring in the season with local greenery for a beautiful Eastern Shore holiday! Shop for unique hand-crafted wreaths, the Arboretum’s signature boxwood topiary, fresh-cut greens, and holiday centerpieces. To donate greens or to volunteer to create wreaths and topiary, contact Joanne Healey at 410-634-2847, ext. 32 or jhealey@adkinsarboretum.org.
Ring in the holiday season with an evening of light, music, hors d’oeuvres, and greenery at Adkins Arboretum. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and a wine bar in the gallery, accompanied by live musical performances. Arboretum docents will lead candlelit walks along the Blockston Branch, stopping along the way to sing carols and sip hot cider by a roaring bonfire. A Delmarva Stargazer will be on hand to uncover the mysteries of the winter sky. Top off the evening with a winter hayride around the meadows with a stop at the Funshine Garden for hot chocolate, cookies, and tree decorating.
Holiday Greens Workshop Saturday, December 7, 10 a.m.–noon Fee: $35 members, $45 non-members Floral designer and Arboretum docent Nancy Beatty will guide you in creating an elegant centerpiece made with fresh cedar, pine, boxwood, and other greens in your own special container brought from home. In addition to the centerpiece, you will make a corn husk star. All supplies except the centerpiece container will be provided. Register early—this program fills quickly. Limit: 15
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Bus Trips
“ARTiculture,” The Art of Great Garden Design Philadelphia Flower Show Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Fee: $75 members, $95 non-members includes transportation, driver gratuity, and admission. Registration required The long love affair between art and nature—and the artistic expression found in great garden and floral design—will be captured in an extraordinary presentation of the internationally renowned PHS Philadelphia Flower Show in 2014. In the 10-acre exhibition space of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, “ARTiculture” will explore how exquisite landscapes, gardens, and floral arrangements have inspired artists from the Old Masters to the Impressionists to the most creative forces working today. The world’s leading landscape and floral designers will demonstrate that horticultural design is itself a form of art.
New York Botanical Garden— New Native Plant Garden
The bus departs from Creamery Lane/Aurora Park Drive parking lot in Easton at 10 a.m. and from Adkins Arboretum in Ridgely at 10:30 a.m. An additional stop at the 301/291 Park and Ride for Chestertown-area participants will be added upon request. We will depart from the Flower Show at 7 p.m. This trip is a joint venture between Adkins Arboretum and Academy Art Museum. Both organizations will be accepting reservations, so early registration is encouraged.
Friday, October 11, 7 a.m.–10 p.m. Fee: $125 members, $150 non-members includes transportation, driver gratuity, All-Garden Pass, curatorguided tour of Native Garden, and lunch. Registration required. Limit: 45 Join an exceptional day at the New York Botanical Garden, a National Historic Landmark, featuring one of the world’s greatest collections of flora within its 250 acres of natural terrain, dramatic rock outcroppings, rolling hills, waterfalls and ponds, 50-acre old growth forest, and Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
Backyard Bug Farming (and front yards too!) Wednesday, March 12, 2014, 11 a.m.
SAVE THE DATES
Join entomologist Nate Erwin as he shares his adventures of transforming his tiny suburban front, back, and side yards with plantings to encourage insects (especially pollinators), thereby encouraging birds and other suburban wildlife. Nate was manager for 20 years of Insect Zoo at the National Museum of Natural History. This program is presented in partnership with
The day will include a guided tour of the new 3.5-acre Native Plant Garden led by Travis Beck, NYBG Landscapes and Project Manager and recent author of Principles of Ecological Landscape Design, or another talented NYBG curator. Designed by Oehme, van Sweden, the garden combines contemporary architectural elements, dramatic water features, sustainable materials, and diverse plantings to celebrate the elegant beauty of native plants, the drama of the natural landscape, and the Garden’s commitment to education and conservation.
the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore and will be held at the Oxford Community Center. Advance registration is requested for this free program.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm
A gourmet bagged lunch by Abigail Kirsch will be served upon arrival at the historic and newly refurbished Lillian and Amy Goldman Stone Mill nestled along the banks of the Bronx River. Dinner can be purchased at the Garden Café and Leon Levy Visitor Center Café—both offer homemade soups and sandwiches in addition to savory and sweet snacks.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014 Visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with its new green-roofed visitor center and Native Flora Garden expansion—a newly planted area that features a cultivated pine barrens and a meadow modeled after Long Island’s Hempstead Plains. The new habitats include native species, many of them rare or threatened and most propagated from seeds legally collected in the wild. The trip also includes a tour of Brooklyn Grange, the leading rooftop farming and intensive green roofing business in the U.S. Located on two roofs in New York City, Brooklyn Grange comprises the world’s largest rooftop soil farms, growing over 40,000 pounds of organically cultivated produce per year.
The bus departs from Creamery Lane/Aurora Park Drive parking lot in Easton at 7 a.m. and from Adkins Arboretum in Ridgely at 7:30 a.m. An additional stop at the 301/291 Park and Ride for Chestertown-area participants will be added upon request. The bus will depart from NYBG at 6 p.m. to return to the Arboretum at approximately 9:30 p.m. and Creamery Lane at 10 p.m.
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Stewardship Advance registration is required for all programs. Register online at adkinsarboretum.org, call 410-634-2847, ext. 0, or e-mail info@adkinsarboretum.org. Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to program starting time. Weather and Cancellations Programs and walks will be held in all types of weather, including light rain. If the Arboretum decides to cancel a program due to threat of inclement weather, you will be contacted by phone or e-mail and offered a refund or an opportunity to reschedule. If you have any doubts or concerns if a program is to be held, call 410-634-2847, ext. 0 and/or check the website.
Foraging Sunday, September 1, 1–3 p.m. Fee: $15 members, $20 non-members Registration required. Limit: 35 Bill Schindler, Ph.D. returns to the Arboretum to lead this hands-on workshop that will immerse participants in the exciting, sustainable, and nutritious world of foraging for wild plants. Go into the field to learn how to identify, harvest, and prepare many of fall’s wild edibles. It doesn’t get more local or organic than this!
Dr. Schindler is a professor of anthropology and archaeology at Washington College. His research focuses on prehistoric foodways and technologies. He incorporates wild foods into his and his family’s diet on a regular basis. Please note that foraging by individuals is not permitted on the Arboretum grounds.
Season’s Bounty—Fall Harvest Friday, September 6, 10 a.m.–noon Fee: $15 members, $20 non-members Registration required Late summer is the time to plant a fall garden and to find the year’s widest variety of produce. Elizabeth Beggins will demonstrate how a little preparation now can yield big returns as the weather turns cooler. Greens, garlic, and gorgeous local offerings available at markets and roadside stands are the focus of this program. Savory treats and tools to use at home are an added bonus.
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Andelot Farm: A Chesapeake Bay Treasure Saturday, October 5, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Free Registration required Andelot Farm in Worton, MD, is a 2,900-acre working farm on the Chesapeake Bay featuring some special plant communities. Join ecologist Sylvan Kaufman, Ph.D. to explore the mature woods and marshes around a coastal pond, including a visit to an ancient shell midden and its unique flora. Wear sturdy walking shoes and bring water, binoculars, tick repellent, and a bag lunch for a Bayfront picnic. This rare opportunity is a joint venture between Adkins Arboretum and the Eastern Shore Chapter of the Maryland Native Plant Society. Participants will meet at Andelot Farm. Directions will be provided upon registration.
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Landscape Design Workshop
Session 1: Sustainability in the Home Garden; The Role of Soils in a Sustainable Garden
Saturday, October 12, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Fee: $85 members, $110 non-members Registration required. Limit: 16
Session 2: Successful Soil Practices; The Role of Water in a Sustainable Garden
Three experienced landscape designers and avid gardeners will lead this all-day intensive design workshop that addresses the typical challenges of homeowners in the Chesapeake Bay region. Come with your challenges and dreams, and leave with a landscape plan, ideas, and confidence to transform your home landscape for your enjoyment and pride.
Session 3: Successful Water Practices; The Role of Plants in a Sustainable Garden
Topics include analyzing the challenges and opportunities of your property; developing a plan for circulation and unique features; designing “rooms” for outdoor living; choosing materials for patios and walks; incorporating sustainable practices; and selecting ornamental plants. The day will be organized around brief presentations followed by breakout sessions for one-on-one work with the instructors. The designers will offer practical advice on getting started, what to do with wet areas, how to lay out a path, how to screen an undesirable view, and plants recommended for specific conditions. Step by step, you will develop your own landscape design.
Instructors are Carol Jelich, a Master Gardener, Master Naturalist, and Arboretum docent, and Sylvan Kaufman, Ph.D., an ecologist who teaches ecology and restoration practices to landscape designers at George Washington University. Students will analyze their own home landscape focusing on soils, water, plants, and use of materials. Registered participants will receive a supply list before class. Those who enroll in the series will create a base map of their landscape in the first class homework, and then add soil and water flow information, identification of plants on the site, and materials.
Session 4: Successful Plant Practices; The Role of Materials in a Sustainable Garden Session 5: Successful Materials Practices; Student Presentations
Edibles in the Garden
Workshop leaders are Arboretum Executive Director Ellie Altman; landscape architect Barbara McClinton, formerly of the Baltimore landscape architecture and land planning firm Daft, McCune, Walker; and landscape designer and native plant enthusiast Chris Pax, a graduate of the George Washington University sustainable landscape design master’s program.
Friday, October 25, 1–2:30 p.m. Fee: $15 members, $20 non-members Beyond their beauty and bountiful flavors, edible landscapes bring cultural, economic, and environmental benefits to homes and communities. The food and garden movement is not only bringing the excitement and beauty of edible plants into the landscape but also reprising their role as catalysts for sustainable infrastructure and design solutions. Jeanette Ankoma-Sey and Christine Simpson will present a series of approaches to explore how edibles can play a key role in planning and design, and can serve as tools to improve how landscapes function, support stormwater management, build soil health, and create habitat and biodiversity.
Bring lunch. A continental breakfast and break refreshments will be provided. Also bring a property plat, photos, and other documentation of your property. Worksheets and handouts on native plants will be provided.
Landscape for Life Thursdays, October 24–November 21, 2–4 p.m. Member Fee: $20 per class or $100 for the series Non-member Fee: $25 per class or $120 for the series Registration required Every home landscape has the potential to clean air and water, reduce flooding, combat climate change, and alleviate the pressures being placed on Earth’s ecosystems. Yet conventional gardening practices too often work against nature, damaging the environment’s ability to provide these natural benefits that support the health and well-being of you, your family, and your community. The five-part Landscape for Life program, developed by the U.S. Botanical Garden and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, shows how to work with nature in your garden, no matter where you live, whether you garden on a city or suburban lot, a 20-acre farm, or the common area of your condominium. It’s possible to create a great-looking sustainable landscape that’s healthier for you, your family, your pets, and the environment—and that saves you time and money!
Jeanette Ankoma-Sey is a trained landscape designer, horticulturist, and gardener who lives and works in Alexandria, Virginia. She specializes in plant-based landscape solutions with a particular interest in those that engage users with their surroundings: edible gardens, children’s gardens, campus design, public and urban spaces, and more. She teaches an edible landscape and ecology and the environment course within the George Washington University’s sustainable landscape design master’s program. Christine Simpson is a landscape architect and project manager who lives and works in Arlington, Virginia. She specializes in sustainable, functional places and landscapes and is an avid lover of edible plants. Christine has designed parks and playgrounds, taught planting design at George Washington University, and currently manages multimodal transportation improvements for the Arlington County government. 9
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Stewardship (cont.) Advance registration is required for all programs. Register online at adkinsarboretum.org, call 410-634-2847, extension 0, or e-mail info@adkinsarboretum.org. Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to program start.
Sunrise Bio Blitz Saturday, October 5, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. at Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC) Sunday, October 6, 7 a.m.–noon at Adkins Arboretum Free Advance reservations are requested. Want to discover an undocumented species? Join scientists, naturalists, and volunteers to document everything from fungi to large mammals within designated areas of Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center in Grasonville, MD, and Adkins Arboretum. Explore one or both sites, compare ecosystems, and document new species. If you are curious, observant, can take digital pictures, and can access the Internet, you have plenty of expertise to participate. Bring your smartphone or digital camera to record sightings. Volunteers and scientists will be on hand to help identify species and upload images to iNaturalist for each site. The mornings will begin with coffee and an orientation. This is a great opportunity for hands-on learning about local biodiversity while you contribute to science. Since it resembles a free-wheeling scavenger hunt, it’s also fun! Both programs will use iNaturalist as the data platform (visit inaturalist.org for more information).
Fall Fruits, Buds, and Bark Sunday, October 27, 1–3 p.m. Free with admission Advance reservations are requested. As leaves change color and native trees prepare for winter, join Arboretum Science Advisor Mary Travaglini on a fall stroll to learn to identify trees and shrubs by their fall fruits, bark, or buds. Learn what turns the leaves different colors and how the weather cues plants to retreat for a winter nap. All ages are welcome on this leisurely walk in the brisk fall air. Mary holds a bachelor’s of science from Cornell University and a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Michigan. Active as an outdoor educator, landscape architect, and ecologist, Mary has worked extensively on federal lands and within the private sector as a trail crew leader and landscape designer, and has worked most recently for The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, and the Society for Ecological Restoration.
Participants are welcome to join in the Bio Blitz anytime during the event. Recording time for CBEC will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Recording time for Adkins Arboretum will be from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. Bring your lunch and share your discoveries and stories from 11:30 to noon.
Designing for Waterfront Landscapes Saturday, November 9, 10 a.m.–noon Fee: $35 members, $45 non-members Registration required. Limit: 16
To register for the CBEC Bio Blitz, contact Vicki Paulas at 410-490-9268 or vpaulas@bayrestoration.org. Register for the Adkins Bio Blitz at adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext 0. Provide an e-mail address to receive pre Bio Blitz information. Rain or shine.
Waterfront properties present homeowners with a slew of both daunting challenges and precious opportunities. Join landscape designer and native plant enthusiast Chris Pax, a graduate of the George Washington University sustainable landscape design master’s program, for a look at plants that are good for waterfront landscape conditions and to review some of the special rules and regulations that may apply in your county. You may bring your plat diagram, photos, and a bag lunch to enjoy with the group afterward—Chris will be available until 1 p.m. to answer questions about your specific property. When registering, please call 410.634.2847, ext. 0 or e-mail info@adkinsarboretum. org to specify the county in which your property is located. This class is an excellent follow-up to the Landscape Design Workshop offered on October 12.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! The Arboretum is seeking volunteer Visitor’s Center Docents to staff the front desk as needed. Welcome visitors to the Arboretum and share your enthusiasm! Contact Robyn Affron at raffron@adkinsarboretum.org for a training schedule.
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Native Orchids—Ecology and Survival Wednesday, December 4, 1–2 p.m. Free with admission Advance reservations are requested. Dennis Whigham’s interest in the ecology of plants has resulted
in journeys through forests, fields, and wetlands around the world. His research has led to studies of woodland herbs— including orchids, vines, and wetland and invasive species—and studies of forests in the tropic, temperate, and boreal zones. Whigham’s current focus is on wetlands, including the role of wetlands in relation to the rarest terrestrial orchid in eastern North America, and his current passion is to establish the North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC), an initiative of the Smithsonian Institute and the United States Botanic Garden. NAOCC will be based on continentally focused public-private collaborations that will eventually result in the conservation of the genetic diversity of native orchids, initially in the U.S. and Canada. Whigham will discuss the ecology of native orchids and provide an overview of the goals and current efforts to establish NAOCC.
Whigham obtained an undergraduate degree from Wabash College and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina. He joined the Smithsonian in 1977. Whigham and his collaborators have published more than 225 articles in journals and books, and he has co-edited 10 books, including one on terrestrial orchids, and a 2009 volume, Tidal Freshwater Wetlands. Whigham is currently a research botanist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD. northamericanorchidcenter.org
Dragonflies and Damselflies Wednesday, January 8, 2014, 1–2 p.m. Free with admission Advance reservations are requested. Join Professor Hal White for an illustrated talk on the dragonflies and damselflies of Caroline County. A professor of biochemistry at the University of Delaware, Hal has been fascinated by insects, especially dragonflies, since high school. It is a serious hobby that has taken him from Canada to Mexico and across the United States. He has published articles on the dragonflies and damselflies of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Acadia National Park in Maine, and has described the larval forms of two endangered species of dragonfly. His book, Natural History of Delmarva Dragonflies and Damselflies, was published by University of Delaware Press in collaboration with the Delaware Nature Society. The book will be available for purchase and signing.
The Eastern Shore Chapter of the Maryland Native Plant Society will meet at the Arboretum on Tuesday, October 22 at 7 p.m. Dr. Sara Tangren, founder of Chesapeake Natives, project leader for the University of Maryland’s Arboretum and Botanical Garden, and adjunct assistant professor of plant science and landscape architecture, will speak about native plants and the Lupine Study at Wye Mills. Dr. Sylvan Kaufman will speak about invasive plants. For more information, contact Robyn Affron, Eastern Shore Chapter chair, at raffron@adkinsarboretum.org.
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Arts
Red Maple Leaf Watercolor Workshop Thursdays, October 24–November 14, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Fee: $95 members, $115 non-members Registration required
Advanced registration is required for all programs. Register online at adkinsarboretum.org, call 410-634-2847, extension 0, or e-mail info@adkinsarboretum.org. Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to program start.
The brilliant orange and scarlet fall foliage of the native red maple enlivens the autumn forest. Led by Lee D’Zmura, this class will focus on the study of this species and the creation of a botanical art piece in watercolor that captures the vibrancy of the red maple. Some watercolor experience is required. A materials list will be provided. D’Zmura earned her certificate in botanical art at Brookside Gardens School of Botanical Art and Illustration and now teaches classes in advanced watercolor at Brookside.
The Fall Landscape—Capturing Fall Colors, Shapes, and Textures Saturday, October 26, 8:30 a.m.–noon Fee: $45 members, $60 non-members Registration required Discover and photograph the Arboretum’s fall landscape and colors. Learn how to get the best possible landscape images from your camera and lenses. Photographers of all levels are welcome, and you’ll leave the workshop a better photographer with a greater understanding of compositional elements and your camera. The workshop includes online pre-workshop instruction, classroom instruction, an illustrated handout, and shooting session with your instructor, Josh Taylor. Photoshop and Photoshop Elements enhancement techniques will also be introduced. These photographic techniques are easily done in Photoshop CS5/CS6, Photoshop Elements, and with some basic Photoshop/Photoshop Elements plug-ins. Participants can e-mail the instructor two JPEG images from the workshop for a written critique.
Concrete Leaf Casting Friday, September 27, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Fee: $25 members, $30 non-members Registration required. Limit: 10 Cast a live leaf into stone to create a unique garden ornament or bird bath. Crafters Sandy Bemis and Chris Eckert will guide you through the process every step of the way. All materials, including large leaves, will be provided, but feel free to bring your own leaf if you prefer. Castings require a one-week setup time before they can be unmolded, so please bring a large strong flat board (minimum 24” x 30”) to create your leaf on and transport your casting home.
Note: Bring ALL photo equipment, including a digital memory card, extra batteries, and camera manual. A tripod is optional, but highly recommended. While point-andshoot cameras are welcome, please be reminded that these cameras can work quite well but do have limited options.
This workshop will take place in the Nursery Greenhouse. Wear work clothes and shoes, and bring long rubber gloves and an adventurous spirit.
Sumi-e Painting Sunday, October 13, noon–2 p.m. Fee: $20 members, $25 non-members Registration required Learn how to meditate and relax while painting the “chi” of nature, as the Buddhist monks called the Chan did a thousand years ago. In this class, Dawn Malosh will teach the traditional meditative eastern approach and style to nature and nature painting. Participants will learn about traditional eastern painting media, such as the bamboo brush, sumi-e ink, rice paper, and suzuri inkwell. There will be many opportunities to connect to the spirit of nature while creating beautiful monochromatic nature scenes and landscapes inspired by Adkins Arboretum. This is a very simple approach to painting, and all artistic levels are welcome.
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Photo by Josh Taylor
Writing
Hypertufa Garden Planter Saturday, November 2, 9–11 a.m. Fee: $45 members, $65 non-members Registration required. Limit: 8
Experiencing Adkins Habitats
Enhance your garden with a hypertufa planter you make in this workshop under the guidance of Rachel Melvin and Arboretum docent Carol Jelich. Hypertufa is an artificial stone material made from several different aggregates to imitate natural tufa rock. It can easily be molded into different forms, is much lighter than concrete, and looks like weathered crumbly stone. All materials will be provided.
Saturdays, October 19, 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m., November 16, 10 –11:30 a.m., December 21, 10–11:30 a.m. Free with admission Advance reservations are requested. Using David Haskell’s book The Forest Unseen as a guide, this workshop led by Master Naturalists Wendy Jacobs, Anna Harding, Cindy Beemiller, and Carol Jelich will help participants develop the practice of sitting quietly alone in natural habitats to observe and document the sitter’s subjective and objective experience, and to share those observations with others. Reading The Forest Unseen is recommended but is not required to take the class.
This workshop will take place in the Nursery Shed or Greenhouse. Wear work clothes and shoes, and bring long rubber gloves and an adventurous spirit.
Thanksgiving Centerpiece Workshop Saturday, November 23, 10 a.m.–noon Fee: $35 members, $45 non-members
Participants will be encouraged to develop a naturalist’s eye for observing flora and fauna in their habitat, and to express their experiences for mutual enjoyment and enrichment with the group and with readers of the Arboretum blog. They will be invited to help keep the Arboretum community abreast of trends in nature, sightings of flora or fauna that might be surprising, and even tracking phenomena of interest. Participants should bring a small lightweight folding stool or large bucket to sit on; a camera and binoculars are recommended. Paper and pens will be provided, but participants may prefer to write in their own notebooks or journals.
Create a long low centerpiece using native fall flora under the guidance of floral designer and Arboretum docent Nancy Beatty. Nancy’s passion for native plants and organic gardening brought her to the Arboretum and has led her to a successful and rewarding career in gardening. As proprietor of Sweet Bay Garden Design, Nancy arranges flowers for weddings, parties, and events and designs, creates, and maintains flower, vegetable, and herb gardens for her customers. Flowers, supplies, and centerpiece container will be provided.
Pysanky: Ukrainian Egg Decorating
“ Experiencing Adkins” Forest Sitting Kit Available for check-out in the Visitor’s Center, this kit includes maps, journal, pens, insect repellent, and a pillow, all in a light carrier that is also used as a seat. Suggestions and guidance for recording your experience are included.
Sunday, December 8, noon–3:30 p.m. Fee: $25 members, $30 non-members Make a one-of-a-kind holiday gift from the heart in the timehonored Ukrainian tradition of Pysanky. Pysanky eggs are created using motifs rooted in nature and the cycles of life. Designs, including spiders, sheaves of wheat, spirals, stars and circles, bees, flowers, grapes, birds, and mammals, are made with an instrument called a kistka, beeswax, and dyes. This workshop will explore the art in a free form, using symbolism incorporated in design to create an egg that tells a specific story. Each participant will receive an egg and a Pysanky kit containing the basic tools and materials required for the class. Instructor Coreen Weilminster, who learned the art from her great-aunts, has been making Pysanky for over 20 years. 13
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Walks Bird Migration Walk Saturday September 7, 8–10 a.m. Free with admission Advance reservations are requested. Join Wayne Bell on a guided bird walk to scout for early fall migrants and lingering summer residents that may be found in the Arboretum’s fields and forests. Many colorful species will no longer be in breeding plumage, including scarlet tanager and Baltimore oriole.
Photo by Josh Taylor, “The Fall Landscape,” see page 12.
Special attention will be paid to those “confusing fall warblers,” some of which are young birds on their first trip to their wintering grounds. We’ll look for some more common examples, including American redstart, black-throated green warbler, and common yellowthroat. Indigo bunting and blue grosbeak will still be here, but the young should outnumber their more colorful parents. Few birds will be in song, but there should be plenty of ‘chips’ to keep us busy. Dr. Bell is Senior Associate and former Director of the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College. Prior to joining the Washington College faculty in fall 2000, he was Vice President for External Relations for the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), a global research facility headquartered at Horn Point near Cambridge, MD. He has served as president of the Arboretum Board of Trustees and is past president of the Maryland Ornithological Society.
Nature as Muse First Wednesdays, September 4, October 2, November 6, and December 4, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Free for members, free with admission for the non-members Advance reservations are requested.
Guided Walks
Each month this writing group will follow a different winding path through the Arboretum to quietly observe nature in detail. This will provide inspiration for expressing ideas that begin as seeds in our minds and then blossom into discovery as we write. No previous writing experience is necessary. Enjoy how the paths in the Arboretum and the paths in your mind can lead you on an unpredictable but delightful journey. Bring a bag lunch and dress for both indoor and outdoor forest adventure.
Explore the rich and unique native plant habitats of Adkins Arboretum. Led by Arboretum docent naturalists, First Saturday Guided Walks are offered on September 7, October 5, November 2, and December 7 at 10 a.m. Discover mature and young native forests, meadows, a wetland, and rain and pollinator gardens, as well as the Arboretum’s Native Plant Nursery and the children’s teaching garden. Tours begin at the Visitor’s Center and last approximately one hour.
Twilight Walk with Nick Carter
Second Saturday Nursery Walks explore the tremendous diversity
Thursday, October 17, 6–7 p.m. Free with admission Registration required. Limit: 20
of plant material at the Arboretum’s Native Plant Nursery. Join horticulturalist Eric Wittman at the Nursery to learn more about the plants your native Arboretum has to offer. Eric will select dozens of trees, shrubs, and perennials to aid participants on their journey toward incorporating more native plants into their landscapes. Second Saturday Nursery Walks are offered from 1 to 3 p.m. on September 15 and October 12.
The Chesapeake Bay region is sustained by native plants that provide food and shelter to wildlife and enhance the rich biodiversity of the Bay watershed. Join Nick Carter for a walk along the paths that bisect the rich and unique native plant habitat of Adkins Arboretum, all outstanding specimens of plants native to the Delmarva Peninsula. The plant habitats you’ll see include mature and young native forests, meadows, and wetland.
Walks are free with admission and are always free for members. Visit adkinsarboretum.org for more information.
A longtime environmental educator, Carter retired as fisheries biologist and ecologist with Maryland Department of Natural Resources after 35 years. He has received the Izaak Walton League’s award for habitat conservation in the Chesapeake Bay region and a Governor’s citation for excellence.
To arrange a guided walk for more than 10 participants, contact Adult Program Coordinator Ginna Tiernan at gtiernan@ adkinsarboretum.org or 410-634-2847, ext. 27.
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l l a F Saturdays, September 21, October 5, and November 2, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Fee: $20 members, $25 non-members Registration required by the Sunday prior to each walk. Limit: 25
September 21: Sunny Meadows Catch a glimpse of golden brown grasses and yellow and purple asters. Plants of interest include milkweed, black-eyed Susan, goldenrod, Maryland golden aster, purple love grass, pearly everlasting, Indian grass, and big bluestem.
Menu Split pea soup Cantaloupe, blueberry, and romaine salad Dill rye bread Peach cobbler
Track the changing landscape from summer to fall. Following a guided walk with a docent naturalist, enjoy a delicious and nutritious lunch along with a brief lesson about the meal’s nutritional value. Copies of recipes are provided.
October 5: Grasses, Mushrooms, and Early Fall Color
November 2: Nuts and Berries for Wildlife
Look for sure signs of fall along the meadow edges, see how grasses have changed since the September walk, and seek out mushrooms in the cool fall forest. Plants of interest include Indian grass, big bluestem, purple love grass, pearly everlasting, milkweed pods, devil’s walking stick, and the leaves of red and orange sweet gum, sassafras, sumac, tupelo, and dogwood.
Search for dazzling yellow fall color and berries that nourish wildlife during winter. Plants of interest include tulip tree, paw paw, beech, and hickory leaves, hickory and beech nuts, oak acorns, and the berries of dogwood, holly, sumac, hearts a bursting, devil’s walking stick, and Jack-in-the-pulpit.
Menu Pumpkin lentil soup Autumn salad Yogurt wheat germ bread Chocolate walnut cookies
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Menu (gluten free) Spicy sweet potato soup Colorful vegetable salad with basil dressing Brown rice with peas and red pepper Quinoa pudding
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Performances
Living in the Trees—Speaking to the Times An Ongoing Conversation in Music and Art at Adkins Arboretum
Driven Women is an aptly named group of oldtime musicians located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Their music comes from fiddle and banjo traditions of the Appalachian Mountains, largely from West Virginia and Kentucky. They seek to preserve and revive the sounds of old-time music, including high energy square dance tunes, soothing waltzes, and the melancholy of dark mountain hollows. The group is driven to enjoy, study, and practice the music of the old masters and play it for others to enjoy. Fiddler Sue Shumaker began playing old-time music in the Philadelphia area in 1983. Banjo player Diane Jones began making sojourns to North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia in 1980. Guitarist Annie Williams became interested in the old music traditions of her home state of West Virginia in 1973. As chance would have it, they finally met and began playing together in 2009.
Featuring a walk with Howard and Mary McCoy through their outdoor sculpture exhibit, Tree Tricks, and a performance by The Pam Ortiz Band. Friday, September 13, 6–8:30 p.m. Fee: $20 members, $25 non-members All summer, nature has been altering the sculptures that Howard and Mary McCoy have created in the Arboretum’s forest. Vines have crept up the trunks of the trees in “Cropped.” Paw paws have grown through the loops of vine in “Heard It Through the Grapevine.” The McCoys work in collaboration with nature—both their ideas and their materials come from the forest, and they embrace the inevitable changes that nature will bring. Join them for a walk through the forest to see how the sculptures have evolved.
Driven Women intermittently appear in the afternoon to practice at Adkins Arboretum. Call ahead if you would like to know when they will be playing in the gallery or outside as weather permits.
The Pam Ortiz Band will enhance the evening with thoughtprovoking songs that probe the bittersweet richness of life in our times. Contemporary songwriter Pam Ortiz has a clear voice and a rare gift for lyrics that touch deeply. Playing acoustic guitar as she sings, she is joined by her husband, Bob Ortiz, on percussion, Ford Schumann on guitar, and Nevin Dawson on viola and violin. Based in Chestertown, the band recently released a new album, Rattle Them Chains. This follows three albums showcasing Ortiz’s songs with Terra Nova, a group that played to packed coffeehouses in the Baltimore-Washington area throughout the ’90s and was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for Bill Clinton’s first inauguration. A light dinner of antipasti and dessert will be served, and a cash wine and beer bar will be available. Advance registrations are requested.
A Little Touch of Shakespeare Friday and Saturday, October 18 and 19, 6 p.m. Sunday, October 20, 3 p.m. $10 members, $15 non-members Join an afternoon or evening of love and laughs, inspiring language, and backstage intrigue when Shore Shakespeare brings A Little Touch of Shakespeare to the meadow. The Battle of the Sexes is joined anew with selected scenes from The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night, among others.
A Little Touch of Shakespeare is by the Bard himself, with additional material by Chris Rogers, and is an original production of Shore Shakespeare. Bring chairs, blankets, and a picnic to this meadow production. Meals from The Lily Pad Café will be available for $15 each and can be reserved when registering online or by calling 410.634.2847, ext. 0. Please order meals by Wednesday, October 16. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410.634.2847, ext. 0. Donations in support of Adkins Arboretum and Shore Shakespeare are gratefully accepted. For more information, visit shoreshakespeare.com or adkinsarboretum.org. AdKINSARBORETUM.ORG
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Speakers
Biophilia! Sundays, September 22, October 6 and 20, November 3 and 17, noon–1:30 p.m. Free with admission Advance reservations are requested.
Advance registration is required for all programs. Register online at adkinsarboretum.org, call 410-634-2847, extension 0, or e-mail info@adkinsarboretum.org. Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to program start.
Sustainable Lawns— The Backyard Revolution
Ever wonder why so many of our metaphors are nature related? Sly as a fox. Solid as a rock. Stand tall like a tree. Why do we gravitate to animals? Sixty percent of U.S. residents have at least one dog, while 52 percent have a cat. The most visited places in the country are zoos. Why do we find landscape images restful but built environments stressful? What’s the answer?
A talk by Thomas Christopher Wednesday, October 9, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Venue: Academy Art Museum in Easton Free Advance reservations are requested. Want to make a positive impact on our environmental future? The place to start is in your own back (or front) yard. Lawns occupy almost 50,000 square miles of the U.S. landscape— an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania. As presently cultivated, many are resource hogs and major polluters. Yet in just a few weeks, with a modest investment of time and materials, you can turn that eco-villain into a sustainable, easy-to-maintain expanse that gives back far more than it takes and is beautiful as well.
Biophilia, or love of nature, is our natural and, some believe, genetic need to affiliate with nature! Mankind spent millions of years in natural habitats that provided food, water, safety and security, socialization and connection. Now, in the modern age, man has distanced himself from the very environments that facilitated survival, yet it hasn’t lessened his need for nature. On the contrary, we need it now more than ever! In this exciting five-session conversation, Royce Priem will lead a discussion of those aspects of nature that build our skills, restore our minds, heal our bodies, and teach our kids. Come prepared to converse and engage in a discussion that will forever alter your perceptions of the natural world and your place in it, and come dressed for movement and fun. We can’t simply talk about nature— we’re going to interact with it too!
With new statewide restrictions on lawn fertilizer use going in to effect this October to help achieve Bay restoration goals, now is the perfect time to learn how to reduce fertilizer use and protect water quality while keeping your lawn productive and healthy. Tom Christopher, founder of Smart Lawn LLC, will discuss the different grass mixes and techniques he is using to create locally adapted, biodiverse lawns that need only three to four mowings per year, no summertime irrigation, and little or no fertilization. In addition, he will provide contacts for locally focused advice and information that will enable concerned homeowners to create their own sustainable lawns. Your lawn can reduce your carbon footprint, assist in preventing water pollution, and provide a new opportunity for landscape color—and it’s easy, once you know how.
September 22: Biophilia and You: Hardwired for Habitat! October 6: Nature and Movement: The Benefits of Physical Activity Outside October 20: Nature and Illness: Healing Gardens, History and Applications
Tom Christopher is a graduate of the New York Botanical Garden School of Professional Horticulture. He has helped institutional and residential clients enhance their landscapes for more than 40 years. He is the author of ten books about gardening, and served as editor and a contributor to The New American Landscape, Timber Press’s guide to sustainable gardening that was hailed by the American Society of Landscape Architects as one of the 10 best books of 2011. His work with lawns has been featured in The Chicago Tribune and in Horticulture magazine.
November 3: Biophilic Design: Bringing Man and Nature Back Together November 17: Therapeutic Landscapes and Healthcare: Let’s Help People Get Better! Royce Priem is the principal and founder of Nature and Fitness Systems, dedicated to reintegrating man and movement into natural environments. His own experience with health and wellness propelled him into his current role as an enthusiastic evangelist for biophilia and biophilic infrastructure, working with companies, professionals, and people of all persuasions to re-experience nature through eyes of wonder and imagination, and then to reintegrate nature into their daily lives for improved health and wellness!
This program is offered in partnership with Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
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Speakers (cont.)
Youth Programs Nature Preschool Programs
Nineteenth-Century Conservatories
Classes are open to children ages 3 to 5. Advance registration is required. Enrollment is limited to 15 children, so early registration is recommended. The fee for a session of eight classes is $60 for members and $75 for non-members, with a $10 discount offered for siblings. Each class includes a snack and a craft. For more information or to register, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0. Classes meet on Tuesdays from 10 to 11:15 a.m.
Wednesday, December 11, 1–2 p.m. Free with admission Advance reservations are requested. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, and lasting for the next 50 years, the popularity of the glass conservatory grew along with the plants they displayed. Join Alan Stein for a unique look at the rich history of great conservatories of centuries past. Learn about their architectural significance and revisit the tales of woe that befell some of these beautiful spaces forever lost in time, including several in Maryland.
Crazy for Cattails September 24
Stein holds a degree in architecture from the University of Maryland and speaks internationally on the historic precedents of nineteenth-century glass architecture. He is president and director of architecture of Tanglewood Conservatories, an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and installation of conservatories, greenhouses, and skylight systems worldwide.
The Arboretum’s wetland is full of fuzzy cattails! Find out why the cattail is sometimes called “Nature’s Grocery Store.” We’ll use nets to look for critters that live among the cattails, make painted cattail prints to take home, and eat crunchy “cattail” snacks.
Discovering Daddy Longlegs October 1 Peek around the tree stumps at Paw Paw Playground, and you’ll be sure to find lots of Daddy Longlegs! We will learn how Daddy Longlegs are different from spiders, have an eight-legged Daddy Longlegs race with our friends, and make silly Daddy Longlegs out of sweet gum balls.
Tucking in the Garden October 8 Summer days are long over, and it’s time to get the Funshine Garden ready for a nice winter nap. We’ll tidy the garden beds, gather seeds to store in homemade packets, and look for signs of animals that might be cozying up in the garden for winter naps of their own.
Colorfest October 15 Come celebrate the beauty of fall as we gather colorful leaves on a forest walk and enjoy a picnic snack under the trees. We’ll learn why leaves change color, jump in a gigantic leaf pile, and make lovely leaf crafts to take home.
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Science for Homeschoolers: Wild Investigations
White Oak Hotel October 22
Mondays, September 23–November 11, 1–2:30 p.m. Fee: $60 members, $75 non-members ($10 sibling discount) Program is designed for students 8 to 12 years of age.
The amazing white oak tree is home to many creatures. Learn about the animals that depend on the white oak for food and shelter, make bark and leaf rubbings of a giant white oak tree, and create lift-the-flap white oak hotels to take home.
Homeschool students will use scientific skills to investigate native wildlife. Dynamic field experiences will include determining an animal’s environmental lifestyle through its skull structure, designing model birds in an exploration of flight adaptation, conducting habitat assessments, delving into herpetology, and identifying fish anatomy after a visit to Tuckahoe’s fish ladder. Students should come prepared with a folder, paper, a writing utensil, comfortable walking shoes, and clothes that may get a little dirty.
Whoooo Goes There? October 29 What does a Great Horned Owl look and sound like? How about the tiny Saw-Whet Owl? We’ll practice our owl calls and look for owl pellets in the meadow. We’ll also make feathery owl masks and munch on Halloween snacks while listening to stories about the wise old owl.
Fall Fun for Families
Dinosaurs!
Saturday, November 9, 2–4 p.m.
November 5 Did you know that Astrodon is Maryland’s state dinosaur? Travel back in time as we learn about the dinosaurs of Delmarva. On a nature walk, we’ll look for plants that grew during the age of the dinosaurs, investigating a trail of mysterious footprints along the way.
Member Fee: $20/family, $5/individual Non-member Fee: $25/family, $8/individual Celebrate fall with an Arboretum colorfest! In this fun-filled program, naturalist and educator Jenny Houghton will lead a fall nature hike along the Arboretum’s scenic woodland paths, stopping for a marshmallow roast at Paw Paw Playground. Families will paint a pumpkin pansy planter to take home, enjoy fall-inspired games in the meadow, and look for leaves on a forest scavenger hunt. All ages are welcome!
A-Maize-ing Grain November 12 Can you believe that the early settlers ate corn 365 days a year? Learn about this native grain, try your hand at grinding corn, and make corn shakers. We’ll eat a popcorn snack and read Thanksgiving stories after looking for wild turkeys in the meadow.
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From the Bookshelves by Arboretum Volunteer and Maryland Master Naturalist Anna Harding
The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature by David George Haskell. Viking Penguin, 2012.
The book is a rich companion to any naturalist’s exploration and education, and through Haskell’s writing we learn not only the science of his surroundings, but also the magic and miracle of everyday events and creatures in nature.
Put on your boots.
With its extensive bibliography, The Forest Unseen might be used as a reference book to teach about everything from microbial communities to the impact our actions have on the vast natural world around us.
Gather a journal, a favorite pen, your binoculars, maybe a camera, a hand lens, and a sunhat, and step outdoors. Find your way into a forest, a meadow, along a stream or a boggy wetland, and search out a comfortable place to sit. For a while.
Haskell uses words like “surrender “ and “clarity” when describing his more physical experiences in the woods during severe weather, bracing himself against a tree during a violent thunderstorm, or taking off all his clothes in January and letting a polar wind wrap itself around his naked body “to experience the cold as the forest animals do.”
After you are seated, cast an imaginary net around a small portion of the area you have chosen and visually define its boundaries. Then settle in, become silent, and observe. David G. Haskell did this often and regularly over the course of a year in eastern Tennessee.
Haskell also takes us close in, peering with him through his hand lens at nematodes and fungi just below the surface of leaf litter.
In his book The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature, Haskell takes us with him deep into old growth forest near the campus of Sewanee: The University of the South, where he is a professor of biology.
We come to understand from his experience that a mandala is the perfect metaphor for his study: an intricate design of great interest and beauty, each tiny part of the pattern an essential part of the whole.
During this year Haskell, feeling “both humbled and uplifted,” observes, investigates, wonders, is astonished, and becomes cold, wet, and bug-bitten.
We might all say in a collective voice in today’s jargon, “Wow! Who knew?”
Haskell describes a mandala as “a re-creation of the path of life, the cosmos, and the enlightenment of the Buddha.” By using the image of a mandala for his area of observation, he demonstrates the unavoidable meshing of the scientific and the spiritual worlds. By designating an area as small as a square meter, he shows us that the small can be a true sample of the large, the world in a grain of sand, as William Blake wrote, and that we can learn from it and marvel at it as much as if we stood looking out over something much vaster in size and scope.
In his final chapter, Haskell makes suggestions about how to experience and learn from a mandala in a natural setting of our own choosing. In addition to leaving behind one’s expectations and keeping the senses wide open, he encourages us to use observation as a meditation: Keep the mind on the present moment, continually bringing it back, over and over, to the sounds, smells, and “visual complexities” of our surroundings. We understand that by doing this we are not just an observer, but also the observed, fully invited in to the “bright and ineffable nature of the world.”
With all the knowledge of a true scientist, he teaches us about the life cycles of salamanders, bees, snails, twigs, hypericum, and other flora and fauna that inhabit and pass through his mandala.
In this way, we might learn best that nature is not “other,” that we are an integral part of the vast, complex scheme of life and that through the discipline of silent observation, we can see ourselves and our place in the world more clearly.
Each chapter focuses on the plants and critters that are part of the small ecosystem he has defined, and through their coming and going, blooming and fading, short transects or rooted growth, we understand the part each plays in the greater order of the world that surrounds us every day, wherever we are.
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Haskell speaks for any forest sitter when he states, “Astonishment is the proper response.” Note: Author David George Haskell will be the featured speaker at the Adkins Arboretum Tent Symposium on Sunday, September 29, 2013.
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SEPTEMBER 2013 Sunday
Monday 2
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Tuesday
Wednesday
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Thursday 5
Foraging 1–3 p.m.
Friday 6
Saturday 7
Season’s Bounty 10 a.m.–noon
Nature as Muse 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Bird Migration Walk 8–10 a.m. First Saturday Guided Walk 10 a.m.
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13 Native Plant
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Nursery Opening Members-only Day 10 a.m. –4 p.m. Living in the Trees 6–8:30 p.m.
Native Plant Sale 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Second Saturday Nursery Walk 1–3 p.m.
Soup ’n Walk 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Native Plant Sale noon–4 p.m.
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23 Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
Biophilia! noon–1:30 p.m.
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Crazy for Cattails preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
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Concrete Leaf Casting 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Magic in the Meadow 6–9 p.m.
30 Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
Tent Symposium noon–3 p.m.
Lani Browning exhibit on view through September 27
OCTOBER 2013 Sunday
Monday
Tuesday 1
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Sunrise Bio Blitz 7 a.m.–noon
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14 Sumi-e Painting noon–2 p.m.
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8 Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
Biophilia! noon–1:30 p.m.
Biophilia! noon–1:30 p.m.
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28 Fall Fruits, Buds, and Bark 1–3 p.m.
Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
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New York Botanical Garden bus trip 7 a.m.–10 p.m.
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24 Red Maple Leaf
Watercolor Workshop 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Landscape for Life 2–4 p.m.
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Landscape Design Workshop 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Second Saturday Nursery Walk 1–3 p.m.
19 Experiencing A Little Touch of Shakespeare 6 p.m.
Twilight Walk with Nick Carter 6–7 p.m.
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Saturday Andelot Farm field trip 9 a.m.–1 p.m. First Saturday Walk 10 a.m. Soup ’n Walk 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Art Reception 3–5 p.m.
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White Oak Hotel preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
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Friday 3
Sustainable Lawns 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Colorfest preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
22 Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
Thursday 3
Nature as Muse 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
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Tucking in the Garden preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
15 Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
A Little Touch of Shakespeare 3 p.m.
Discovering Daddy Longlegs preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
Wednesday 2
25 Edibles in the Garden 1 p.m.
Adkins Habitats 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. A Little Touch of Shakespeare 6 p.m.
26 The Fall Landscape photography workshop 8:30 a.m.–noon
31 Red Maple Leaf
Watercolor Workshop 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Landscape for Life 2–4 p.m.
Whoooo Goes There? preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
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NOVEMBER 2013 Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday 1
3
4 Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
Biophilia! noon–1:30 p.m.
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Dinosaurs! preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
12 Science for Homeschoolers 1–2:30 p.m.
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Nature as Muse 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
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9–11 a.m. First Saturday Guided Walk 10 a.m. Soup ’n Walk 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
7 Red Maple Leaf
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9 Designing for Waterfront Landscapes 10 a.m.–noon Fall Fun for Families 2–4 p.m.
14 Red Maple Leaf
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Watercolor Workshop 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Landscape for Life 2–4 p.m.
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Experiencing Adkins Habitats 10–11:30 a.m.
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23 Thanksgiving Centerpiece Workshop 10 a.m.–noon
Landscape for Life 2–4 p.m.
Biophilia! noon–1:30 p.m.
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2 Hypertufa Planter
Watercolor Workshop 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Landscape for Life 2–4 p.m.
A-Maize-ing Grain preschool program 10–11:15 a.m.
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Saturday
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Thanksgiving Visitor’s Center closed
DECEMBER 2013 Sunday 1
Monday 2
Tuesday 3
Wednesday 4
Nature as Muse 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Thursday
Friday 6
First Saturday Guided Walk 10 a.m. Holiday Wreath Sale 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Holiday Greens Workshop 10 a.m.–noon Art Reception 3–5 p.m.
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Native Orchids 1–2 p.m.
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Candlelit Caroling Celebration 6–9 p.m.
Nineteenth-Century Conservatories 1 p.m.
Pysanky noon–3:30 p.m.
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Saturday
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21 Experiencing Adkins Habitats 10–11:30 a.m.
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Christmas Visitor’s Center closed
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31 Linda Bills exhibit on view through January 31
AdKINSARBORETUM.ORG
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The Children’s Outdoor Classroom will be enhanced with trellises of native plants and a water source for science studies. It will provide students with easy access to the Van Dyke Classroom and Resource Center, which will house the Arboretum’s extensive collection of ecology, horticulture, and environmental books and publications.
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The Caroline Pavilion, a multipurpose open pavilion space featuring large sliding doors, will offer seating for 200 and views of the wetland and South Meadow.
Enhanced Classroom Facilities to Increase Student Participation by 500%
space accommodating up to 220 students and teachers at one time, a 500 percent increase. Today’s single classroom/art gallery/ meeting room can serve no more than 45 students at once.
As school districts, schools, and individual educators struggle to keep up with new emphases on science, technology, engineering, and math education (STEM), Adkins Arboretum’s new outdoor classroom and multi-use Caroline Pavilion will soon make it possible for Mid-Shore teachers to access a wealth of hands-on nature and science activities.
As a center of environmental education in the Mid-Shore region, the Arboretum’s growing environmental education curriculum, developed by Youth Education Coordinator Jenny Houghton, offers preschool, elementary school, and middle school children a rich learning environment that connects nature with science, math, and environmental best practices.
“Educators are facing mounting pressure to improve the quality of STEM instruction across the country,” writes D.A. Barber in The Journal, published by 1105Media. “While numerous studies suggest that students need to learn science through hands-on inquiry, classroom teachers are often unable to generate effective lessons because of their own lack of background in science. Worse, teachers are increasingly lacking the time, tools and the resources to do the job as school districts face greater financing challenges and mandated initiatives.”
“New programs for teachers are also on the drawing board,” said Houghton, who is integrating feedback from area teachers and administrators into the programs she manages for the Arboretum.
Barber goes on to cite a 2011 study by the Center for the Future and Learning at UC Berkeley in which educators point to limited funds for equipment and supplies as a challenge to teaching science, with more than half saying they lacked access to necessary facilities, such as outdoor science-focused facilities that engage students in hands-on learning.
The Campaign to Build a Green Legacy is a $7.5 million effort to enlarge the Arboretum Visitor’s Center and complete the Native Garden Gateway. To learn more about how you can support the campaign and help build the new Children’s Outdoor Classroom and Caroline Pavilion at Adkins Arboretum, please contact Kate Rattie at 410-634-2847, ext 33, or e-mail Kate at krattie@adkinsarboretum.org.
Responding to the education facility needs of Mid-Shore teachers and students, the Arboretum’s Campaign to Build a Green Legacy will add almost 4,000 square feet of new educational
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410.634.2847
Non-Profit Org US Postage PAID Mail Movers
P.O. Box 100 Ridgely, MD 21660 410-634-2847 adkinsarboretum.org Address Service Requested
GIFTS Shop Sweet Bay Gifts for books on gardening, including Arboretum Book Club titles and The Forest Unseen, by Tent Symposium speaker David Haskell. The shop stocks a broad selection of organic seeds, the latest line of Winding River reversible jackets, and Brazos walking sticks, crafted from native trees and made in the USA. As always, Sweet Bay Gifts carries unique jewelry and cards, Folkmanis puppets, and books and toys that engage children with nature. Members receive a 10% discount every day and a 20% discount on the first Saturday of the month!
Printed on recycled paper.