Dedicated to Enhancing the Social, Economic, & Environmental Vitality of Our Community
Native Plants
Habitat loss is the number one driver of species decline in Maryland, but you can help reverse it. Planting local, native species of trees, flowers, and shrubs helps local wildlife to thrive.
Below, view our popular webinars with naturalists Doug Tallamy, from March 2021, and Kerry Wixted, from April 2021, co-hosted by Envision Frederick County, Multifaith Alliance of Climate Stewards, and Hood College.
Also be sure to check out the local chapter of Wild Ones, a national organization dedicated to increasing native habitat everywhere. Click here to read about (and join!) the Frederick chapter.
WEBINAR #1
March 21, 2021
Nature’s Best Hope with Doug Tallamy
WHAT: Recent headlines about global biodiversity declines and three billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at sustaining the plants and animals that sustain us. Such losses are not an option if we wish to continue our current standard of living on Planet Earth.
The good news is that none of this is inevitable. Tallamy will discuss simple steps that each of us can- and must- take to reverse declining biodiversity and will explain why we, ourselves, are nature’s best hope.’
WHO: Doug has written 104 research publications and taught insect-related courses for 40 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers’ Association. The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, was published in 2014. Doug’s new book ‘Nature’s Best Hope’ released by Timber Press in February 2020, is a New York Times bestseller. Among his awards are the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd, Jr. Award of Excellence, the 2018 AHS B.Y. Morrison Communication Award and the 2019 Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award.
Doug Tallamy, T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture, Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware.
WEBINAR #2
April 18, 2021
Wild-Scaping with Kerry Wixted
WHAT: In this webinar, Kerry Wixted will share her top 10 native plant recommendations for the Piedmont region of Maryland which includes Frederick County, based on ease of growth and wildlife value. Tips on planting, converting lawn to garden, and keeping the neighbors happy will be covered plus there will also be time to address some of your questions. At the end of the webinar, we will share places in the Frederick area for purchasing native plants. Join us in learning more about how we can do our part to improve biodiversity right in our own yards.
WHO: Kerry Wixted is the education and outreach specialist for the Wildlife and Heritage Service (WHS) within the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. She has worked for WHS for 12 years in education and with the Maryland Natural Heritage Program. She runs several state-wide education programs such as Project WILD professional development for educators and the Wild Acres backyard wildlife habitat program.
Kerry Wixted, Maryland Department of Natural Resources education and outreach specialist
This webinar series is brought to you by:
