2014 MAEOE Conference RFP

Please spread the word far and wide!!! Apologies for any cross postings.

2014 MAEOE Conference

Make Connections, Take Action

Do you have great ideas, lesson plans or favorite activities that you want to share?  Are you an expert on cutting edge Environmental Education topics? Then please consider presenting at the 2014 Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Educators Conference, February 6-9, 2014 at the Princess Royale in Ocean City, Maryland.  The link below will take you to the application for pre-conference workshops, conference sessions and field trips.  The on-line proposals are due no later than 9/16/13. We look forward to seeing you there!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MAEOE2014RFP

Questions?  Contact Libby Campbell:ecampbell@fergusonfoundation.org

The MAEOE Youth Summit Needs YOUR Help!

The MAEOE Youth Summit is only 10 days away! We are excited to celebrate the 2013 new/re-certifying Green Schools and Centers and would love your assitance at this event. Please sign-up to volunteer a few hours of your time. It would be GREATLY appreciated :)
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C48AAA929A31-youth

Native Plant Sale and Festival

Please join the Izaak Walton League for a native plant sale and festival on Saturday, May 4 from 9am to 12pm in Gaithersburg, MD.  Experts will be on hand to answer your questions and help you attract birds and butterflies to your yard while improving water quality at the same time. Learn about cash rebates that may be available to you through the City of Gaithersburg or Montgomery County RainScapes Rewards programs. Learn all about how to install and use rain barrels to save costs on your water bills. Also on hand, Master Gardeners to answer all of your gardening questions and landscape designers who can help you with native plant gardening. Also, we will have outdoor education activities for all ages, so please bring the entire family.

Spring Greening Festival

Saturday, May 4, 9am-12pm

707 Conservation Lane

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

For more information, please visit www.iwla.org/green.

Movie Night!

The Friends of Quiet Waters Park is hosting an Environmental Movie Night this coming Wednesday.  The movie will take place in the Blue Heron Room at Quiet Waters Park, located at 600 Quiet Waters Park Road, Annapolis, MD 21403.  Refreshments will be provided!  For more information, please contact deb@friendsofquietwaterspark.org.

Date:  Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 7pm

  

Title:  Environmental Movie Night

Movie:  Bag It  

Description:  Bag It has been garnering awards at film festivals across the nation. What started as a documentary about plastic bags evolved into a wholesale investigation into plastics and their effect on our waterways, oceans, and even our bodies.  Join the Bag It movement and decide for yourself how plastic your life will be.

Upcoming event:

Date:  Saturday, May 18, 2013, 11 am.  Meet at the Visitor Center within the Park for this event.

Title:  Secret Life of Plants:  Native Plant Walk at Quiet Waters Park

Speaker:  Karyn Molines from the Maryland Native Plant Society will guide this walk.

Description:  What mysteries lie beneath our feet and tower above our heads? During a walk along the trails, we'll learn basic plant identification skills and discover their unique adaptations that let them grow as giants, produce seeds that fly, and perform other amazing feats of survival.  Dress for the weather (for standing and walking slowly) and wear comfortable walking shoes.  Bring binoculars and a hand lens if you have them.  For adults and teens.

Mushroom Cultivation, Beekeeping and Wild Plant ID

Check out Mushroom Cultivation this Saturday April 20, or Beekeeping and Wild Plant ID on April 27!

April 20 from 10-2pm Mushroom Cultivation Workshop:

Join an all-around fun gal for a walk in the woods!  Learn how to find and properly identify edibles, but more importantly, learn what you can do to turn 1 into 1000!

This hands-on workshop will cover Stem-Butt Propagation, Wood Dowel inoculation, and Straw Pasteurization.  Participants will also plant a mushroom orchard and get to take home a log of their own.

About the Instructor: Holli Elliott

After owning a yoga studio in the DMV area and on the Eastern Shore for the better part of a decade, Holli decided to return to her farming roots and seek out farming as an occupation. Her particular passion lies with soil building and mushroom cultivation. Her long range goals involve collaborating with existing area farms to demonstrate how adding mushrooms to the permaculture model enhances food production on many levels and can also be used in environmental remediation. Holli has worked on both large and small farms all over the globe.

Register Today:

http://accokeekfoundation.org/oyster-mushroom-cultivation/

April 27, 2013 Respectful, Chemical Free Beekeping

Join the Accokeek Foundation for a morning with Stefano Briguglio of Azure B LLC as we explore respectful and chemical-free beekeeping! The course will include hive components, hive occupants, a look at seasonal duties and responsibilities for bees, and basic hive management.

Stefano Briguglio from Azure B LLC runs a small family permaculture farm and apiary in Marbury, Maryland with his wife, Heidi. They specialize in honeybees, hive products, woodware and beautiful childrens toys that are handmade in Southern Maryland. They offer beekeeping, composting, vermiculture and other education courses year round.

Register Today:

http://accokeekfoundation.org/respectful-chemical-free-beekeeping-101/

April 27, 2013 Walk In the Park Series: Wild Plant ID 

Learn how to identify some of our common local plants, including characteristics used in basic botany and some patterns of major plant families in our area. We will use examples found along the walk and learn how to use a basic key to wildflowers. This will be a slow-paced walk, with more time spent discussing plants than walking. Please bring a water container and dress appropriately for the weather.

About the Instructor: Holly Poole-Kavana

Holly is a lifelong plant enthusiast, and started formally studying herbal medicine in 2005, after she began working in health care. She is the owner of Little Red Bird Botanicals and is excited about the ways herbal medicine can help us all to have a little more control over our own health, and provide support to those we care about. She had apprenticed with herbalist 7song at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, completed the Clinic II program at Sacred Plant Traditions, studied at the Pacific School of Botanical Medicine, and hold a BS in botany.

Register Today:

http://accokeekfoundation.org/walk-in-the-park-series-wild-plant-id/

Green School Application Reviewers Still Needed!

MAEOE is looking for additional reviewers for April 15 at MAEOE’s Jessup office and April 16 at Baltimore Ag Center 9am -3pm.  If you can review for a shift during that time, please join us.  We have received over 110 applications!!! WOW!!!

 Many are on line, experienced reviewers (if you have attended one review session you would qualify) can review these applications. Please let me know if you can review some of our on line applications.

If you have not reviewed before, we have experienced reviewers who can guide you through the process.

Please contact us if you'd like to help with this exciting project!

tel. 443-733-1220 ext. 114

fax 443-733-1219

www.maeoe.org

e-mail director@maeoe.org

Environmental Concern Professional Development Courses

Join Environmental Concern for professional development opportunities at our Wetland Learning Center in St. Michaels, MD. We have courses for all levels – Community Members, Educators, and Wetland Professionals.  Please share with any interested parties. 

We hope to see you this spring.

Upcoming Workshops:

March 23, 2013 - Rain Gardens as Outdoor Classrooms

March 28, 2013 – Rain Gardens and Bio-retention Design

April 6, 2013 - Rain Barrels

April 29 to May 3, 2013 – Basic Wetland Delineation

Descriptions:

March 23, 2013 - Rain Gardens as Outdoor Classrooms: This course introduces educators to the concept of rain gardens and their value as schoolyard habitats. Participants will understand how rain gardens benefit the environment by improving the watershed and how they can be used as an extension of the classroom. Participants will leave with the basic knowledge of how to plan, design and implement a rain garden from start to finish.

EDUCATOR COURSE

Time: 10:00am-4:00pm         

Cost: $40.00

March 26, 2013 - Rain Garden and Bio-retention Design: This course introduces community members, landscapers, and others in the field to the concepts of how to plan, design and implement a rain garden or bio-retention area from start to finish. Participants will understand how rain garden and bio-retention areas benefit the environment by improving the watershed and how they can be used in urban planning and stormwater control on their properties.

LANDSCAPER/COMMUNITY COURSE

Time: 9:00am-4:30pm         

Cost: Early Bird Rate $85.00 ($95.00 after March 12 extended!)

April 6, 2013 - Rain Barrels Workshop: Create your own rain barrel to turn roof runoff into water for your garden. Save money and help the Bay. Materials will be available to make your own rain barrel to take home. $15 course only, $55 course and barrel.

COMMUNITY COURSE

Time: 10:00am-12:00pm       

Cost: $15 course only; $55 course and barrel

April 29 - May 3, 2013- Basic Wetland Delineation: Students and professionals just entering the field of wetland science, as well as those needing a review, should attend this 4.5 day (36-hour) course on the 1987 Corps of Engineers wetland delineation method. The course covers the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulations, updated regulation changes, and individual wetland parameters of vegetation, soils, and hydrology.  

PROFESSIONAL LEVEL COURSE

Time: 8:30am-5:00pm           

Cost: Early Bird Rate $950 ($975 after April 8)

All courses will be held at Environmental Concern’s Wetland Learning Center, 201 Boundary Lane, St. Michaels, MD 21663.

For more information, or to register, visit www.wetland.org or call Environmental Concern at 410-745-9620.

Space is limited. Pre-registration is required.