5/1/23 Meeting Agenda
6:30 pm Zoom
6:30 - 6:35
Gather and welcome new people
6:35 - 6:38 Healthy Habitats
American Legion event - Jimmy
Sweitzer park -Jess
6:38 - 6:40 Arts and Engagement
Pollinator printmaking events - Cheryl
6:40 - 6:42 Riverfront Restoration
Bluebell planting - Dave
6:42 - 6:45 Festivals
Main St., Pollinator, etc. - Jess
Puzzle and books - Mike
Give-aways - Jess
6:45 - 7:30 Special Guest - Naomi Edelson
Naomi is the Senior Director, Wildlife Partnerships, National Wildlife Federation. She will give us an overview of Sacred Grounds work and goals in congregations and communities, our partnership with them on a potential grant, and how we can be better ambassadors for pollinators
5/1/23 Meeting Minutes
1) Gather and welcome new people~
In attendance were Jess Bolz, Heidi Hess-Webber, Bobbi McCeney, Holly Hoglund, Dave Everett, Stosh Comisiak, Jimmy Rogers, Cheryl Dyer, Mike McLaughlin, Scott Lilienthal, Pauline Apling, Ruth Walls, Carl Dewalt, Naomi Edelson
We welcomed some new faces to our Zoom – Alan Hew of the College Park Bee City committee, Leda Rose Paduszka who was introduced to us at the Main Street Festival, Kyle, Mizuho Yatabe, and Jerri Jones who is the Special Assistant to Tom Dernoga, District 1 County Councilman. Jess welcomed one and all.
Alan Hew informed us that a gathering designed to bring the many Bee City partners together will be hosted by the University of Maryland on June 17th, 1:00 until 4:00. The event will be informative and entertaining and allow folks to network with other concerned environmentalists.
2) Healthy Habitats~
The American Legion garden project is moving along. Two weeks ago, Jimmy worked with a Boy Scout and his dad to remove the mulch from two of the garden lots. This past Saturday, he planted 183 species representing 20 species of native plants in the gardens. In about two weeks, a flat of native grasses should have arrived and will be ready to plant. Volunteers will be welcome!
The Sweitzer garden project is doing well. Brian weeded the garden after the heavy rains and was able to do it all by himself. Thanks Brian!
3) Arts and Engagement~
The Pollinator Printmaking event was a smashing success. About 20 people participated. The city allowed us to utilize the pool house. Liz Hume and Francis Mullen attended and aided in the event. Other artists were on-hand to help as well. The Laurel Arts Council and Laurel Parks and Rec provided the supplies. Among the attendees were some teens with special needs who created spectacular art. Cheryl hopes that photos of some of the art will be made available to post on the L4P website.
Cheryl will be collaborating with Anna Skarbek, art teacher at Laurel Elementary School, to do pollinator printmaking with the 4th grade students. Heidi offered to suggest to the 4th grade teachers that we repeat the slide show presentation with this year’s students (originally presented in 2022) in conjunction with the printmaking project. Additional native plants are slated to be planted in the 4th grade garden as well.
Cheryl anticipates three Arts and Engagement projects in the coming months – 1) pollinator printmaking at LES, 2) the creation of the mural at Sturgis Moore Park and, 3) the creation of a pollinator garden at the sight of the mural. Stay tuned!
4) Riverfront Restoration~
Dave is organizing a planting of Virginia Blue Bells in the area behind the museum from which invasives were removed last year. He is waiting for the plugs to arrive and expects planting to occur on Wednesday or Friday of this week. Heidi, Stosh, and Jimmy may be available to help depending on when the planting is scheduled.
5) Festivals~
We postponed discussion of upcoming festivals to be sure to give our special guest enough time for her presentation. This information will be handled in an email soon.
6) Special Guest Speaker – Naomi Edelson
Naomi is the Senior Director for Wildlife Partnerships at the National Wildlife Federation. She is a trained wildlife biologist and the creator of the Sacred Grounds project.
Sacred Grounds is a program that partners various houses of worship into cohorts to learn about native plants and the wildlife they support, to teach their congregants about the same, and to green the outside of congregation grounds as well as the yards of congregants. Sacred Grounds currently collaborates with twenty houses of worship in the Washington DC area, as well as local municipalities and environmental organizations. In addition to a strong focus on native planting to support our wildlife, Sacred Grounds has added a component called “Slow the Flow” that informs folks about the value of native plants in reducing stormwater runoff.
Sacred Grounds is interested in collaborating with L4P to educate the community, get folks to pledge to plant native, work together at festivals, help with plantings and do plant giveaways. Her presentation was well-received by the group.
The meeting ended at 7:30pm.
7) Dates to remember~
Main Street Festival – May 20th, 9am to 4pm
June monthly meeting – June 5th, 6:30 to 7:30pm
Pollinator Festival – TBD, in the fall