Central Maryland Research & Education Center
Summer, 2012
BAY-WISE MASTER
GARDENER UPDATE
Bay-Wise Master Gardeners and Mike Ensor, Carla Smith, Katie Dott,
Herb Reed, Steve Allgeier, Doris Behnke, Gale Kladitis, Sudeep
Mathew, Susan Trice, Joyce Browning, Georgia Eacker, Esther
Mitchell, Jennifer Horton, Ginny Rosenkranz, Robin Hessey and Jon
Traunfeld
From:
Wanda MacLachlan
Subject: Bay-Wise Update
Date:
August 10, 2012
To:
Greetings
We are in the middle of another typical
Maryland summer – lots of humidity, high
temperatures and not enough rain! And don’t
forget the derecho – a new word for many of
us. I hope your landscape wasn’t affected by
that storm. We were lucky enough to have a
day or two of perfect weather – low heat and
humidity – but that didn’t last long. But enough
about the weather!
This spring 61 Master Gardeners took the BayWise Advanced Training in Baltimore City &
County, Talbot and Cecil Counties. As of
August, we also have two upcoming Bay-Wise
Advanced Training sessions scheduled for the
fall in Frederick & Washington Counties and in
southern Maryland. But before we delve into
the future, let’s take a look back at all our
accomplishments within the past six months.
Certified Landscapes
According to my records, seventeen new BayWise Master Gardener landscapes have been
certified as demonstration sites since our last
newsletter. Some belong to Master Gardeners
that have had their landscapes certified in the
past but have just taken the advanced training
in 2012.
Listed in the following chart are those that have
recently had their landscapes certified.
Congratulations to all, for your landscape
certifications.
(410) 531-5973  (301) 596-9478  FAX (410) 531-5567  WTM@umd.edu
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT  11975 HOMEWOOD ROAD  ELLICOTT CITY, MARYLAND 21042-1545
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS  U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COOPERATING
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS
Page 2
August 10, 2012
Certified Landscapes of Our Recent Bay-Wise Master Gardeners
All Certified Landscapes be between 1/1 and 6/30/12
First Name Last Name
Maryanne
Pamela
Leigh
Jean
Cheryl
Jane
Charleye
Patricia
Ann
Randy
Mark
Steve
Gail
Debbie
Deborah
Harriet
George
Arthur
Cady
Cochrane
Cooper
Davis
De Bryan
Dyer
Foster
Hoover
Low
McTague
Nordfjord
Ritscher
Schwartz
Smith
Wise
Yurek
County
B-W Training
Baltimore
Baltimore City
Baltimore
Talbot
Carroll
Talbot
Baltimore City
Baltimore City
St. Mary's
Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore City
Baltimore City
Baltimore
Baltimore City
Frederick
Talbot
3/10/2012
3/10/2012
3/10/2012
4/21/2009
10/24/2006
3/12/2012
3/10/2012
3/10/2012
10/12/2006
3/10/2012
3/10/2012
3/10/2012
3/26/2011
3/10/2012
3/10/2012
5/9/2011
3/12/2012
Thank you to each and every Master Gardener
who has taken the Bay-Wise advanced
training. Since the beginning of the program in
1996, you have certified a total of 889 client
landscapes and 95 non-residential landscapes.
In addition, 440 of you have had your
landscapes certified as demonstration sites!
This March, Bruce Gootec, of Dorchester
County, became the 1,000th person to have
taken the Bay-Wise Advanced Training. To
date, we have trained a total of 1,015 Master
Gardeners as Bay-Wise and 791 of you are still
actively enrolled in the program.
Demo Certification
Date
6/7/2012
10/4/2008
3/15/2012
3/27/2012
5/8/2012
4/2/2012
4/26/2009
3/25/2012
4/13/2012
3/21/2012
5/22/2012
4/25/2012
5/16/2010
3/22/2012
5/16/2010
5/7/2012
4/29/2012
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August 10, 2012
Upcoming Advanced Trainings
As of press time, we have two Bay-Wise
Advanced Trainings planned for this fall
– one in Frederick & Washington
Counties and another in southern
Maryland. If you haven’t been to an
advanced training in a while and would
like a refresher, you are welcome to sit
in. Visit the Bay-Wise website,
www.baywise.umd.edu, for specific
dates, sites and times. Ask the contact
person whether there is room in the
class for you. You don’t have to pay the
registration fee but you must bring your
own HomeWork binder because you
won’t receive a new one (unless you
pay the registration fee).
I showcased five counties and their
projects:
1. Talbot – Tred Avon Watershed
2. Howard – Wood Elves Way
Watershed
3. Cecil – Rain Barrels for county WIP
4. Carroll – King Park Wetlands
5. Baltimore – Jennifer Branch
Watershed
Watch the Bay-Wise website in the next
few weeks for details of these projects.
Thank you to those Bay-Wise chairs
who, under a short turn-around time,
supplied me with great information and
images to educate attendees about our
program.
To schedule an advanced training for
your county, assemble a group of at
least twenty Master Gardeners (don’t
forget you can work with other counties
to reach your minimum of 20 attendees),
select three training dates and a venue
and then contact Wanda MacLachlan to
work out a schedule.
Bay-Wise Program Featured on
Campus at 2012 Convocation
In May, “Applying the Land Grant
Mission to Achieving a Better Bay” was
the theme at the College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources’ annual
Convocation Awards Program. BayWise as one of five Extension programs
featured. I had seven minutes and used
12 slides to explain the program (to an
audience of about 150 campus
students, professors and administrators,
some whom didn’t even know what
University of Maryland Extension was)
and highlight a few of its impacts around
the state.
News From the Counties:
Anne Arundel
Jim MacNicholl welcomes his new cochair, Robin Gill. Their committee is 20
strong. They’ve certified 14 landscapes
since last year including three belonging
to Master Gardeners. They also certified
two non-residential and nine client
landscapes. One noteworthy site was
the Governor’s Mansion Vegetable
Garden. They also taught a landscape
design for storm water management
class on “Rain Barrel Installation” for the
Master Gardener Annual Training Day
on College Park campus in May. Jim
additionally reports, “We participated
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August 10, 2012
with the following community events:
Learning Landscapes at Crofton Library,
Annapolis Garden Club Flower Mart,
Rain Garden Installation in Crofton,
Dairy Farm Open House. We are
currently working with the Hollyberry
Garden Club to certify landscapes of
members of the club.”
Baltimore City
Chair, Betty Biliske, is excited to report
that her committee has grown from 9 to
31 in the past six months. The group
has certified 4 demo landscapes, 15
client landscapes (eight belonging to
Master Gardeners) and 1 nonresidential site, the Village Learning
Place.
Betty also reports, “Baltimore City’s BayWise program is enjoying a banner year.
In March we partnered with Baltimore
County to host a Bay-Wise advanced
training. Twenty-three Baltimore City
Master Gardeners completed the
course. They got right to work and
certified a total of nineteen gardens.
“Once again we taught the Bay-Wise
intern class in collaboration with
Baltimore County Master Gardener,
Jack Leonard. Ten of the thirty-one
interns signed up to have their yards
certified. We gave Bay-Wise
presentations at two community
greening and storm water management
workshops sponsored by Parks &
People, the Lunch and Learn program
sponsored by the State Highway
Administration for its employees,
Baltimore City’s April Ecofest, a garden
club and Cylburn Arboretum. We
reached 96 people as a result of the six
presentations.
“The Bay-Wise program was featured in
the Charles Village newspaper in
conjunction with the Spring Walk in
Charles Village. Five residents signed
up to have their yards Bay-Wise certified
as a result of the press. After the
garden at the Village Learning Place
(VLP) was certified an e-newsletter from
the VLP included an extensive
description of Bay-Wise gardening.
“It was gratifying to have so many of the
new Bay-Wise graduates jump in to
make presentations and certify yards.
We hope to capitalize on all of this
energy in the coming months by starting
to Bay-Wise certify some of the many
urban farming endeavors being
undertaken by a variety of organizations
and individuals in the city. Judging by
the numbers of people who solicited
information on the program, it is clear
that people are recognizing that the Bay
starts in their yards.”
Baltimore County
Co-Chairs, Kim Barnes and Carolyn
Vane inform us that their committee has
grown to 30 members. With the
additional members, the committee has
certified 3 Bay-Wise demo sites, 8
residential and 1 non-residential
landscapes in the past six months. The
non-residential site happened to be their
Bay-Wise Demonstration Garden at the
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August 10, 2012
Baltimore County Center for Maryland
Agriculture (their local Extension office).
They also report that since the
beginning of the year their team gave
presentations to six different groups
reaching 178 people including 92 youth.
They also inform us: “One of this year’s
goals for the Baltimore County BayWise Committee is to encourage our
own Master Gardeners to have their
landscapes Bay-Wise certified. In the
first six months of 2012 our committee
has certified eight more BCMG yards,
bringing our total percentage certified up
to about 30% of our membership. We
will continue to work on increasing that
as the year continues. Three of these
are Demonstration landscapes for
Master Gardeners who recently
completed the Bay-Wise Advanced
Training. Together with Baltimore City
Master Gardeners, we hosted an
Advanced Training course in March
2012.
“Two Bay-Wise committee members,
Leslie Erickson and Chris Potts, are
representing the Baltimore County
Master Gardeners by serving in an
advisory role on a project with the
Gunpowder Valley Conservancy (GVC).
The GVC received a grant from the
Chesapeake Bay Trust to do market
research in the Middle River/Tidal
Gunpowder area of Baltimore
County. Some of the aspects of the
project include:
developing and conducting a survey
to ask about opinions on landscaping
practices affecting water quality;
convening focus groups to help
identify three landscaping practices
that will be used in the project.
A new grant request, to implement some
of the practices identified in the surveys,
has been submitted by the GVC for
funding, and we have committed our
continued support.
“We have taken advantage of several
opportunities to educate our county
residents about the importance of BayWise Best Management Practices. Our
Bay-Wise Master Gardeners gave
presentations on Bay-Wise Landscaping
to three garden clubs in Baltimore
County. This spring three committee
members demonstrated the “Who
Polluted the Potomac” activity at
Banneker Park on Earth Day, at
Eastwood Elementary School’s
Environmental Fair, and for the
Reisterstown Elementary Green Club.
“Under Carolyn Vane’s leadership, our
Bay-Wise Demonstration Garden has
been installed and transformed into a
beautiful and educational garden space.
It is part of a much larger and expanding
Master Gardener Demonstration Garden
at the new Baltimore County Center for
Maryland Agriculture – you are welcome
to come and visit!”
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August 10, 2012
Calvert
Judy Kay, Chair, informs us that there
are 19 members of the Calvert County
committee this year. Besides reaching
18 garden club members* and 13
county residents (during a class at a
local library) about Bay-Wise practices
in two separate sessions, this committee
certified four client landscapes sites
since last year. *Judy shares that after
the class, their committee certified the
yard of the garden club president with
commentary for other members. Other
visits and certifications will follow. A
similar result occurred after the class at
the local library.
Judy also reports, “After going through
Bay-Wise training and having his yard
certified, one of our Master Gardeners
installed a rain garden at the bottom of a
slope to trap and filter runoff from the
street before it enters a fresh-water lake.
This project was completed Spring,
2012. Here is his description: ‘The
garden is approximately 146 sq. ft.
From the top edges, it is 32 ” deep, level
at the bottom lined with landscaping
fabric, 9” of gravel covered with more
landscaping fabric, 16” of top soil mixed
with leaf compost, and originally
covered with 2” of shredded mulch.
Much of the mulch is now mixed in the
first couple inches of top soil and, during
heavy rains, collected near the back
overflow drain. I originally planned it for
about 20” but found I was in thick clay
that did not perk. Most all the plants are
native.’
Rain Garden built by Dom Raino, Calvert County
Master Gardener, near inland fresh water lake.
“On a visit to waterfront homeowners
last year, they had begun removing
invasive plants. We encouraged them
to apply for a permit from Planning and
Zoning which they did. In addition to
adding native plants we recommended,
they are adding Spartina grasses along
the edge of the bank. They also
qualified for free native trees and shrubs
under the Calvert County Critical Area
Reforestation program. They continue
to work on the property and add native
plants. They did not think it was ready
for certification this year but we will be in
contact next year.
“A visit to another waterfront
homeowner last fall resulted in the
removal of a large area of Japanese
Stiltgrass and Lirope. He also applied
for trees and shrubs under the
Reforestation program and these
plantings were completed in the spring.
He will be contacted again this fall for a
certification visit.
“There have been other small steps
taken by other homeowners to control
stormwater runoff through rain barrels
and other means and almost all have
added native plants to their landscapes.”
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August 10, 2012
Carroll
Carroll County Master Gardeners are
giving McDaniel College students in a
2012 spring semester environmental
problem solving class the opportunity to
gain practical experience to complement
the theory they’ve learned in the
classroom. These Master Gardeners
are teaching the students how to identify
and remove invasive plant species as
they transform an eyesore in the park
back into a functioning wetland fed by a
natural spring. Even local neighbors are
helping out with the restoration. It is
planned that future classes take off
where the previous class ended to
complete the living
classroom/demonstration project.
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news
/local/master-gardeners-mcdaniel-teamup-on-westminster-wetlandsproject/article_f8781163-7808-55cc8dfe-0ca0d7336b44.html
Chair, Marilyn Phillips, reports that
their committee of 10 certified four
landscapes since last report. One site
belongs to a Bay-Wise Master Gardener
and is a demo site and the other sites
are maintained by local Master
Gardeners – let’s hope they’ll soon
enroll in a Bay-Wise Advanced Training
so they can switch out their signs for the
coveted demo sign! Marilyn’s report is
as follows: “In June, we held an open
house with tours of our various gardens
around the Extension office & Ag. Ctr.,
including the GIEI & Bay-Wise Demo
rain garden. We had about 30 folks
stop by to see the garden, ask questions
& pick up handouts. One M. G.’s
husband spent a lot of time at the rain
garden, asked a lot of questions, and
then followed through by installing his
own rain garden at home. The St.
James Episcopal Church rain garden
project is pending grant money being
sought by the church’s garden
committee. We sent letters of intent to
be included in the proposals, and
hopefully the project will stay on track
for a start up in the fall. When finished,
the garden will be Bay-Wise certified,
and will definitely be an educational
demonstration garden for the church,
the community and the county.”
Cecil
Cecil County Master Gardeners are
working with local officials to address
nutrient and sediment reductions within
their county. The Cecil County
Watershed Implementation Plan is being
developed to provide “reasonable
assurance” that the county can and will
achieved the goals. One way to meet
the goal is to reduce the flow of
stormwater that carries the pollutants
from residents’ properties. The Cecil
County Master Gardeners held their first
rain garden workshop in February. With
a wait list, they are planning others.
After their first Bay-Wise Advanced
Training, a new Bay-Wise Committee is
about to form in the northeast corner of
our state. Master Gardener Coordinator,
Doris Behnke, reports that their almostcommittee has already certified one
non-residential landscape (the North
Bay Environmental Center). Hopefully
by the next issue of this newsletter the
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August 10, 2012
group will have formally formed their
committee. Doris shares, “Cecil County
Master Gardeners Kordell Wilen and
Gail Sentman had an informational
booth at the Annual Wade-In event held
at the Elk Neck State Park in July. They
provided the public with the Bay-Wise
program information and encouraged
the public to participate and get their
lawns certified. They also had t-shirts for
sale that had the Cecil County MG logo
on the front, and the Heron with marsh
grass, with the saying, “Bay Love. BayWise,” on the back of a light blue shirt.”
Charles
Co-chairs Ronda Goldman and
Jessica Milstead share that their
committee now has 11 members.
Although they did not certify any
residential landscapes so far this year,
they’ve occupied themselves with giving
Bay-Wise presentations to 5 adults and
20 students at Thomas Stone High
School. According to Ronda, “Spring
time was a dormant period for the BayWise team in Charles County, which
gave us an opportunity to work on
internal strategies such as forecasting,
team development, and project
brainstorming. In order to facilitate an
easier system that can accommodate all
volunteer schedules, the BW Committee
was divided into two teams:
Certification Lead and Processing. The
Certification Lead team is responsible
for scouting and contacting potential
clients. Once the site has been prepped
and prepared, the processing team
assembles materials and completes the
certification. In the upcoming months
we will have the opportunity to observe
the process and determine if it creates a
seamless certification and exciting
experience.
“We are looking forward to a fantastic
fall season which will include the
certification of the Nanjemoy Creek
Environmental Education Center. The
center is a school site located on 10
acres along Nanjemoy Creek and
provides hands on environmental
educational experiences for Charles
County’s students. Under the
leadership of Paula Batzer, the
landscape has remained a wildlife
habitat that encompasses forest,
meadow, coastal, and wetland habitats.”
Frederick
Ruth Axelrod, Chair, informs us that
their committee has grown from 17 to 22
in the past six months. Since winter they
have only certified one Bay-Wise
demonstration landscape but the group
has been active in the area of teaching
and outreach. She also reports the
following: “Frederick County Bay-Wise
Master Gardeners were very active
during the first six months of the year.
We gave eight talks—two in
collaboration with County-organized
environmental programs--and staffed
five public events, through which we
engaged more than 200 people in indepth learning and another 150 in brief
discussions about various aspects of
BW conservation landscaping and
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August 10, 2012
gardening, including techniques for
stormwater management.
• February 25, 2012: Ag Week in the
Mall-- Staffed a display and information
booth; talked with 52+ people.
• April 5, 2012: Fort Detrick Earth Day-Staffed a display and information booth
in collaboration with Washington
County; talked with 45+ people (WC
volunteers talked with as many more).
• April 27, 2012: Monocacy Valley
Montessori Public Charter School
(Frederick, MD)—Set up an unstaffed
display seen by approximately 80
families.
• May 19, 2012: Historic Homes Trades
Fair at Schifferstadt House (Frederick,
MD)—Staffed a display and information
booth; talked with 32+ people.
• May 19, 2012: Beyond the Garden
Gates Tour (Frederick, MD)--Arranged
to send a paragraph about Bay-Wise
Landscape Certification to the homes
selected for the tour. Several
responded positively though only one
followed through (Harriet Wise a BayWise MG). Staffed a display (along with
other MG display) and information booth
in her backyard; talked with 30+ people.
“In addition to certifying one landscape,
we consulted on topics related to BW
conservation landscaping and
gardening, (a) working with a downtown
Frederick church to recommend plants
for a native garden and doing site visits
to talk with 3 FCMGs and one client
regarding stormwater management,
including possible bogs and rain
gardens.
“We also distributed native seeds and
plants through an MG-Only Seed Swap
(February), our public Plant Sale (April),
and to individual MGs and clients.
Since our Demonstration Garden, at 330
Montevue Lane, has now been
refurbished, we installed a fresh, new
BW sign to signify the commitment of all
FCMGs to conservation gardening.
“Lastly, we created a display that
highlights the BW-certified landscapes
in our county. We arranged with
Frederick County to print a map that
shows the major roads and streets
overlaying the watersheds, then
mounted it and inserted color-coded
pins to mark BW MG, MG, client and
public landscapes.”
Harford
Bay-Wise Master Gardener Chair, Joan
Parris informs us that they now have 40
members on their committee. Since last
report they have certified 5 client (3
belonging to local Master Gardeners)
landscapes. She also reports, “Harford
County Bay-Wise Master Gardeners
were busy this spring with a number of
community activities. Linda Baker and
Marlene Butler presented “Who’s
Polluting the Chesapeake Bay” at Christ
our King Church. We had Bay-Wise
tables at Aberdeen Earth Day where the
children planted sunflowers. At Arbor
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August 10, 2012
Day at the Scarboro landfill, we helped
plant trees and gave out Bay-Wise
information. In addition, Master
Gardeners participated in Spring Flings
at Manor Tavern and at St. John’s
Methodist. We ended our spring
activities with representation at the
annual Wade-In at Anita Leight Estuary
Center.”
Howard
Bay-Wise Master Gardener Chair,
Linda Decker reports that one of their
Bay-Wise Master Gardeners, Bob
Nixon, has an excellent blog. “It started
a couple of years ago with postings
about deer related issues but it has
grown in scope and following. Bob is
working with our Bay-Wise team to
include a series on Bay-Wise topics that
will be occasionally featured.”
Linda also shared info about a project
the committee has also been working
on. “Last year in Howard County we
participated in a community plan to
address an area that has a serious
storm water issue. It is an older
neighborhood in Columbia, MD where
the developer had graded all the
properties to funnel storm water into the
street and down to the storm drain at the
bottom of the cul de sac. The result was
that over the years serious eroding of a
dry stream bed has occurred and this
feeds silt and pollutants into the Middle
Patuxent River. We were approached
by the principals at Micro-watershed to
work with them on a project to restore
the stream bed and also provide
homeowners with advice to make
changes in their landscapes that would
minimize future recurrence of the
problem.
During and after bio-log installation in streambed
“We set up an information tent at the
base of the street next to the outfall on a
Saturday morning. Invitations had been
delivered to all the homeowners on the
street to meet with us and learn about
the project. We had handouts,
information posters, demo rain barrels
and MGs at the meeting. Coffee and
cookies helped people to linger and talk
with us. Folks were invited to take a
tour of the damaged area and learn how
it occurred, the plans for its repair and
actions they could take to contain storm
water on their properties. We offered
site consultations to the residents and
subsequently we sent out teams of MGs
to meet with folks at their homes. In
many cases redirecting downspouts and
adding planting beds will make a
significant impact.”
Prince George’s
Franchella Kendall, Chair, reports that
their committee of 25 members certified
two residential sites. She adds that on
“March 7, 2012 we presented an
overview of the Bay-Wise program to
the Prince George’s County MG Intern
Class reaching 25.”
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August 10, 2012
St. Mary’s
Fran Cook and Linda Crandall, CoChairs, report that since last report their
committee of 7 members has been quite
busy. They’ve reached 82 county
residents, including 30 Master Gardener
interns, teaching 3 classes and 345
local adults and youth by staffing booths
at 23 community events. They’ve also
certified landscapes. One belongs to a
Bay-Wise Master Gardener; nine are
client landscapes (6 belonging to local
Master Gardeners) and three are nonresidential sites. Linda adds, “Our team
has been very active this spring. We
certified 13 new properties, and thru our
increasing outreach we have continued
to add to our list of people who are
interested in a Bay-Wise visit. We have
a strong team that is committed to the
Bay-Wise vision and is wonderfully
willing to work hard to reach out to our
community and share information with
them. Along with presentations we have
done for local groups, classes we have
taught, and setting up (and staffing) our
display at public events, we are
currently working with a local group that
is developing a pilot ‘Neighborhood
Rewards’ program to encourage
communities to work together to
improve our local environment. We
hope to make Bay-Wise the backbone
of that program.
“Our goals for the remainder of the year
include; completing our work to create
an organization structure that will
effectively support our team efforts,
doubling the number of properties we
have certified so far this year, continuing
to work with the St. Mary’s County
Public School System to certify our local
school properties, and setting up a
system to stay in touch with our local
Bay-Wise families. We would love for
them to see the Bay-Wise Certification
process, as just the first step on the
‘Best Management Practices’ path, and
one that will become the foundation of a
safe, effective and sustainable
landscape.”
Talbot
Chair, Lynn Freeburger, reports there
are now 16 active committee members.
In the first half of the year the committee
certified nine landscapes (six client and
three demo) in addition to 30 more
consultations that will probably lead to
more certifications. The committee
reached 100 Easton Elementary School
3rd graders in May with their “From My
Backyard to the Bay” program. Lynn
added, “This event was the grand finale
of our Tred Avon Grant. The 100 third
graders learned about non-point
pollution, trash, pesticides, storm water
run-off and poop and how all of these
things impact the Bay.” One impact of
the grant was that 79 people had their
soil tested. Over 80 per cent of the
people had never taken a soil test
before. Good job!
Page 12
August 10, 2012
More Assorted Stuff
Stormwater Management Videos
New Bay-Wise Signs Are Available
Longtime Bay-Wise Master Gardener,
Louisa Thompson was searching for
ways to explain storm drains and rain
gardens to her 6-year old grandson
when she came upon some informative
videos. PLEASE NOTE: these videos
were made by companies to promote
their products. University of Maryland
Extension or the Maryland Bay-Wise
Landscape Management Program does
not endorse any of these products. The
graphics may help you visualize how
stormwater can move underground.
Due to the demand, we had to order
more signs a few months ago. The price
has increased by one dollar. So the
signs with accompanying post now cost
$10.35. When you are ready to order
more signs & posts, visit the Bay-Wise
website and click on the link For BW
MGs Only and cursor down the page to
the link where you can download the
new order form.
New Bay-Wise MD Yardstick for
Non-Residential Landscapes
Speaking of signs, many of you have
been asking for larger signs and for a
new Yardstick specifically for certifying
non-residential
sites. My workload
has not allowed
me to address
that need so I am
asking for your
help. Submit your
ideas for adapting
the current
Yardstick to one
for non-residential
landscapes. I’d
like to form a
small committee to help move the
process along. If you are interested in
helping to come up with ideas for the
content for the new Yardstick, please
contact me at wtm@umd.edu.
Louisa shares, “Below are links to
videos that MGs may find helpful in
understanding how to route water to a
rain garden. (They don't show rain
gardens, just infiltration into a lawn, but
it would work the same way.) They're
intended for homeowners, I think, or
maybe contractors. The first 2-3 videos
begin with the same intro (boring) but
the remainder is good.
http://www.ndspro.com/videolibrary/training/training-videos/
“For parking lots and new housing
developments, there's some inspiring
and informative product information at
http://www.modularwetlands.com/.
These are the type of unit in use in
Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA.
“I hope you're also familiar with Stuart
Echols' website,
http://www.artfulrainwaterdesign.net/abo
ut . He's a professor at Penn State
trying to popularize rain gardens etc.,
especially by making them beautiful –
lots of photos of project examples.”
Page 13
August 10, 2012
New USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
Map is Here!
The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
Map is now available. You may notice
that you are now in a different hardiness
zone as compared to the previous map.
Hardiness zones are based on the
average annual minimum temperatures
during the past 30-year period. Our
temperatures have been incrementally
rising over the past few decades, thus
redefining our zones.
According to their website, the USDA’s
Agricultural Research Service states,
“For the first time, the map is available
as an interactive GIS-based map, for
which a broadband Internet connection
is recommended, and as static images
for those with slower Internet access.
Users may also simply type in a ZIP
Code and find the hardiness zone for
that area.
“No posters of the USDA Plant
Hardiness Zone Map have been printed.
But state, regional, and national images
of the map can be downloaded and
printed in a variety of sizes and
resolutions.” Visit
http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov to
see and download your new map.
Interested in Planting Trees?
The Maryland Urban and
Community Forest
Committee (MUCFC) is a
volunteer group of citizens,
professionals, and
government officials united
to protect and enhance Maryland's
forest ecosystems. MUCFC is a subcommittee of the Maryland Association
of Forest Conservancy District Boards.
Every county in the state has a Forestry
Board. The primary functions of the
Committee are to 1.) Promote and
coordinate the Maryland Community
PLANT award program that officially
recognizes communities planting and
caring for trees, and 2.) Administer
grants to communities, through their
local Forestry Boards, that promote
planting and care of trees. If you are
interested and would like more
information about membership, please
contact Wayne Lucas, 301-324-2684 or
me, at 410-531-5973.
If you are interested in applying for a
grant of up to $1,500, or learning more
about MUCFC, visit:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/progr
ams/urban/mcfc.asp
Page 14
August 10, 2012
Pesticide Stewardship Website
According to its website, the National
Science Foundation Center for
Integrated Pest Management (CIPM)
was established in 1991 to coordinate
technology development, program
implementation, training, and public
awareness for IPM at the state, regional,
and national level. They developed a
multi-functional website that includes all
the information a homeowner needs to
know about pesticides. Check it out at:
http://pesticidestewardship.org/Pages/d
efault.aspx Cursor down near the
bottom of the left side menu to see the
section on homeowners. Find useful fact
sheets here.
Is Your Landscape Certified?
Are you among the few, the proud, the
“certified?” Has your landscape been
certified as Bay-Wise yet? If you
answered “no” to these two questions, it
is time to move into action. One of the
successful indicators of the Bay-Wise
Landscape Management Program is to
have all Bay-Wise Master Gardeners’
landscapes certified as demonstration
landscapes. So far there are 360 “demo
landscapes” throughout the state. If
yours isn’t one of them, and you know
who you are, contact your county’s BayWise committee chair to set up an
appointment. The process is easy & fun
and one of the rewards is increased
visibility in your neighborhood as an
expert on ecologically sound
landscaping.
Contact Information
wtm@umd.edu
410-531-5973
11975 Homewood Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
www.baywise.umd.edu
Wanda MacLachlan