Central Maryland Research and Education Center Covering 1/1 through 6/30/2018

Bay-Wise Master Gardener Update

To: Bay-Wise Master Gardeners and MG Coordinators, Sherry Frick; Erin Mellenthin,

Alexa Smarr, Courtney Coddington, Doris Behnke; Luke Gustafson; Emily Zobel; Susan Trice; Ashley Bodkins; Joyce Browning; Georgia Eacker; Sabine Harvey; Esther Mitchell; Rachel Rhodes; Mary Antonelli; Michaela Boley; Annette Cormany; Ginny Rosenkranz; Sara Tangren, Beth Bukoski, and Jon Traunfeld

From: Wanda MacLachlan Subject: Bay-Wise Update Date: July, 2018

Greetings We began 2018 with another winter of wacky weather followed by an overly wet spring. Devastating floods in Frederick and Ellicott City made headlines. Perhaps it was the weather, but for some reason, we seem to have gotten off to a slow start, Bay-Wise. But despite a sluggish beginning of the year, some committees have kept pace with past accomplishments. See our new table on page 2 that summarizes all Bay-Wise certifications statewide. Although Bay-Wise has a new look, logo-wise, based on your feedback, we’ve tried to keep a little bit of our old identity. Our new signs carry our favorite blue heron as well as our new logo in a different shade of blue (almost gray). For those that missed the memo in our last newsletter, see page 11 to find out how to update your local identity items and publications.

Certified Landscapes According to my records, we’ve only had two new Bay-Wise Master Gardener landscapes certified as demonstration sites since our last newsletter. The names of the proud owners, the counties where they live, along with the dates of certification of these special landscapes are listed on the following page.

to you for your landscape certifications. Hopefully you’ll be joined by more during the second half of 2018! Bay-Wise Advanced Trainings This spring was quite unusual. We had no Bay-Wise Advanced Training sessions scheduled.

(410) 531-5973 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

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2018 Certified Demo Landscapes Between 1/1 & 6/30/18

(listed by certification date) First Name Last Name County B-W Training Demo Certification Date Kit Paschyn Anne Arundel 3/11/2017 6/5/2018 Barbara Hays Charles 4/23/2016 6/29/2018

2018 Certified Landscapes by County Between 1/1 & 6/30/18 Spring 2018

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BW MG 1 1 2 MG 5 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 15 Client 34 5 2 2 1 5 2 1 2 1 55 Non-residential 3 1 1 5 43 9 3 3 1 1 8 1 3 1 2 2 77

Upcoming Advanced Trainings So far, we have one scheduled Bay-Wise advanced training for Queen Anne’s County in September. Calvert County is hoping to conduct training in March, 2019. For more details, visit our website, www.extension.umd.edu/baywise, and look for the link in the top right corner to find out when the next training in your area will occur. As always, if you haven’t attended one in a while and would like a refresher, you are welcome to sit in on an advanced training if space is available. 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). To schedule an advanced training for your county, assemble a group of at least 20 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 Statistics 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 2,048 client landscapes and 229 non-residential landscapes. In addition, 635 of you have had your landscapes certified as demo sites (and 482 are still maintained as such)! Since our inception, we have trained a total of 1,370 Master Gardeners as Bay-Wise volunteers and 431 of you are still actively participating on your local committees.

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News From the Counties: Anne Arundel It looks like this team has again won the award for largest number of certified landscapes! Co-chairs, Jim MacNicholl and Robin Gill, report that their committee grew to 35 members over the past six months. They have certified 1 demo site, 39 client landscapes, and 3 non-residential sites (Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, Hillbottom Beach, and Cape St. Clair Clubhouse). They currently have 3 ongoing consultations that should soon lead to certifications. Longtime co-chairs, Jim and Robin report the following: “2018 is promising to be a great year for Bay-Wise in Anne Arundel County. We are delighted to welcome interns Barbara Anderson, Bonnie Cook, Kara Flaherty, Elaine Heilman, Tamia Karpeles, Lisa Marcus, Eric Smith and Lyle Stafford, and lined up experienced Bay-Wise MGs to serve as mentors. Also, we are delighted to welcome new committee members: Robert Bochar, Lise Crafton, Elpis Ecklin, Meg Kauder, Vera Pond, Laura Schrank, Penny Smith and Trish Willis. And we cannot thank our returning members enough for all they contribute to our mission of encouraging sustainable practices among County residents! ”Yard Visit/ Certification Program – We currently have 106 requested yard visits logged. As of June 30th, we completed 46 visits with 43 Yard Certifications, and 3 consultation visits. Resources, Outreach, and Noteworthy Events “Davidsonville Green Expo, March 24. Our team—Anne Biddle, Cyrena Simons, Denise Elliott, Serena Boyd, Pat Mitchell, Penny Smith, and Cherie Loustaunau—engaged 105 people and distributed Bay-Wise materials and new handouts they created on local tree identification, native trees, invasive trees, invasive ivy, and mulching. They received 9 yard visit requests. “Galesville Heritage Society, February 25. At the request of one of her yard-visit clients, Diana Keener presented to this group in a waterfront

community that is experiencing a lot of storm water-related challenges, and which has an ongoing community-based commitment to Bay-Wise stewardship. Annual Spring Into Action ”Conference, February 24. For the third year in a row, Committee members attended this highly informative conference, described as “fantastic” and a “not to miss event.” Presentations this year on “detoxing” our landscapes, producing food with forest gardens, healthy soil, citizen stewardship, and other topics that made it hard to choose one session over another. We also staffed an “Ask-An-Expert” information table, with help from Brenda Darr, Allissa Ellison, Robin Gill, Meg Hosmer, Ellen Levin, Elle McGee, Pat Morrison, Joan O'Connor and Mary Yee. The Bay-Wise team is looking forward to strengthening its relationship with Watershed Stewards this year.

“Magothy River Association's Annual Meeting, February 23. Elle McGee and Kay Stringfellow enthusiastically presented the Bay-Wise message to a very interested group and received 6 yard visit requests. “Cape St. Claire Garden Club Bay-Wise Presentation, February 6. They were expecting 30 attendees, but 50 turned out for Becky Peterson

Page 4 of 13 and Mary Yee’s presentation to a group that has been actively encouraging Bay-Wise practices in their community. The presentation was promoted with a nice advance article in the Capital Gazette. They received 12 yard visit requests. “Hillsmere Garden Club Bay-Wise Presentation, March 28. Robin Gill spoke with 32 members of the Hills- mere Garden Club. Members expressed eagerness to learn more good practices and have an active role in protecting the bay. We have 10 new yard visits as a result. “Annapolis Capital Gazette News Article, June 16. Nancy Allred, Kay Stringfellow, and Robin Gill provided details about our Bay-Wise program for an article titled “Greenery Solutions” by the late Wendi Winters of the Capital Gazette. Please see the link for this article below on page 38. http://digitaledition.capitalgazette.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?&edid=cd749777-a6cf-44f8-8351-a08e40a15e1a.” Baltimore County Leslie Erickson has a new co-Chair, Debbie Bacharach, who has replaced Carolyn Vane. They inform us that their 40+/- active committee members have certified 3 client landscapes in the past six months. They also made one consultation that should lead to a certification later this year. Since January 1, their team taught Bay-Wise principles to 412 adults and 809 youth at 16 different events. They report: “We have had a very slow start for completed Bay-Wise certifications this year. We have numerous completed Yardsticks at hand and are having difficulties scheduling home visits to finish the process of certification. We are hopeful that the second half of 2018 will have more certification activity. “On the other hand, there are a few of us who can do “Who Polluted” in our sleep after doing multiple back-to-back demonstrations for spring school Earth Days. Our Watershed Model has also come in handy for such events. We’ve also had the new

experience of teaching Bay-Wise principles to developmentally disabled adults on several occasions. “Our partnership with the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy’s Clear Creeks Project continues to expand in the more upland Lower Gunpowder watershed. “The 3 Bay-Wise Gardens in the Baltimore County Master Gardeners Demo Garden are sporting new signs (with new logos) and new plants in the Habitat area. Debbie Bacharach (assisted by Jennifer Keetley) is taking the lead after the departure of long time Co-Chair Carolyn Vane. Do stop by if you are in the area. We are always open.”

New signage in Bay-Wise Demonstration Garden

Baltimore City Co-chairs, Dorothy Wells, Debbie Schwartz, and Stephanie Chupein, report that their committee of 35 certified 1 demo, 1 non-residential (Digital High

Page 5 of 13 School and Community Garden), and 8 client, landscapes during the first half of 2018. Here is their report: “On June 16, 2018, the Bay-Wise Committee hosted our 5th annual public garden tour. The tour this year consisted of 10 gardens in the Roland Park area, including the Quaker Meeting House rain garden, Friends School, and 8 residential gardens. Representatives from Friends School helped answer questions about the rain management gardens installed at the school. Betty Walke presented a program about butterflies at one garden. The Audubon Society was available at another garden. One homeowner had several bee hives and a pond with rescued turtles. Many of the homeowners have replaced their front yards with native plant gardens. We had a beautiful day for the 80 garden tour participants.” Calvert New Chair, Melanie Crowder, shares that the Calvert County committee of 24 has certified 3 client landscapes since the beginning of the year. They currently have 11 ongoing consultations that should soon lead to certifications in 2018. The team was busy giving presentations to and staffing exhibits for 211 resident (including 20 youth) in 8 different events. She also reports the following impacts: • As a result of the Rain Barrel Workshop hosted

by Chesapeake Beach and North Beach Green Teams, 6 persons called for Bay-wise consultations, resulting in one certification. All 35 attendees left with at least one rain barrel, and 5 were delivered later in the week. This was coordinated with Maryland Sea Grant.

• As a result of the Chesapeake Beach Green team article on Buffer gardens, 4 homeowners requested Bay-wise visits. 3 visits resulted from the Green Expo. 19 visit requests were received from the Master Garden Plant Sale.

Melanie shares, “Calvert County Bay-Wise Master Gardeners started off the year with a positive effort by offering three Bay-Wise Community talks by Judy Kay, Bay-Wise Master Gardener and Melanie Crowder. The talks were met with enthusiasm by

the North Beach Home and Garden Club, Retired Federal Workers and the Garden Smarter attendees. A team of Bay-Wise leads met early in the year to develop an updated list of publications, to include in the Homeowner information packet as well as a new trifold informational display for community events. As a result several Calvert Master Gardener brochures including the “Calvert County Native Plants” and “Calvert County Bay-Wise Resource List” were also revised. Thank you Judy Kay, Karen Anderson and Deborah Noyes for your outstanding contributions.

Master Gardeners, Denise Moroney, Penny Jacobs and Deborah Noyes, at the North Beach Farmers Market. They always have Bay-Wise signup sheets and literature at the Master Gardener table. ”The Bay-Wise Master Gardeners were represented at five local community events including The Bay Bash (sponsored by local high school students), Earth Day at Calvert Health, The Master Gardener Plant Sale, a Rain-barrel Work shop sponsored by the Chesapeake Beach Green Team and the Calvert County Green Expo. Dom Raino, Denise Moroney, Judy Kay, Karen Anderson and Melanie Crowder were among those who staffed the well-attended events. These outreach efforts resulted in a number of requests for Bay- wise consultations and several yard certifications. Several other homeowner requests are pending completion. An article on “Buffer Gardening” written by Melanie Crowder and published in The Chesapeake Beach Green Team newsletter also resulted in several requests for home owner visits.

Page 6 of 13 “Plans are underway for a Bay-Wise team meeting in August, with the intention of developing plans for successful fall Bay-Wise activities. Among our goals is to host an Advanced Bay-wise training work shop in early 2019.” Carroll Former Chair, John Hubbs, emeritus, submits his final report. He reports that their committee of 11 active members certified 1 client landscape in the first half of 2018. They reported teaching 65 adults and 220 youth, during 6 different classes/meetings. John reports, “With the crazy weather this spring, we finally got 2018 underway outside in April! Several Bay-Wise Master Gardeners assisted MG Anna Letaw with leading 212 East Middle School 7th graders to install 1500 native plants around the city’s storm-water basin. She was assisted by Christa Pusateri, Judi Martin-Johnson and Nancy Bittler. We worked 3 days one week apart with 2 - 4 groups per day and 20-35 students per group. The hour with each group started with a member of the Bureau of Resource Management (BRM) talking about eutrophication (oxygen depletion in bodies of water) followed by the Master Gardeners’ brief demonstration of how to prepare the soil and protect roots after carefully removing seedlings from trays. If the students were unable to complete their plantings, the adults got it done.

“In the picture above, Anna (in foreground with white pants, red coat, and purple cap) is checking to ensure proper placement of plants in the 10 X 10 foot beds. Half of the 25 native plants in many beds were designated for higher and drier ground; the

other half (who can tolerate “getting their feet wet”) were placed lower in the basin. After an adult’s approval of placement, the students were able to “get dirty” and work in the soil for cleaner waters in Carroll County. (Photo approved by East Middle School principal)” Cecil Master Gardener Coordinator, Doris Behnke, reports that their committee is in limbo right now. Charles Co-chairs, Janet McGrane and Rose Markham inform us that their 28-member team certified one demo landscape so far this year. They gave a Bay-Wise presentation to 13 adults and also gave two “Who Polluted the Potomac?” simulations to 40 attendees, including 24 youth.

Pictured in the photo left to right are Tima McGuthry-Banks, Janet

McGrane and Harriet Beck at Port Tobacco Market Day Janet reports: “In March, the Bay-Wise program was featured in a special Home and Garden section of the Independent and other Southern Maryland newspapers. Janet McGrane and Rose Markham were interviewed by the reporter and included a picture of one of our certified landscapes. In May, Bay-Wise MG's attended Port Tobacco Market Day at the historic Port Tobacco Courthouse. We shared information on the Bay-Wise program with at least 30 adults and youth. Also in May, we introduced Cobb Islanders to the Bay-Wise program at their May meeting. We are in the process of scheduling certifications for those interested. In June, we met

Page 7 of 13 with parents and youth at Camp Merrick Family Camp where we did Who Polluted the Potomac with the youth campers. Very fitting as Camp Merrick is located on the Potomac River.” Frederick Chair, Jan Knox, is supported by Subcommittee chairs: Barbara Millunzi, certifications; and Suzanne Hill, education. The Frederick Co. Committee consists of 23 active members. They certified 7 client, and 1 non-residential landscape (Myersville Elementary School) sites so far this year. They have 2 ongoing consultations that should lead to certifications later this year. They also reached 353 residents (including 57 youth) during 11 different events. Jan submits the following report: “1.) We are still in the process of developing a 16 page pamphlet for developers and builders to use native plants in their new home builds. 2.) Harriet Wise is coordinating with Frederick City to certify 5 City Parks. 3.) We have a committee which is working with Frederick Memorial Hospital as educators on how to make all of their campuses Bay-Wise Certified. 4.) We created a Marketing Committee to create more ways to reach out to the community and have their yards Bay-Wise Certified. Our goal this year is to have 30 certifications. 5.) And last but not least we are now meeting in the LARGE conference room at the extension office because we have more members attending our meetings.”

Frederick County Bay-Wise Master Gardener, Chris Renshaw’s

“messy” certified garden

Harford Chair, Beatrice Filburn, is still dealing with the remnants of our spring floods and as such she is unable to submit her report. She apologizes and promises to share her committee’s entire year’s worth of activities in her 2018 year-end report. Howard Bay-Wise Master Gardener Chair, Linda Decker reports that their committee of 43 certified 1 client landscape during the first half of the year. They have 12 landscape consultations pending. Here is Linda’s report: “Eight of our Master Gardeners took the Bay-Wise message to the community with speaking engagements at garden clubs, libraries, and community centers. Topics included “Bay-Wise Landscaping”, “Tree Selection and Care”, “Getting the Garden Ready for Spring” and native plant topics. Although the audiences tend to be small we reached about 320 people through these talks. Additionally, Barb Schmeckpeper, aided by other volunteers, conducted classes at the Alpha Ridge landfill location where we distribute free rain barrels to Howard County residents. The county acquires used food grade barrels and readies them for hardware. We provide information on assembling the rain barrel and proper installation and use. Fifty-five people participated in these classes and a total of 40 rain barrels were distributed. Before a resident can receive a rain barrel they sign a pledge that they will complete installation and use the rain barrel. These distributions are conducted twice monthly and will continue through October. Also at the landfill, we have a demonstration garden. It has matured since its original planting and volunteers from the Bay-Wise team led by Dick Hammerschlag and Mark Wallace are reworking the design to trial native plants in an area beset with a large deer population. “In addition to formal speaking engagements, we took our trifold exhibits and handouts to the Clarksville Commons Earth Day, Master Gardener Volunteer Fair, Robinson Nature Center and

Page 8 of 13 Howard County GreenFest. Bay-Wise Master Gardeners were on hand at these events to greet visitors and explain Bay-Wise concepts. GreenFest is an annual county event that draws about 2,500 people to see exhibits from over 100 vendors and ecologically focused organizations. For the sixth year our Bay-Wise team organized and supported the native plant sale at GreenFest in addition to our Bay-Wise exhibit. We have a “plant parking lot” to hold purchases for folks while they visit the exhibit hall and a Native Plant display where we explain the value of native plants and provide garden design assistance. This is not a money making event for us, but rather an attempt to make native plants accessible in our community and give local growers an outlet for their plants. “At these events we offer a consulting service to homeowners. A Master Gardener team can visit them and assist with landscaping problems and tutor them in Bay-Wise concepts. Homeowners are encouraged to submit a request through our Howard County Bay-Wise web-page detailing their issues. We have a list of 67 Master Gardeners who wish to participate in these consultations and we build 2-3 person teams based on matching interests and locations to the client. Again this year we conducted a training program for folks interested in participating in consults. We familiarized folks with the revised client handbook which provides information on the topics most often requested. We included a speaker from Howard County to discuss the rebates and credits available for storm water controls as well the new program for cost sharing rain gardens. We ask our teams to provide a follow-up report to the client outlining their recommendations and plant lists. Feedback from clients has underscored how much this is appreciated. Eleven consultations have been completed through June, but after the recent heavy rains in Ellicott City we received a “flood” of new requests. We are working with the local Watershed Stewards to coordinate some of these site visits. “In early May, we took a break from teaching about Bay-Wise principles and instead went on a learning expedition. A chance encounter by Pat Hooker

with Linda Reiger, Montgomery County Master Gardener, resulted in an invitation to tour three residential gardens maintained by members of the Potomac Village Garden club. They live in an area with heavy deer pressure and offered to show us their plant selections and strategies for coping with deer. Pat organized the visit and thirty members of the Bay-Wise team participated. Besides a feast for the eyes, the wonderful gardeners of Potomac treated us to a luncheon feast and we reciprocated with a donation to their garden club and a gift of antique watering cans.

Monarch butterfly display at Glenwood library. The

milkweed, butterflies and chrysalides are all crafted from paper and cork and are incredibly realistic.

“Also during May we installed a display at the Glenwood library on the life cycle of the monarch butterfly and steps the public can take to protect and foster them. The exhibit created by Nancy Lemich and Sherry Conklin was so realistic the librarian wanted assurances that “no butterflies were harmed in the making of this display!” Another artistic member of our organization, Alison Milligan, created a slide show based on the Bay-Wise Yardstick. Illustrated with her nature photographs, this show can run independently. The photography attracts folks to the display and engages them with more information than we can share in our tri-folds.”

Page 9 of 13 Prince George’s Franchella Kendall, Chair, reports that their committee has grown to 54 members. They have certified 3 client sites within the past six months. They gave a presentation to 20 Master Gardener interns in April about their Bay-Wise activities, how the interns could get their landscapes certified, and possibly recruiting a few more members to their committee. Franchella adds that “The Prince George's County Master Gardeners are partnering with the town of Cheverly Green Infra-structure Committee to promote the Bay-Wise Program. Bay-Wise Master Gardeners provided information at the Cheverly Day on May 20th. Information on Bay-Wise is also being provided at the Community (farmers) Market. “Information on the Prince George's County Bay-Wise program was highlighted in the June 2018 Chesapeake Bay Journal.

Clients, Liz Marshall and Dave Buress’s certified yard shows how

they use ordinary gutters to grow vegetables “Master Gardeners are going to work with the County to add the Bay-Wise Program to the County Rain check rebate program. This will have to go through the legislative process.” Queen Anne’s Chair, Debbie Pusey, reports that their committee certified 1 client landscape and made 3 consultations over the last 6 months. Debbie shares, “The QAC Bay-Wise Program partnered

with Shore Rivers, our local river keepers association to oversee a river friendly yards program. Shore Rivers uses water quality monitoring data to target residential areas that could benefit from nutrient and sediment reduction strategies. For this program homeowners learn that a river-friendly yard is one that mimics the natural environment and filters runoff with the goal of improving water quality. Through this partnership Shore Rivers and the Master Gardeners offered 2 workshops on Bay-Wise Landscaping and Creating River-Friendly Yards.” St. Mary’s Linda Crandell Chair, reports that their small committee of 7 members are beginning to gain ground again. They certified 2 client landscapes and have 1 other consultation that might lead to another certification in the future. They’ve also been reaching out to their community with a presentation to 21 MG interns and displays at 4 events where they handed out fact sheets to adults and stickers to kids. Linda shares: “Despite big changes here in St. Mary’s County and our fairly small team, we continue to spread the Bay-Wise message. We have recently added our Bay-Wise SUPERHERO Stickers to the resources we are using during our outreach activities. We are working with our new St. Mary’s County MG Coordinator, Mary Antonelli, to grow our list of St. Mary’s County Bay-Wise Certified properties and will be scheduling visits now and through the fall.”

St. Mary’s Bay-Wise Master Gardener SUPERHERO sticker

Page 10 of 13 Talbot Master Gardener Coordinator, Mikaela Boley, reports that their committee of 35 certified 2 client landscapes during the first half of 2018. They also have 7 consultations expected to lead to certifications later in the year. Here is their report: “We have welcomed new co-chairs Marie Davis, Chris Myles-Tochko, and Janet Mackey. There are currently 35 members participating in the Bay-Wise program. Bay-Wise meetings took place all winter long in order to put together a comprehensive notebook to be used by Bay-Wise team leaders as part of protocol in conducting both a consultation and certification on properties. It addresses many details, such as approaching homeowners with a template email, basic questions to ask, a template consultation report, and other useful tools in streamlining the process. Our winter meetings also featured training opportunities through speakers, book sharing, weed and plant identification quizzes, and an FAQ page. With new members, we ask teams to include space for at least one intern for consultations to pair them with veterans of the program and gain experience to lead their own visits. “Bay-Wise also hosts a table at the Easton Farmer’s Market once a month to engage local citizens for potential consultation. In addition to these public appearances, we have also participated in the Clean Water Concert Series hosted by Chesapeake Bay Foundation to promote sustainability and water quality. We have submitted and have had articles printed in both Attractions and The Star Democrat featuring our local Bay-Wise program. Bay-Wise practices were also featured at several public lectures involving the Talbot County Garden Club (featured guest speaker) and showcased at the Horticulture Symposium hosted by the Federated Garden Clubs of America. There were approximately 120 participants at these two events. “One of our certifications included the home and kitchen of new Master Gardener Intern, Cathy

Schmidt, co-owner of Garden & Garnish catering company in Trappe, MD. Cathy emphasizes sustainable practices in keeping a kitchen and herb garden that are used for events. She also has incorporated and includes native plant compositions on the property, including a rain garden that is home to many pollinators. The commercial kitchen on-site is outfitted with rain barrels and solar roof panels, which supplies 30% of their energy usage (annual average).”

Cathy Schmidt (left) demonstrates her gardening practices for the

visiting Bay-Wise team Washington Master Gardener Coordinator, Annette Cormany and Co-chair, Ann Aldrich report that although their committee of 14 has not certified and landscapes over the past six months, they have been busy. They conducted 2 workshops or talks for 87 residents. Ann reports, “In March, the Bay-Wise team created an educational display focused on native fruits and their pollinators which was used to teach 435 visitors to the Master Gardener exhibit at the Hagerstown Community College Flower & Garden Show. The tour was also featured in a newspaper column in the Herald-Mail. The same display was also used to teach over 150 visitors to Boonsboro Greenfest in May.

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Bay-Wise Master Gardener Annie LeMarie’s certified

landscape “Our first-ever Bay-Wise garden tours in June were a success, attracting 75 visitors to 6 Bay-Wise certified gardens staffed by garden owners and docents. Educational signage and a program detailed the Bay-Wise attributes of each garden to supplement the docents' teaching.”

More Assorted Stuff Bay-Wise Correction Please note that the correct way to print the title is Bay-Wise, not BayWise, Baywise, or Bay-wise. Both words should be capitalized and separated by a hyphen – as in, Bay-Wise! Chesapeake Bay Magazine Article Kent County Master Gardener, Nancy Taylor Robson, recently wrote this complimentary article: https://www.chesapeakebaymagazine.com/features/2018/6/13/gardening-for-the-chesapeake?bblinkid=104640138&bbemailid=8904483&bbejrid=679837300. Check it out! New Bay-Wise Logo & Links Have you noticed that we have a different logo? While revamping their logo to meet University of Maryland Extension’s new standards, the HGIC created a new logo for the

Bay-Wise program. The purpose was to visually unify major Master Gardener programs for our audiences. As of December, 2017, we have been asked to use the new logo when creating or ordering anything new. I’m now working on doing just that. Bear with me . . . Former Master Gardener Advanced Training Coordinator, Alicia Bembenek, worked hard to make this transition from old to new easy. She created links to documents explaining everything you need to know to use the new logo – including where, when, how, which variation, and which file type. There’s even a short instructional PowerPoint. Please take the time to read the appropriate documents here: https://umd.app.box.com/v/MasterGardenerLogo. I have referred to these documents on numerous occasions as I update my documents. When you are ready to print fliers, order new T-shirts, or any other promotional items. Click http://umd.box.com/v/UMEBayWiseProgram to access all new Bay-Wise logos. I’ll miss the old heron standing in the marsh, but I can’t stand in the way of progress! New Bay-Wise PowerPoint Templates HGIC asks that we now use the new Bay-Wise PowerPoint presentation templates they’ve created (using the new logos) whenever we create a slide presentation. They are under the Bay-Wise section on this page: https://extension.umd.edu/mg/volunteer-resources/presentations-templates-and-teaching-tools Or, if you are starting from the MG Homepage, click on Volunteer Resources Presentations, Templates, and Teaching Tools. Bay-Wise Statewide Survey One of the overall goals of the Bay-Wise Landscape Management program is to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. That change can only come about if each of makes individual changes on our

Page 12 of 13 own properties. Each little change does add up. While you and I, personally, can’t officially measure the improvements to the bay, we can measure the changes we’ve made in our own landscapes. How many of those changes have we collectively made? The only way to find out is for you to tell me. I would like to survey you to determine how many and what type of changes you’ve made to your landscape as a result of being a Bay-Wise Master

Gardener. Be on the lookout for a Qualtrics survey in your e-mailbox within the next

several months. I’m still working on creating the survey but while you wait, there is something you can do, namely, measure the square footage of your property, separating out your impervious surfaces, (house, driveway, sidewalks, patio, etc.), from your pervious ones, like your lawn (and in some cases former lawn) and garden areas. This is one of the measurements needed to determine Bay-Wise improvements to your landscape. Announcing the New Bay-Wise Blog HGIC’s newly hired (as of April, 2017) Coordinator of Digital Horticulture Education, Christa Carignan, is the co-editor for the new HGIC Maryland Grows blog. This blog features stories about sustainable landscaping, native plants, food gardening, and much more! Take a look at the recent article 5 Steps to a Chesapeake Bay-Friendly Landscape (authored by Beth Bukoski, Administrative Assistant for UME Master Gardener Program) which features our UME Bay-Wise Program. Check it out and leave a comment! You can subscribe to the Maryland Grows blog by using the link below. Subscribers receive an email notice when new stories are published. https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/subscribe-to-the-maryland-grows-blog/ Bay-Wise 25th Anniversary One of the Bay-Wise 25th Anniversary committee members recently resigned so Talbot County Bay-

Wise Master Gardener, Lisa Ghezzi and I are looking for some of you willing to work with us to plan a 25th anniversary celebration in 2021. If you would like to work with us in planning the events, contact me at wtm@umd.edu. Revised Veggie Yardstick You asked for it, and now it’s coming. With editing advice from Tom Potyraj, Debbie McKearney, and a few other Baltimore County Master Gardeners, the Veggie Yardstick is back! Jon and I have just ordered 5,000 copies of the revised Bay-Wise MD Yardstick for vegetable gardens. There will also be a 5-page version that you can print from online similar to the one for landscapes. 100% Certified? Sadly, many of you have not had your landscapes certified yet. So far 635 “demo landscapes” have been designated throughout the state. Over the years, 1,370 of you have taken the Bay-Wise advanced training. This means that only 46% of you have certified landscapes. If you aren’t among the few, the proud, the “certified,” consider having it done this year. Contact your county’s Bay-Wise 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. 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. Let’s see how many more we can get certified in 2018.

Page 13 of 13 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 sub-committee 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://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/programs/urban/mucfcgrant.aspx There are 3 grant cycles per year: February, June and September.

Wanda MacLachlan Contact Information: wtm@umd.edu 410-531-5973 11975 Homewood Road Ellicott City, MD 21044