Christmas Tree Recycling Collection, Baltimore County – Starting January 10 – 15, 2022

Image: Renee Shiavone/Patch, 2020, Baltimore, MD

Please place your (once) live trees at the location for your trash and recyclables. The collection will take place over a two-week period, with pick-up dates varying by location. To ensure collection, place your trees on the curb by January 15th and leave them in place until collection occurs. For details, click on this link to Baltimore County Government.

Residents who wish to drop off Christmas trees themselves may do so. Christmas trees (no lights, decorations, tinsel, bags, tree stands, etc.) may be taken to any one of the County’s three drop-off locations.

For directions to the County’s drop-off centers, residents may visit the Bureau of Solid Waste Management website or call 410-887-2000.

5th Graders Invited to Submit Arbor Day Posters!

2021 Carrol County Poster Award Winner. Carrol County winners were awarded three in three Years. Can we beat them?

Trees are Terrific… and Maryland Forests are Too!

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Forest Conservancy District Boards invite all Maryland fifth graders in private and public schools to participate in the annual Arbor Day Poster Contest.

The theme for 2022 is: “Trees Are Terrific…and Maryland Forests Are Too!”

All entries must be delivered to a local Maryland Forest Service office by noon, Jan. 21, 2022.

Students are encouraged to share their appreciation for Maryland’s forests and trees through original works of art. Poster size must be no smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches and no larger than 22 by 28 inches. They must be drawn in acrylic, crayon, ink, marker, paint pens, regular or colored pencil, tempera paint, or watercolor.

For more details, click on the links below! DEADLINE: January 21, 2022

Press Release – https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2021/11/30/maryland-fifth-graders-invited-to-submit-arbor-day-posters-for-2022/

Contest Info – https://dnr.maryland.gov/Forests/Pages/Arbor-Day-Poster-Contest.aspx

Natural Resources Careers Camp website and Enrollment for 2022

Sun, July 24 – Sat, July 30, 2022

Peter Sheggrud, who was our successful NRCC 2021 applicant!

Applications for NRCC 2022 will be accepted starting 12/01/21. NRCC 2021 was a resounding success – it was good to be back! We had no Covid-related health issues at all. Once a student is accepted into NRCC 2022, families will be kept updated throughout the Spring and Summer as to any Covid-related protective measures that may still need to be implemented at camp. Last year’s Covid precautions can be found here.

Join high school students from across Maryland at this week-long camp in Garrett County to explore careers and college studies in natural resources. This partnership with Allegany College of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources-Forest Service offers high school students a co-educational opportunity to learn from industry professionals and develop contacts that could lead to future employment and a career in natural resources.

Downloads: Find them Here

Lake Roland

My friend and I walk along Lake Roland off Falls Road, around four times per year. It’s always a wonderful experience. We are dog lovers, and our encounters with well-behaved pooches are special. Lake Roland Nature Council has an active schedule of activities for the community. Once upon a time, the city had the rights to the park grounds, which they ceded to Baltimore County. Since then, the new ownership has spruced up activities and facilities.

Lake Roland Dam; outflow is the Jones Falls. Wikipedia Commons.

Within the park environs are: trails for walking on paved paths or wooded paths (click on this link), a dog park, a children’s play ground with a solitary bee hotel, a light rail station, plenty of parking, and benches for resting. We walked the lake on a beautiful 60 degree day. We noticed a wonderful story with beautiful watercolors about an owl in winter that children, teachers, and parents could follow along a path.

We recommend a Lake Roland visit for anyone near this wonderful park.

Calendar of Events for 2021: Click here

• December, 19, Snow Story Time, @ 9:00 am, Lake Roland Nature Center
• December 27, School is Out Day @ 9:00 am, Lake Roland Nature Center

More Information: Lake Roland Historic District. 

Wild Turkeys Proliferate All Over the U.S.

As turkeys take over campuses. Here seen “Gathering at the University of Minnesota on Election Day. Credit: Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times”

Interestingly, we covered this topic for Maryland on Thanksgiving Day. One day later, The New York Times printed an article about wild turkeys taking over some college campuses in an article entitled “As Turkeys Take Over Campus, Some Colleges Are More Thankful Than Others”

“College campuses are just ideal habitat,” said David Drake, a professor and extension wildlife specialist at the University of Wisconsin, where a sizable flock likes to hang out near apartments for graduate students. “You’ve got that intermixing of forested patches with open grassy areas and things like that. Nobody’s hunting,” (Mitch Smith, Nov 25, 2021).

Note: Unless you subscribe to the NYT, you will not be able to read the article. Turkeys are found on campuses throughout our country: at Harvard, Sacramento State, Fairfield University (Connecticut), Lane University (Oregon), Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

“They’re really good at avoiding danger,” said Bob Long, upland game bird & turkey project manager for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “Their hearing is tremendous. Their eyesight is just unbelievable…They’re paranoid about every single thing.” – The Greatest Wildlife Comeback You’ve Never Seen, Chesapeake Bay Program, by Jake Solyst, November 24, 2020

Wild Turkeys in Maryland

MD DNR image of wild turkeys

Wild turkeys are making a comeback in Maryland. Today is a perfect time to celebrate this major milestone.

“In 1973, an estimated 2,000 wilds turkeys roamed Maryland’s westernmost counties. Today, thanks in large part to the Wildlife and Heritage Service’s trap and transplant program, Maryland’s wild turkey population exceeds 30,000 birds and will continue to increase for the next few years.

What can be done to foster wild turkey flocks on the Maryland landscape? Start with basics: food, cover, water, and space.”

Here’s a one minute video of wild turkeys visiting a field in Gambrills, MD:

Visit these sites to find out more about these magnificent birds. Wild Turkeys in Maryland.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ALL!