Bryophytes is the collective name given to the group of plants that includes mosses, liverworts and hornworts. These small plants grow on many surfaces, including soil, rocks, and the bark and leaves of other plants, and can be found in almost all environments. Using a hand lens, you can appreciate their diversity and beauty. Speaker: Dr. Amelia Merced.

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Walks currently on hold due to CDC/state/county regulations. Please watch this space for when we can reopen these walks.
First Saturday of each month, 9-10 am: Each month, an ANS Master Naturalist covers a different topic, such as deer, fungi, trees, insects, and birds. Bring the whole family—all ages welcome! Come prepared to hike in sneakers and don’t forget your water bottle. Meet at the gazebo by the main house. Register here.

The life cycles of native plants and animals are intricately connected to each other and dependent on seasonal events. For example, bees emerge from underground burrows just when the plants they need flower. We will look at some of these local relationships and how climate change is already impacting species in Maryland. Speaker: Dr. Clare Walker, Environmental Educator at the Irvine Nature Center

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Finding native orchids while out hiking on a spring day is the ultimate bliss! Finding those same orchids at a nursery or on the internet makes you wonder. Have they been wild collected? Have they been artificially propagated? Can I grow them in my landscape? The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no! Take a walk with Carol in the woods and in the garden to find out. Speaker: Carol Allen, Botanist and Owner of Poplar Hill Horticultural Services

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Learn to speak effectively, accurately, and confidently about climate change. Explore social factors that influence opinions, beliefs, and perceptions of climate change and consider values, solutions and framing conversations (as well as the use of art) as a means to empathy and its influence in connecting climate science to action. Speaker: Coreen Weilminster, Education Coordinator, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

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Woodend Garden Clinics

Thursdays, September 10, 17 and October 1 (1-3 pm) 
Leader: Jenny Brown
Members $100; nonmembers $125
Join ANS Garden Outreach Associate and Master Gardener, Jenny Brown, for three hands-on garden clinics in September. During these two-hour sessions conducted in the gardens of Woodend, you will gain practical experience with essential skills such as managing compost, thinning and transplanting, weed identification, and pruning. During each session, Jenny will highlight at least four native plants for you to learn common and scientific names, habit, growing conditions and wildlife value. You are encouraged to bring questions, clippings, and photos from home to get help with your own garden challenges. Plus, each session you will take home plant material – either seeds or plants – from the Woodend gardens to cultivate at home. Limited to 8 participants. REGISTER ONLINE.

Murder hornets, fire ants, varroa mites, snakehead fish, feral pigs, brown marmorated stinkbugs, Japanese knotweed! A host of organisms now call our ecosystem home and we’re just beginning to realize the broader impacts of these invasions. North America has also exported nuisances of our own to rest of the world. Learn what makes a species likely to invade and what individual behaviors and policies can prevent invasions and address their aftermath. Speaker: Samuel Ramsey, Ph.D., Entomologist, University of Maryland

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Swimming in streams and hidden from our naked eye is a vast universe of microscopic fungi supporting the aquatic ecosystem. These minute organisms are hard at work decomposing dead material and serving as chemical factories of many unknown chemical structures. Just as the fungus Penicillium has saved countless humans by producing penicillin, freshwater fungi have the potential to save many human lives. Join us to learn about the taxonomy, diversity, distribution patterns, and chemistry of these incredible ecological group of fungi. Presenter: Huzefa Raja, Ph.D., Research Scientist, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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The lichen lifestyle is about more than hanging out on rocks. Lichens are busy working in most terrestrial ecosystems as colonizers, food sources, nitrogen fixers, and more. And their family life is pretty hectic, too! These complex symbiotic units involve a fungal partner, a green algal and/or a cyanobacterial partner, along with a diverse community of microorganisms. Presenter: Manuela Dal Forno, Ph.D., Research Botanist, Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth.

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Anoles are known for their diversity and adaptability. These highly variable lizards are capable of adapting to a variety of habitats, even in a single tree. We will explore those adaptations and anole habitat types while highlighting several of the 436 recognized anole species. Presenter: Chelsea Connor, Herpetology Student and Science Communicator.

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The livelihoods of thousands of families depend on coffee production in Latin America. Climate change has had a negative impact on this crop by making coffee plants susceptible to diseases and drought. But researchers are exploring “probiotics” found in old-growth tropical forest trees that could protect the coffee plants, the communities that depend on them, and your morning cup of Joe. Presenter: Priscila Chaverri, Mycology Professor, University of Costa Rica and University of Maryland.

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Many people (including the presenter) were surprised at the duration and strength of the earthquake that struck central Virginia on August 23, 2011, damaging structures in the DC area. Learn about the results of the extensive geologic investigations into the causes of the event and their implications. Presenter: Joe Marx, Adjunct Instructor, Geology, NVCC.

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