Do you want your children to be outside in nature learning and having fun on their day off from school? Then send them to our School’s Out Camp! We’ll explore the Woodend Nature Sanctuary, get muddy in the pond, build forts, and play games.
Grades K-5
Members $120; nonmembers $140

REGISTER HERE.

Join naturalist and educator, Frank Sanford, on a leisurely walk through the habitats at Woodend. Explore the wonders of trees, meadows, streams, insects, birds, and everything Woodend has to offer! Members $12 a family; nonmembers $20 a family. Limited to 6 families. Only register one adult when signing up.

REGISTER HERE.

Join us at Woodend on Saturday, May 7 from 9 am to 12 pm for our spring native plant sale! Purple Lovegrass, Native Honeysuckle Vine, Butterfly Weed and more native perennials for your garden. Sale will be in the tent by the Learning Garden. 

CANCELLED
This Mother’s Day explore and celebrate our connection to Mother Earth by deepening our relationship with the more than human world. Join certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide Adria S. Zeldin for a forest bathing walk as we explore the forests at Woodend through all our senses. Relax and take in the wonders that spring has to offer and learn about the mindfulness practice of forest bathing.

Our workshops teach powerful toolkits for moving from upset to action on environmental issues in these polarizing times. What’s your environmental issue? Widening the Beltway. Lead in school water pipes. Threats to a park. Contributing to the discussion on new development coming to your neighborhood. Fighting climate change at the local level.

No matter the issue, come to ANS’ Advocacy 101 workshop to learn about how YOU can participate and make a difference. We will cover the key introductory advocacy skills of communicating your WHY, connecting environmental solutions with human needs, and introducing campaign skills that allow everyone to bring their strengths to the table:

• Researching issues and solutions
• Developing an action plan
• Communicating with decision-makers
• Building coalitions to broaden support for your issue

Bring your own scenario to work with or join to help brainstorm a partner’s. We will work through scenarios, use role-play and group and expert feedback, and actively practice our skills. 

What people are saying about our recent 101 Workshops:

“It advised what I’m already involved in by breaking down the structure of how advocacy works, the players, the coalition building, and especially highlighting the hows and whys as a way to focus outcomes.”

“I was very nervous about joining the workshop as it was outside of my comfort zone but it was wonderful! I leaned a lot, found the other participants very supportive, and feel ready to have a go!”

Instructor: Eliza Cava, ANS Director of Conservation. Virtual via Zoom. 

$20 members/ $30 non-members

Click here to Register

Is Nature Accessible for Everyone? Team River Runner Works to Make it So! Wednesday, May 11, 7-8:30 pm: Hear from Joe Mornini, CEO of Team River Runner, about how his organization helps wounded veterans and others with disabilities experience nature through boating. Kayaking can give those unable to walk a new perspective on gravity and motion – and also bring them in contact with the healing power of the water, osprey, forests, and weather. And while the health benefits of nature are well known, people with physical, as well as “invisible” disabilities may find it hard to access natural areas without (often expensive) adaptive equipment, or adaptations to accessibility such as flat surfaces that can accommodate a wheelchair or cane. How does nature help those in need of healing, and how can we all help ensure that nature is accessible? And what’s the special connection between veterans and water pollution? Learn about these and more fascinating topics in May’s Conservation Café.

There will be plenty of time for audience questions, too!

VIRTUAL. Tickets $10-$15.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About Joe Mornini: Joe Mornini is the Founder and Executive Director of Team River Runner, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving wounded and disabled veterans through paddlesports across the United States. Raised in Maryland, Joe has spent a lifetime going from adventure to adventure whether climbing Mt. Rainier, kayaking rivers, and creeks, walking across Ireland and Maryland and motorcycling across the country four times.

Joe worked for Montgomery County Public Schools for thirty-five years as an outdoor education leader, special education resource teacher and counselor. Prior to this, he worked for the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County. He is a graduate of Lindenwood University and Goddard College.

For almost forty years, Joe’s stressbuster has been whitewater kayaking on the nearby Potomac River. Always an advocate and organizer, Joe combined his love of paddlesports with a heartfelt desire to help wounded soldiers returning to Walter Reed Military Medical Center from Iraq and Afghanistan. Joe and a kayaking buddy recruited friends and local paddling businesses to support kayak lessons at the hospital’s indoor pool. Team River Runner was officially launched in 2004. The goal has been to provide hope, health, and healing through paddlesports – kayaking, rafting, and stand-up paddle boarding. Working in partnership with Move United, TRR is a non-profit volunteer organization that now provides adaptive, therapeutic and leadership training programs for veterans on a national level. Under Joe’s leadership as Executive Director, Team River Runner has grown to have more than 60 chapters across the country.

Joe leads live fitness workouts, consults, and collaborates with other organizations serving the physically and emotionally challenged. During the pandemic, Joe created “Kayakers for Good” a support system for coping with the many challenges of Covid19 facilitated by visually impaired leaders. You can usually find Joe on a river or riverbank or talking on his phone while hoisting kayaks on top of a van.

ANS Garden Manager Alice Sturm will prepare us to bring ecological principles of gardening into our homes. Learn how to approach designing a garden that works for you and your wild neighbors. Assess the habitat already provided by your home yard or garden, and incorporate simple steps to increase the habitat value with a focus on birds and pollinators.

REGISTER HERE

Join ANS staff, Mitch Greene, to explore the meadows, forests and stream at Woodend. Learn about the work we do to improve our native habitats for our local wildlife.

REGISTER HERE.

Join enthusiastic birders at Woodend to learn birding basics. One will learn binocular basics and how to identify common birds as well as explore the wonders of migration. Members $12; nonmembers $16. Second person FREE.

REGISTER HERE.

Native plants aren’t just for the birds! Learn about options for your garden that can put food on your own table, while also contributing to a healthy ecosystem.  Workshop will take place outside in a tented classroom. Members $30; nonmembers $42.

REGISTER HERE.

Learn about the notable trees Woodend has to offer with Restoration Manager, Bradley Simpson. We will learn how to identify these trees and where you might find them in the wild. We will explore what wildlife uses these trees and how they benefit our native ecosystems.

REGISTER HERE.