At our annual membership meeting on November 20, members of Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay celebrated our inaugural year with a Year in Review video by chapter vice-president, Bill Smith.
But first we covered the annual chapter business.
Chapter election results – Secretary Sue Williams reported that our appointed board of directors were elected by unanimous vote:
President: Marlene Smith
Vice President: William Smith
Treasurer: Emily Hansroth
Secretary: Sue Williams
Membership Chair: Lynne Wheeler
Bylaws update – Sue also reported that an addendum to our bylaws to increase term limits to two years and to stagger the terms in groups to avoid a complete turnover of the board during elections was approved by a majority vote.
Financial report – Treasurer Emily Hansroth prepared a summary of the chapter’s finances, including income (dues and donations) and expenses.
Membership report – Membership Chair Lynne Wheeler reported that our membership has more than tripled this year, from 18 members to 70 members, including three businesses and two non-profits. Lynne also encouraged members to consider giving a gift membership to that hard-to-by-for friend or coworker who loves native plants.
Major accomplishments – President Marlene Smith reported on our major accomplishments.
Maryland Native Plants Program update – Kirsten Hoffman of the Maryland Native Plant Coalition provided a slide with update on the 2023 Maryland Native Plants Program (HB950/SB836). Of special interest is the new Commercial Native Plant List being vetted by a statewide advisory board. Nativity based on Maryland Plant Atlas. List is currently in production with a first snapshot available on University of Maryland website. Data refinements will continue and updated versions of the list will be made available. List to be sortable.
Maryland Invasives Plants Bill update – Kirsten also provided a slide with an update on the 2024 Invasive Plant Bill (HB979/SB915). Previous law specified a “risk” assessment which was very time consuming to complete, required specialized software, and worked best for EDRR (Early Detection Rapid Response) species. The risk assessment will continue to be used where an invasive species is not yet present in Maryland but may come into the state in the future.
College of Southern Maryland Seed Library – Chapter member Maddie Kaba introduced the new seed library being established at the College of Southern Maryland La Plata Campus. The seed library will provide free seeds to students of CSM and to the greater Charles County Community. Opening is slated for March 1, 2025.
Charles County Native Plants legislative update – Maddie also introduced Strong Towns Charles County and its Spring 2024 Legislative Proposal submitted to the Charles County Commissioners. Maddie invited member to follow the progress of the proposal on the Stay Engaged website.
Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay had an exciting inaugural year. We are looking forward to new growth and opportunities in 2025.
