The last week of May was bustling with preparations for NatureFest 2026. Now in its 6th year, this is our premier spring event in Southern Maryland. NatureFest has grown since its inception in 2021 from its humble beginnings at Tilghman Lake Park to an annual event that attracts more exhibitors and attendees each year. 2021 featured 10 exhibitors and just over 100 guests, while 2026 featured approximately 60 exhibitors and registrations topped 1,000.
NatureFest is a fun, family-friendly celebration of the beauty and wonders of nature and wildlife. It’s all about creating meaningful connections with nature and each other. Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay (WOCB) is thrilled to partner with several local organizations – Neighborhood Creative Arts Center (NCAC), College of Southern Maryland (CSM), Southern Maryland Audubon Society, and Keep La Plata Beautiful (KLPB) – to bring this FREE event to our community each year.
From Nature’s Way and Talon’s Terrace to Explorer’s Green and Creative Cove, there was something for everyone, including free native plants, an insect zoo, nature walks, nature art, STEM activities, and so much more.
Wild Ones Chesapeake would like to thank our collaborators and partners who work year-round to organize and host this event:
- Georgia Bonney (NCAC)
- Marlene and Bill Smith (WOCB)
- Tracey Stuller (CSM)
- Lynne Wheeler (SMAS, PTRC, Town of La Plata, WOCB)
Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay was an anchor booth for Nature’s Way. We had an amazing array of exhibitors and activities, including:
- Earth Liaison
- Earthly Delights Native Gardening
- ECOBAY Landscape
- Goodman LLC | Native Plants & Conservation Consultancy
- Owl Moon Raptor Center
- Port Tobacco River Conservancy
- Southern Maryland Audubon Society
- Tim Hutzley, Arborist
- Town of La Plata & CSM La Plata – Bird City/Bee Campus
- University of Maryland Insect Zoo
- USGS Bee Lab
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)- Every Bird Counts, Your Observations Matter
WOCB participated in the mini bird count migration activity created by our membership chair, Lynne Wheeler, who also has key roles with KLPB, SMAS, and Port Tobacco River Conservancy (PTRC). The theme of the activity: World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)- Every Bird Counts, Your Observations Matter.
First stop: Bird City/Bird Campus – Town of La Plata, CSM. This booth kicked off the youth mini-bird count. Lynne provided a bird count tree for the booth where kids were taught how to “count”, given their bird count checklist, and given instructions to visit the other three booth trees.
Second stop: Southern Maryland Audubon Society with a focus on osprey. They had a presentation board about ospreys, brochures, free Beginner Birding Guides, the kids’ activity Fish Like an Osprey (kids won a bird water whistle), and a bird count tree.
Next stop: Port Tobacco River Conservancy (Bird Theme – Bald Eagles) They shared information on the Importance of a Clean Healthy River and had an interactive bald eagle nest size demo, and another bird count tree.
Final stop: Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay. We chose the “The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird – The Jewel of the Sky” as our theme for this year’s NatureFest. We created a new display board with hummingbird information (look-alikes, native plants for hummingbirds, etc.) and an outreach table complete with a fresh native flower arrangement, hummingbird feeders, coloring page with nectar recipe, replica of a hummingbird nest with eggs, our Plant Pong game with stickers and buttons as prizes, and our wildly popular photo frames. We gave away 200 free native plants courtesy of Bona Terra, Providence Greenhouse, and our chapter, with a focus on plants that attract hummingbirds.
When kids and adults finished their mini bird count, they returned to the KLPB booth to show their checklist, tally up their birds counted, and then picked a free bird pin (Bald Eagle, Swallow, or SMAS Youth Birder pin).
What Others Are Saying About NatureFest
Southern Maryland Audubon Society
“If you did not attend NatureFest yesterday May 30 at CSM La Plata Campus – you missed out!! I hope you enjoy the many pictures. The SMAS Booth featured two youth activities: Go Fish Like an Osprey – kids caught a fish and won a Bird Water Whistle (they loved this!!).
The CSM/Town of La Plata Bird Campus/Bird City Booth kicked off the count, then the bird counters traveled to three more bird count trees: SMAS, Port Tobacco river Conservancy, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, and then back to the beginning to the CSM/Town booth to tally up their count and there kids we awarded a bird pin (bald eagle or swallow). I was so tickled how many enjoyed this activity! Adults got into it too!!” ~ Source: Southern Maryland Audubon Society on Facebook
Keep La Plata Beautiful
“So great to spend a beautiful day with friends at the CSM Naturefest! We teamed up with Southern Maryland Audubon Society (SMAS), Port Tobacco River Conservancy , and Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay Chapter to help birders of all ages do a practice bird count. We may have mentioned La Plata’s permanent FIRST Bird City Maryland status and College of Southern Maryland ‘s permanent FIRST Bird City Campus a time or two…or twenty. Special thanks to Elizabeth Lynne Wheeler for getting us all organized, and to Tracy Stuller and Neighborhood Creative Arts Center for the invite!” ~ Keep La Plata Beautiful on Facebook
Port Tobacco River Conservancy
“We had a great time at NatureFest today at the College of Southern Maryland! It was wonderful connecting with so many community members and sharing our passion for the Port Tobacco River.
Most encouraging of all was the number of people interested in volunteering, becoming members and helping protect this incredible natural resource for future generations.” ~ Port Tobacco River Conservancy on Facebook
Goodman LLC
“We’d like to thank @collegeofsouthernmaryland La Plata campus for a lovely Naturefest event and to @wildoneschesapeakebaymd Chesapeake chapter for hosting us.
Also thank you to @annmariearts for a lovely prop and swap with Hester their naturalist.
We got some plants from some other vendors to experiment with for the future! Shout out especially to new friends @earthlydelightsnativegardening for their Rattlesnake Master plugs we are more than pleased to grow out.
Have a wonderful day y’all we had a lovely community oriented native plant weekend, ready to reset.” ~ Goodman LLC on Facebook
Neighborhood Creative Arts Center
Presented by the Owl Moon Raptor Center, the owl in this video was a hit! She “can turn her head 270° in either direction! Raised in captivity, she’s imprinted on humans and lives as an ambassador to protect other barred owls. She has the prettiest eyes.” 😍😭” ~ Neighborhood Creative Arts Center on Facebook
Thank You!
Thank you to all the vendors and exhibitors that make this annual event a huge success, especially our Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay collaborators, partners, and chapter members:
- Chesapeake Mermaid (Angela Mitchell and The Chesapeake Mermaid Team)
- College of Southern Maryland (Tracey Stuller and her amazing volunteers)
- Earth Liaison (Jessalyn Mehrkam)
- Earthly Delights Native Gardening (Miranda, Deb, and Jeff Yourick)
- ECOBAY Landscape (Jaimie and Brennan Peabody)
- Goodman LLC | Native Plants & Conservation Consultancy (Edward Goodman)
- Neighbor Creative Arts Center (Georgia Bonney and her amazing volunteers)
- Port Tobacco River Conservancy (Lynne Wheeler and friends)
- Salted Scoop (April and Mark Mumpower)
- CSM Seed Library-The Seedbox (Maddie Kaba)
- Southern Maryland Audubon Society (Lynne Wheeler and friends)
- Town of La Plata Bee/Bird City (Kelly Phipps)
- University of Maryland Insect Zoo (Todd Waters and volunteers)
- USGS Bee Lab (Sydney Shumar)
- Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay (Marlene and Bill Smith, Debra Pence)
We also want to thank the generous donors who contributed to our raffle this year:
NatureFest 2026 was made possible by grants and monetary donations from:
- Arts for Learning Maryland
- Charles County Arts Alliance
- Chesapeake Bay Trust
- Cold Stone Creamery
- Joson Fine Jewelry & Home Boutique
- Maryland State Arts Council
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Outback Steakhouse
- Wintergreen Landscape Nursery
But Wait….There’s More!
Deeply Rooted in NatureFest – read our blog from 2025 with the history of NatureFest
Learn About Nature, Southern Maryland News article, May 31, 2026
The Birds of World Migratory Bird Day 2026, Hummingbird
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
May 2026 is Native Plant Month in Southern Maryland! – Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay Chapter
Native Plant Month is in full swing in Southern Maryland! – Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay Chapter
Native Plant Month Continues in Southern Maryland! – Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay Chapter
✍️M.Smith
Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay is deeply rooted in native plants and cultivating partnerships, while striving to educate, advocate, and collaborate to connect people and native plants for a healthy planet. Our vision is native plants and natural landscapes thriving in every community. Check out our Events page, Google calendar, Facebook, and/or Instagram for our upcoming events. And don’t forget to subscribe to our new YouTube channel and email subscriber list!
Wild Ones’ mission is to promote native landscapes through education, advocacy and collaborative action.
We invite you to join Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay or find your local Wild Ones chapter here.
