During three recent events, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay partnered with Nurture Natives to distribute close to 500 common and swamp milkweed plants (Asclepias syriaca and A. incarnata) that we propagated from seed this year.
First up: UNIVERSITY PARK (UP) MEADOW DAY, which you may remember from our recent blog, Pollinator Week 2026 Highlights. Meadow Day (Saturday, June 17, 9am to 12pm) is an annual community event hosted by the Town of University Park Sustainability Committee and celebrates native pollinator habitat in University Park. The family-friendly event invited 20 exhibitors and welcomed over 100 attendees. This began our milkweed distribution for the season, distributing 175 milkweed plants at Meadow Day.
Next stop: INSECTS – THE LITTLE THINGS THAT RUN THE WORLD – Our second event took us into Calvert County for the wildly popular Insectival (Saturday, July 18, 9 am – 1 pm). Hosted by Annmarie Sculpture Gardens, our participation was a joint outreach effort organized by Southern Maryland Audubon Society (Lynne Wheeler), Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay (Bill Smith), Nurture Natives (Esther Bonney), and The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Marlene Smith). We were located in the “Hosts with the Most” zone and provided information and kids’ activities that promoted the essential role native plants have for insects, birds, and other wildlife. Native plants that co-evolved with local wildlife are the host for our native insects (especially caterpillars, such as the monarch butterfly), and a vital food source for birds, providing critical protein-rich insects, nectar, berries, and seeds. Planting native species maximizes biodiversity, as they support significantly more caterpillars and insects than non-native plants.
Through origami butterflies and cootie catchers, coloring sheets, water whistles, and more, we taught youth adults about the vital role insects play in supporting pollinators, birds, and native plants. Insectival featured 55+ organizations/vendors/food trucks and welcomed 1445 registrants. (Sadly, the numbers were down substantially from previous years, possibly due to the smoke/smog that potential guests thought would be worse). Nevertheless, we gave away over 150 milkweed plants to new homes! A huge thank you to all the families who braved the heat and came out!
What a bug-tastic day! On Saturday, July 18th the Southern Maryland Audubon Society joined up with our friends Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, Xerces Society, and Nurture Natives to educate attendees about the importance of insects for a healthy ecosystem at the annual INSECTIVAL festival at Annmarie Sculpture Gardens & Arts Center.
Our booth was in a great location, nestled in the woods, and offered a ton of information about the importance of insects – The Little Things That Run The World. Partnering with other non-profits that share our passion and mission makes for a booth display that was a big hit. We had lots of information as well as youth activities that kept us all busy as a bee!
Kids flew to the booth by the sound of our free Bird Water Whistles, like a pollinator to a flower! Once we lured them in, they enjoyed playing Plant Pong – tossing a bean bag ladybug into cups that revealed a free gift – like a bird water whistle, or sticker. We also had a craft table where they could color caterpillar headbands, as well as insect or flower cutouts. The Xerces section had a great educational hands-on display about the life cycle of butterflies, and SMAS offered a free raffle to win a children book A Garden to Save the Birds and free Bug Bite Graham Cracker snack bags. And what goes good with graham crackers? – MILKweed! Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, along with Nurture Natives (a nationally award-winning, youth-led nonprofit empowering young people through native biodiversity restoration) handed out free milkweed plants. We all had a great time immersing ourselves into the world of insects – you don’t need bug spray – instead learn about how they are the little things that run the world.
If you have never attended INSECTIVAL we highly recommend you do so next year. They offer so many wonderful vendors, as well as food trucks, and it is a bug-tastic family event. ~ Lynne Wheeler, Southern Maryland Audubon Secretary and Membership Chair; Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay Membership Chair
Our final stop: PATUXENT REFUGE LOCAL COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL FAIR – Hosted by the Friends of Patuxent at the South Tract of Patuxent Research Refuge, the Environmental Fair (Saturday, July 25, 10am to 2pm) was part of the Friends of Patuxent’s 90th Anniversary Celebration. The family-friendly event featured 26 organizations/vendors and welcomed over 400 guests. By distributing over 150 milkweed plants (plus nectar plants) at this event, our total for the season was brought to approximately 500 FREE milkweed plants given away to local residents.
✍️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.
