Media and Awards – 2024

| Our Work

With a new year ahead of us, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay would like to reflect on some of the accomplishments of our chapter and our members. In our inaugural year as a fully chartered chapter, we hit the ground running and are proud to have shared our mission and passion for native plants through various media and news outlets in 2024. Our President, Marlene Smith, shared her story in an interview with CanvesRebel; our member Esther Bonney, Founder and Director of Nurture Natives, shared her story through numerous media channels, including an interview in Wild People, CanvasRebel, and our local Baynet.

Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay is deeply rooted in collaborating with and recognizing the like-minded organizations that share our passion for native plants and natural landscapes. At the St. Mary’s Library Front Yard native gardens, we have the pleasure of partnering with Liz Curtz, Founder and President of the Friends of St. Clements Bay.

Our community outreach and education with the Friends of St. Clements Bay and St. Mary’s Public Libraries included participation in native plant swaps, seedling giveaways, workshops, and tabling alongside Nurture Natives. We also worked with the students of Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center (lead by Dorothy Birch, WOCB member and Natural Resource Management instructor) in planting native plants and cleaning native seeds for upcoming workshops. Mentoring youth is a key initiative of Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, as we recognize that youth are the future of our efforts to restore biodiversity.

Check out the 2024 Highlights – Friends of St. Clements Bay; you may see some familiar faces.

Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay is proud to recognize the accomplishments of Esther and Nurture Natives, a youth-led non-profit that demonstrates how younger generations contribute innovative ideas and leadership to drive environmental change. Esther was awarded the 2024 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, and Nurture Natives was awarded a 2024 Wild Ones Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Grant and the 2024 President’s Environmental Youth Award for U.S. Region 3.

But Esther’s biggest accomplishment came in December 2024 when she fulfilled her dream of sharing her vision for youth and nature at TEDxHagerstownWomen. TEDx Hagerstown presented “courageous speakers, outside-the-box thinkers and performers presenting new and inspiring ideas: Ideas Big Enough to Change the World”.  In their program, they wrote: “Esther Bonney is dedicated to addressing the critical intersection of youth mental health and environmental stewardship. At just 17, she is the founder and director of Nurture Natives, one of the nation’s most impactful youth-led nonprofits, with a mission to empower youth through environmental initiatives that promote native biodiversity. …Esther’s vision remains resolute: to inspire, educate, and advocate for a future where both our youth and environment thrive. …Through her work, Esther is empowering a new generation of environmental stewards who recognize the vital connection between mental well-being and the health of our environment.”

Esther’s talk on “Have we Become Strangers to Our Own Nature?” received an overwhelming round of applause from attendees. Sharing the excitement of the evening with her was one of the highlights of the year for our chapter’s Vice-President and President, Bill and Marlene Smith (pictured below with Esther).

Photo Credit: Lisa Wrona Photography

Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay also recognizes the accomplishments of our membership chair, Lynne Wheeler, for being recognized as a 2024 Volunteer of the Year by the National Marine Sanctuaries. “As a volunteer for NOAA’s Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary, Lynne has engaged hundreds of people at outreach events and private tours to better understand the uniqueness of the sanctuary and the land that surrounds it…. She is extremely knowledgeable of the flora and fauna as well as the history of the sanctuary and shares that expertise in all her talks.” Thanks for all you do, Lynne!!

Sharing our chapter’s and members’ activities and awards allows Wild Ones National the opportunity to celebrate and share our achievements through various channels, including the Wild Ones Journal, at the Annual Member Meeting, in Wild Ones chapter/member newsletters, on the Wild Ones website and social media channels, in programs/presentations, and in printed brochures/materials.

Check out the links below to view stories featuring Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay and our members. Have a story to share? Submit links and details to [email protected].