Events

This Festival was created by the citizens of the Mid-Atlantic region to celebrate our charismatic Ospreys, to educate the public, agencies, and owners of structures to foster an attitude of co-existence and conservation awareness throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its estuaries.

Cost to attend: $20 - Family, $10 - Individual 

Proceeds from the Festival go to non-profit organizations who have a vested interest in protecting and conserving Ospreys, Bald Eagles, other wildlife, and natural areas.

 https://marylandospreyfestival.org/2024-maryland-osprey-festival-event-schedule/

Saturday, April 5, 2025 Spring Wildflower Events

1pm Slide show at Scientists’ Cliffs Association (SCA) Community House

2pm Walk on a nearby ACLT trail to identify ephemeral spring wildflowers

Please join us for a Spring Wildflower Show and Tell followed by a walk in the American  Chestnut Land Trust (ACLT). It will be a great time to review the wildflowers in our area and hopefully identify some not so common native species. Several knowledgeable “botanizers” will be present to help answer questions and identify our ephemeral (fleeting) wildflowers during the walk.

We will meet at the Scientists’ Cliffs Community House for the slide show, then walk to ACLT. Wear sensible walking shoes and garments to fit  the weather. ACLT has miles of trails, but we normally only walk about a half mile as the plant identification tends to slow us down greatly.

Non-SCA participants will need to request a parking pass by April 3 ([email protected] or 703-258-4998). We will need to process the pass, and it will need to be displayed on your car’s dashboard. The pass will be distributed to the drivers that day. If it is raining heavily, we will have the slide show on April 5 at 1 pm and the walk on April 6 at 2 pm, providing the weather cooperates.

Directions to the Community House at Scientists’ Cliffs

From the north and south, take MD Route 2/4, Solomons Island Road, toward Prince Frederick. Turn east onto Parker’s Creek Rd (left from the N, right from the S).

In .5 miles, turn right onto Scientists’ Cliffs Road.  

Continue about .8 miles and turn right onto Aspen Road, the Gate A entrance.

In .25 miles, bear left onto Alder Road (sign for Community House).

In .1 mile, arrive at the Community House, 3500 Alder Rd, Port Republic, MD 20676

This event is co-hosted by Scientists’ Cliffs and Maryland Native Plant Society event.

Vegetative buffers are a great way to help protect our river right in your own “back yard.” Drop by the pavilion and receive your free bundle of native plants - help protect our Port Tobacco River!

Celebrate Earth Day with us.

Awareness of the many benefits of adding native plants to our landscapes has been growing significantly in recent years and this has resulted in native plants getting some attention by Maryland lawmakers.  Join us as Kirsten Hoffman and Judy Fulton share the details of recent legislation that promotes native plants by creating the Maryland Native Plants Program and legislation that strengthened Maryland's invasive plant laws.  Both bills are currently being implemented, and they will provide updates on new resources that these laws have made available and discuss what work is still to be done.  

Kirsten Hoffman is one of the founding members of the Maryland Native Plant Coalition which has written and passed two important pieces of state legislation: 2023’s HB950/SB836 creating the Maryland Native Plants Program and 2024’s HB979/SB915 strengthening Maryland’s invasive plant laws. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Green Towson Alliance and heads up their legislative affairs workgroup supporting efforts to improve Baltimore County’s environmental sustainability.  Kirsten is the treasurer for the Maryland Native Plant Society and recently became a Maryland Master Naturalist.  She is part of a Master Naturalist team working on a habitat restoration project at Cylburn Arboretum.  For the past three years, she has been a Blue Water Baltimore tree steward for her neighborhood and has helped residents select and plant over one hundred native trees. Kirsten is a registered architect in the state of Maryland and performs flute and piccolo with Flutopia Baltimore.

Judy Fulton, founder of EcoPlant Consulting, believes healthy ecosystems are crucial for human survival. She transforms places overrun by invasives into native landscapes, shares her knowledge via workshops and field trips, and serves as an expert in invasive plant litigation. Judy is Vice President of the Maryland Native Plant Society, and a member of the Maryland Invasive Species Council and the Board of the Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council. She has earned a Harvard MBA and three Maryland’s Top 100 Women awards from the Daily Record.

During recent Maryland legislative sessions, she was pleased to help write and pass the 2023 Maryland Native Plants Program (HB950/SB836) and the 2024 Maryland Invasive Plant bill (HB979/SB915). Her consulting, her co-authoring Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide, and her lead role in creating the Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool, an online guide to more than 900 invasive species, have positioned Judy as a sought-after advisor in eco-restoration.

Registration required. 

Details to follow 

Details to follow

Chesapeake Natives’ mission is to propagate. promote and protect native plants of the coastal plains and piedmont that form the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. We aim to restore home and public landscapes and park lands in this region with local ecotype native species (LENS) that best contribute to biodiversity, our best natural defense against the impacts of climate change. 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!