Events

Chapter member Tracey Stuller invites us to participate in the spring pollinator garden cleanup for the College of Southern Maryland Bee Campus pollinator garden.

Explore the Leonardtown Library’s Front Yard Pollinator Garden with magnifying glasses and children’s binoculars looking for and identifying birds and bugs in the garden. We can loan our guests magnifying glasses and binoculars but if you have your own, please feel free to bring them.

Tots in the Front Yard family garden walks will be led by Master Gardener volunteer Deb Pence and other volunteer community garden enthusiasts in the Leonardtown Library’s “Front Yard Garden.” Activities and guided walks are developed for 3–6 year-olds, but the whole family is welcome to join in the explorations. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and parents should note there will most likely be exposure to nuts, seeds and other plant parts as well as a variety of pollinators, so please be advised for potential allergens.

Registration is requested but drop-ins will be welcome. Walks will be approximately 30-40 minutes and loosely scheduled for 10:00 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Upcoming Walk Themes:

Saturday April 4, 2026 :

Birds and Bugs: Big and Little

Explore the Leonardtown Library’s Front Yard Pollinator Garden with magnifying glasses and children’s binoculars looking for and identifying birds and bugs in the garden. We can loan our guests magnifying glasses and binoculars but if you have your own please feel free to bring them.

Saturday May 16, 2026:

Colors in the Front Yard

A scavenger hunt in the Front Yard looking for all the colors in the rainbow and more!

Saturday June 13, 2026:

Shapes in the Front Yard

Join us as we look high and low for all sorts of shapes found in our Leonardtown Library Front Yard Native Plant garden. 

Saturday July 11, 2026

Easy Peasy Tree and Flower Identification

Explore the Leonardtown library’s Front Yard garden and learn to identify 4-6 (more or less) easy to identify trees, shrubs or flowers found in our native gardens and Maryland’s natural landscapes.

Saturday August 22, 2026

Water in the Front Yard Garden!

Come prepared to get a little wet as we review “What Plant’s Need to Grow” and talk about the importance of nurturing our plants and gardens in the heat of summer with different watering methods and systems.  

Saturday September 5, 2026

Pollinators in the Front Yard

An end of summer investigation looking for pollinators in our favorite native plant garden.

Saturday October 3, 2026 

Fall in the Front Yard!

Enjoy exploring the fall garden’s colors, smells, sights, sounds and perhaps tastes In the Leonardtown Library’s Front Yard Garden. 

Saturday November 14, 2026

Sleepy Seeds in the Front Yard

A Fun exploration of seeds and fruits found in the garden for flowers, shrubs and trees. We have flower seeds & pods, shrub fruits and tree nuts to look at, feel and learn to associate with our garden plants.

AGE GROUP: | Upper Elementary | Toddler | Preschool | Lower Elementary | Baby |

You might think native plants won't work in your yard, but in this presentation, Robin Madel and Sue Williams, with Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, will illustrate how there is a right plant for all those problem spots you might have around your yard.

We'll hold the workshop from 10am to 12pm, followed by a light lunch from 12pm to 12:30pm, then head outside for a work day in the Nature Center native plant beds from 12:30pm to 2:30pm.

Registration is recommended, but not required.
 

Join Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay to celebrate National Seed Swap Day! We will be participating in the Seed Swap Festival at Mount Rainier Nature Center, co-hosted by Prince George's Parks and Recreation and Anacostia Watershed Society.

Who should attend?
Everyone is welcome. Never gardened before? Come and bring your curiosity! Gardened and saved seeds your whole life? Bring your seeds and stories to share.

What should you bring?
It’s not required to bring anything to the seed swap. If you have seeds you’d like to share, please bring them! If possible, bring them in a labeled container with the type, variety, and year grown. If you have extra ziplock bags, paper packets, or other potential seed containers for seeds you receive, bring those as well.

In addition to the seed swap, there will be activities as follows:

Story Time for children starts at 11:30am 

Craft starts at 12:00pm-12:30pm. 

Winter seed starting workshop by the Mount Rainier Public Library will run from 1:00pm to 3:00pm 

The event is free and open to the public. 

This is a private event for the local Girl Scout service unit, organized by The Girl Scouts of Northern Calvert County.

We will be partnering with Nurture Natives to host age-appropriate activities related to Monarchs and Milkweed, including:
      Coloring pages and masks
      Lifecycle of a caterpillar
      Pollinator Race game
      Educational display

If available, butterfly milkweed plugs for scouts to pot up and take home. 

Join us on Saturday, April 18, from 10:00 a.m. to noon for a Native Plant Giveaway! Come pick up free plants for your home and learn how you can make a positive impact on our local environment.

The event will also feature informational brochures and booths where you can explore topics like native gardening, birding, and environmental stewardship.

This event supports Saint Nicholas' new project to construct two bioswales on their property. These landscape features will help filter stormwater, reduce flooding, and contribute to a healthier Chesapeake Bay.

Come all tall and small Good Earthlings to celebrate A "Good Earth" Day! Join us in our side parking lot for vendors and hands-on fun. We will have tons of activities for kids and adults:

Global Wines- Organic Wine Tasting (inside)
Back Porch Coffee Co.- Fresh roasted coffee pour overs
Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay Chapter - Dedicating the new front garden
Anchored Roots Farm- Regenerative Flower Farm
Make Your Own Pinch Pot for Kids- with artist Sarah Houde
Butterfly Walk Mascot- Molly the Monarch
Sunward CSA- Regenerative Agriculture
Start Your Own Seeds for Kids- with Valerie Deptula
King's Rest Farm- Regenerative Agriculture
Plein Air will be painting live!
Deez L'town Bees- Pollination & Beekeeping Demo
And More!!!

To become an Earth Day vendor please message [email protected]

To volunteer during our workdays in early April to renovate and plant the new native pollinator garden, contact [email protected]

April weather can be fickle, so if it rains, we will be cancelling with no rain date.

Nurture Natives and Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay will be participating at the University of Maryland’s annual springtime open house, Maryland Day! Stop by our booth to learn more about native plants. More details to follow on potential plant giveaway.

The University of Maryland's daylong event opens the campus to the community for nearly 400 free events showcasing arts, science, agriculture, sports and so much more. Don’t miss this unforgettable day of fun and discovery!

Details to follow

Would you like to make choices in your home landscape that invite birds and butterflies into your yard and help protect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay?

Learn about the process of transforming a lawn into a native plant garden. Master Gardeners will discuss how Leonardtown Library's Front Lawn was transformed and how you can take those lessons home.

The "Front Yard" team will share strategies and resources for homeowners who are interested in transforming swathes of turf grass into garden areas that beautify their property, reduce stormwater runoff from their yards, and create habitat for Maryland native birds, butterflies and other pollinators.

The Front Yard is a community project supported by Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, Friends of St Clements Bay, St. Mary's County Garden Club, St. Mary's County Master Gardeners and The Leonardtown Butterfly Trail.

Registration opens April 14.

Come and explore the beauty of native plants at the Parkette Pollinator Patch in Leonardtown. Meet members of the Leonardtown Butterfly Trail team (Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, St. Mary's County Garden Club, St. Mary's County Master Gardeners) to learn about the native plants in the pollinator patch. Learn about monarch butterflies and the other pollinators that visit the gardens.

ECOBAY will also be onsite with native plants for sale.

Many people are looking to add native plants to their gardens but don't know what to get or what is native for our area. This presentation will go over some of the most common native plants and where to plant them for success. Native Plants are essential because they are the foundation of the ecosystem. Native Plants are those that an ecosystem depends on in order to thrive. We can help fight the biodiversity crisis one yard at a time.

Join chapter members Robin Madel and Sue Williams for this informative presentation which includes information on the Coastal Plain ecoregion; critical area; right plant, right place and suggestions for various situations (sun/shade). 

Included will be take-home copies with information on local sources, internet sites for research and the Maryland Native Plant Society Booklet on suggested native plants. 

Bring your native plants and seeds to trade with other gardeners at our inaugural spring native plant swap at the “Front Yard” native gardens. 

This free event offers both experienced and new gardeners a chance to add native plants to their yards. In doing so, you will be creating habitat for our native birds, bees and butterflies.

If you're new to gardening with native plants, this event is the place to get started! Meet and chat with native-plant enthusiasts, view native plants in the Front Yard gardens, and take home free plants and seeds! 

If you're an experienced native gardener, please spread the joy by bringing your favorite plants and seeds to swap and share.  

Strange as it sounds, we're trying to prevent the spread of invasive weeds and jumping worms, so please follow these simple steps when bringing your plants to the event: 

Dig up your plants. 
Shake the dirt off the roots. 
Gently rinse the roots clean.  
Label each plant (include the botanical name if you can). 
Bring them to the Swap & Share in a bucket of water or wrapped in wet paper and tucked in a plastic bag.

For more information, contact Liz Curtz, Friends of St Clements Bay, at [email protected] or Marlene Smith, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, @ [email protected]
Participating partners include St. Mary's County Master Gardeners, Butterfly Alley, the Leonardtown Butterfly Trail, Friends of St Clements Bay, Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, and the St. Mary's County Garden Club.

Explore the Leonardtown Library’s Front Yard Pollinator Garden with magnifying glasses and children’s binoculars looking for and identifying birds and bugs in the garden. We can loan our guests magnifying glasses and binoculars but if you have your own, please feel free to bring them.

Tots in the Front Yard family garden walks will be led by Master Gardener volunteer Deb Pence and other volunteer community garden enthusiasts in the Leonardtown Library’s “Front Yard Garden.” Activities and guided walks are developed for 3–6 year-olds, but the whole family is welcome to join in the explorations. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and parents should note there will most likely be exposure to nuts, seeds and other plant parts as well as a variety of pollinators, so please be advised for potential allergens.

Registration is requested but drop-ins will be welcome. Walks will be approximately 30-40 minutes and loosely scheduled for 10:00 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Upcoming Walk Themes:

Saturday May 16, 2026:

Colors in the Front Yard

A scavenger hunt in the Front Yard looking for all the colors in the rainbow and more!

Saturday June 13, 2026:

Shapes in the Front Yard

Join us as we look high and low for all sorts of shapes found in our Leonardtown Library Front Yard Native Plant garden. 

Saturday July 11, 2026

Easy Peasy Tree and Flower Identification

Explore the Leonardtown library’s Front Yard garden and learn to identify 4-6 (more or less) easy to identify trees, shrubs or flowers found in our native gardens and Maryland’s natural landscapes.

Saturday August 22, 2026

Water in the Front Yard Garden!

Come prepared to get a little wet as we review “What Plant’s Need to Grow” and talk about the importance of nurturing our plants and gardens in the heat of summer with different watering methods and systems.  

Saturday September 5, 2026

Pollinators in the Front Yard

An end of summer investigation looking for pollinators in our favorite native plant garden.

Saturday October 3, 2026 

Fall in the Front Yard!

Enjoy exploring the fall garden’s colors, smells, sights, sounds and perhaps tastes In the Leonardtown Library’s Front Yard Garden. 

Saturday November 14, 2026

Sleepy Seeds in the Front Yard

A Fun exploration of seeds and fruits found in the garden for flowers, shrubs and trees. We have flower seeds & pods, shrub fruits and tree nuts to look at, feel and learn to associate with our garden plants.

AGE GROUP: | Upper Elementary | Toddler | Preschool | Lower Elementary | Baby |

Join us for our bi-monthly Garden Chat.

All Wild Ones members are welcome to attend and invite a guest!

Details to follow

Prepare to be amazed, get your hands dirty, and have loads of fun as we learn about the beauties of nature together! This is a FREE event for families of all ages. Read more about this event and view our schedule at: https://www.neighborhoodcreativeartscenter.org/nature-fest
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Registration is free and requires no credit card details

Details to follow

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon! 

Details coming soon!