Events Archive: 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Upcoming Events
January 2026
Garden Chat/Member Meeting
Online/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Registration Required Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Join us for our bi-monthly Garden Chat with a presentation by Unity Gardens. The presentation will include a brief introduction to Unity Gardens (Pat Mitchell), some content about native plant selection geared towards members who are already native plant enthusiasts (Mary Yee), followed by some information on applying for either a Unity Gardens grant or a Chesapeake Bay Trust mini grant (Richard Hergenroeder).
All Wild Ones members are welcome to attend and invite a guest!
About the Speakers:
Pat Mitchell, Past President of Unity Gardens, is a midwestern transplant, but a long time Annapolitan and Bay-Wise gardener. She is a retired law librarian who enjoys Master Gardener projects, crafts, reading, travel and learning about our local ecology and sustainable agriculture. Pat especially enjoys kayaking and boating on the Bay with her husband, Geoff. She believes that the Unity Gardens mission of empowering communities to improve their environment with native plants is a positive force in the community. Each individual really can make a difference by landscaping wisely and working together, and can achieve deep and visible results for our Chesapeake Bay environment.
Mary Yee, Board Member, is a long-time native plant enthusiast and has been an active advocate for the environment in Anne Arundel County since she moved here in 2003. Originally from Washington, DC and most recently from Montgomery County, Mary has been a Master Gardener since 2011. Some of her favorite projects have been with Ask A Master Gardener, Bay-Wise, and co-chairing the Bee Project for six years. Mary currently volunteers with the Greenhouse Team of Providence of Maryland and has been a Unity Gardens grant recipient for her homeowner’s association. When not in the garden, Mary also enjoys reading and long walks with her fur baby.
Richard Hergenroeder, Board Member, earned degrees in civil engineering from Drexel University and also graduated from John Hopkins University. Richard was a Professional Engineer with firms that served the environmental and energy sectors. He is a Fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers and served on boards of homeowners’ associations, a recycling association, and state, county, and borough commissions. He has enjoyed assisting two dozen landscape conservation projects in Anne Arundel County. His current projects are a flower farm for his church and a living shoreline for his home. He volunteers for Wheels of Hope (Crownsville) and his church (Pasadena). Richard is part of Unity Gardens because it provides incentive for homeowners’ associations and faith communities to create habitat for pollinators. Richard believes these grants have a multiplier effect among the many members of these communities.
Native Seed Cleaning (Private event)
James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center, 24005 Point Lookout Rd, Leonardtown, MD, 20650 Map
Public Welcome Youth Engagement Free Event Hands-On/How-To Workshop
Native seed cleaning with horticulture management students
Seed Swap Festival
Public Welcome Family-Friendly Registration Required Free Event Seed/Plant Share Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking
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.
February 2026
Free National Webinar
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!
March 2026
Free National Webinar- March 2026
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!
April 2026
Earth Day - North Beach Nature Center
North Beach Nature Center at Wetlands Overlook Park
Volunteers Needed Public Welcome Family-Friendly Free Event Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking
Details to follow
June 2026
Bug Fest - North Beach Nature Center
North Beach Nature Center at Wetlands Overlook Park
Volunteers Needed Public Welcome Family-Friendly Free Event Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Free Public Parking
Details to follow
September 2026
Free National Webinar- September 2026
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!
October 2026
Free National Webinar- October 2026
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!
November 2026
Free National Webinar- November 2026
Hosted by Wild Ones NationalOnline/Virtual
Public Welcome Recording Available Free Event Program/Speaker Presentation
Details coming soon!