June 2013

CONSERVATION & EDUCATION CORNER

Conservation is Everyone’s Mission

Steven Swartz

Conservation Committee Chair

Telephone 301-527-1292; e-mail kabloona15@comcast.net

The Conservation & Education Committee meets every second Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the B-CC Chapterhouse.

The annual Poolesville High School Global Ecology Program student conservation awards ceremony was held Monday night May 20th at the B-CC IWLA Chapterhouse. B-CC IWLA presented five student projects $1,000 cash awards. These included:  “A Poolesville High School Field Guide” of original watercolor drawings and paintings of flowers and plants on the high school grounds by Laura Barnard;  the “Outdoor Classroom” a multi-grade level environmental curriculum for grades 1-5 by Jason Lippe; the “Oyster Reef Ball” project to make artificial substrate for oysters to grow in the Chesapeake Bay by Diana Hanson, Emerald Shen, and Anh-Thu (Mina) Tran; a “Compost Heat Generator” by Jackson Hill, Colin Ionita, and Maxim Gorlenko; and for “A Vision Unseen” a film on experiencing the outdoors and its impact on our appreciation of conservation. A special award was presented to Joyce Bailey, the steward of the Global Ecology Program who is retiring from teaching this month. Other organizations presenting student awards included the Sugarloaf Citizens Association, Montgomery County Forestry Board, the Monocacy Garden Club, the Maryland Bluebird Society, and the American Chestnut Foundation. Thanks to George Coakley, Butch Mezick, and Jim Hubbard who served as student project judges and presented the B-CC IWLA awards.

Representatives of the American Chestnut Foundation have partnered with B-CC IWLA to establish a grove of hybrid chestnut trees on our Conservation Farm in the A3 field east of the campground off West Willard Road. The Foundation is conducting a program to develop a disease resistant strain of chestnut tree that will hopefully re-establish American Chestnuts across the eastern portion of the United States.  The trees planted on the B-CC IWLA Conservation Farm are 90% American Chestnut and 10% Chinese Chestnut that are resistant to the blight that has wiped out chestnuts throughout the east coast. Past President Bob Benson has coordinated this program with the Foundation, and the trees were planted and will be maintained as an ongoing Eagle Scout program.

This is a great time of the year to get out on our Conservation Farm and enjoy the summertime glory of our woods.  As our you conservationists in the Global Ecology Program told us, “Get outdoors and enjoy our woods and wildlife!”

We need our members to become involved, so come out to support our “Conservation Mission” and participate in the C&E Committee and its activities. If you have an activity in mind and/or would like to lead an event, contact C&E Chair Steven Swartz and come to the next meeting of the Conservation and Education Committee. 

If you have an activity in mind and/or would like to lead an event, contact C&E Chair Steven Swartz at e-mail: kabloona15@comcast.net, and come to the next meeting of the Conservation and Education Committee.