 Introduction: In early 2025 CEI's Families in Nature Program – CFIN (a Community of Families In Nature) – was awarded a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The project, supported by grant funds as well as funds from CEI (including CFIN Membership dues) was titled Following the Raindrops: A Watershed Literacy Program. The program plan included CFIN Event Leader professional development, programming for the summer and autumn of 2025, and an arts-based cumulative project (to be decided by participants). Prior to the summer membership season, CFIN Event Leaders engaged in professional development on planning and leading Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). CFIN Members and event leaders then spent the summer and autumn exploring the concept of watersheds, human impact (good and bad) on them, as well as engaging in a variety of land stewardship projects. Grant funds were used for a number of community events to engage members of the public in creating “Seed Sculptures” while learning the basics of watersheds and the important role of native plants in healthy watersheds; the Seed Sculptures became the foundation of our final project. This project was funded by Chesapeake Bay Trust and The Community Ecology Institute (including fees from CFIN Memberships). Community partners include: Howard County Watershed Stewards Academy, and Columbia Association, Office of Sustainability. Learn more about how Bay Plates fund watershed stewardship projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Our Seed Sculptures Project One of our experiential education projects -- which was shared with the broader community -- was to build seed balls with native seeds and then to transform the seed balls into sculptures. Many native seeds need time to cold stratify before germination, so the seed balls were created for late autumn placement outdoors. We added the artistic touch of creating seed sculptures (seed balls with added details for artsy fun) as a way to keep participants of all ages engaged while we talked about watersheds and the benefits of planting native plants and removing/replacing invasive plants! If you joined a seed sculpture experience, check out some of the plants the seeds in your sculpture could become. Remember to place seedballs as instructed (a reminder is below in case you lost your paper) and send us photos of plants that grow, we would love to see them! [email protected] All seeds used in the project are native to the Piedmont region of Maryland. Things we discussed in our Seed Sculpture building experiences: A watershed is an area of land that drains all precipitation to a given body of water (this could be a small area of land like the watershed of a stream -- usually classified as a sub-watershed, a larger area of land like the watershed of the Middle Patuxent River, or a very large watershed, like the Chesapeake Bay watershed (which the Middle Patuxent watershed and all its little sub-watersheds are part of). Our Freetown Farm and Green Farmacy Garden properties are both in the Middle Patuxent River Watershed. Learn more about watersheds: What's a Watershed What's your watershed and how are your local waterways doing? Native plants support other living creatures in our local watersheds by providing specialized food and shelter, helping to manage excess water. Native plants are also adapted to survive longer in periods of dry weather (so require less watering). Planting native plants and supporting businesses that sell native plants is the way to be good stewards of our watershed. Build your own seed sculptures at home! Send us photos and stories about your project! [email protected] Directions for placing your seed sculptures for successful growing! Enjoy your seed sculpture in a safe indoor place until Thanksgiving; between late November and late December, place your seed sculpture outside (native plant seeds need to have some time in the cold in order to germinate – this is called cold stratification– and spending the winter outdoors is just right for that!). When placing your seed sculpture, make sure you are planting in an area that gets the conditions indicated for the best possible chance of your plants thriving (your take home paper indicated which conditions were best for the seed sculpture experience you participated in; see below if you have lost your paper). Make a small clear space on the ground for your seed sculpture to sit on bare earth; ‘rough’ the ground up a bit with a rake, a stick, or even your hands. Do not bury or break apart your seed sculpture (it is okay to put it outside if it has broken on its own though). I suggest making yourself a little sign to remind yourself of your seeds - your sculpture will ‘melt away’ over the winter. Check out some of the fun signs CFIN Members have created! Next spring send pictures of any plants to: [email protected]! Public Seed Sculpture Events and growing conditions: Roots and Wings Treat Trek: sunny and dry Scout event at Freetown Farm: sunny and wet FISH highschool youth group: partly shady and medium-wet Green Friday Fun: shady and medium-wet Comments are closed.
|
