Get your Buffer in a Bag with 2024 DNR Backyard Buffer Program
Deadline to sign up is April 1st!
It's nearly tree planting time which means its time for the 2024 Backyard Buffers (BYB) tree handout and workshop! This year the workshop will be focused on the appropriate topic: climate adaptation.
The climate has already started changing and it will only continue. Buffer forests are on the frontline of that change but could also be a cornerstone of resilience. We can foster that resilience on our landscapes and in our own yards. By planting native plants and restoring buffer forests you can provide resources to pollinators, fruits for humans and wildlife, clean the air and water, and help human and wildlife populations thrive; together and connected, whatever comes next.
What’s in the Bag?
A “buffer in a bag,” 30 tree/shrub seedlings suited to streamsides and wet areas. See species list in the handout.
Planting guides, information on climate change, and ways to do more
Sign up for your free bag of native trees and shrub seedlings at the link below. It is a first come, first serve program with some spots reserved for new participants and a waitlist. Either use the link, or contact Bob Schwartz by email at robertr.schwartz@maryland.gov
Deadline to sign up is April 1st!
BYB Seedling Pick up Day:
Saturday April 6th, 8am-12:30pm, or by appointment the week before at the Washington County Ag Education Center (7313 Sharpsburg Pike Keedysville, MD). Please see the attached brochure for species details.
Climate Adaptation Workshop:
Saturday April 6th, 9am-12pm, with speakers on a number of topics from climate adaptive gardening to managing invasive species to trout habitat. Please see the program brochure for details on speakers.
Questions about the program, contact:
Bob Schwartz, MD Department of Natural Resources Watershed Forester Maryland Forest Service
robertr.schwartz@maryland.gov Phone (301) 791-4733
Revised 3/6/24 with updated BYB Workshop agenda in the linked brochure.