This past Sunday, October 20th the Alliance hosted a very rainy, but cozy Fall Fest: Native Plant Social inside our headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland. We invited the public to come check out our newly updated building, meet our staff, and get a chance to learn about who we are and about the work that we do to help create healthy waterways and lands.

Alliance staff handing out free native plants

When people entered the event on Sunday they were greeted by Alliance staff handing out free native plants from Chesapeake Natives, Bartlett Trees Experts, and Herring Run Nursery. Thanks to Chesapeake Natives, people also had the chance to purchase additional native plants!

Annapolis Maritime Museum setup

Once guests entered the building they had the opportunity to talk to multiple vendors, such as: Kristin Barbera from the Annapolis Maritime Museum who brought some Bay critters; photographer, Audrey Fanjoy, who sold reusable food wrap made from beeswax with her art printed on them; and Cory the innkeeper from the Inn at Hornpoint who shared his passion for composting and brought a demonstration. Along with these educational components, we also offered free coffee and scones from one of our favorite local restaurants, Bread and Butter Kitchen. The Alliance is very fortunate to have such great nonprofits, for-profits, and restaurants as our neighbors and we look forward to working with all these vendors again in the future!

Messy craft table!

A popular attraction for kids (and adults) was our craft table at the event. We had a messy table full of mini pumpkins for painting, bat crafts, and even some crazy spiders!

Thanks to everyone who braved the rain to join us on Sunday! We look forward to hosting another Native Plant Social in the Spring.