Forests for the Bay

A bucket of freshly cut live stakes sits in a bucket after being trimmed from a black willow.

What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Shrub Willow

Shrub willows are notoriously challenging to identify, but provide numerous benefits to Chesapeake forests and streams!

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A group of people in hard hats and orange vests planting large trees along a street.

Large Caliper Bare Root Tree Planting: A Game-Changer for Urban Green Spaces

Despite the challenges, large caliper bare root trees are a fast, cost-effective way to green up cities.

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A plate of plain acorn jelly slices sitting on a plate resting on a table by a window.

What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Acorn Jelly

Acorn jelly, although there is not much to say about it’s flavor, this gelatinous food has an interesting origin story.

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The Puzzle of Extrafloral Nectaries

Do you know what extrafloral nectaries are? Learn about these essential plant parts found in over 100 plant families, including ferns.

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Rhododendron leaves exhibiting thermonasty in a deciduous forest with snow on the ground.

What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Rhododendron

You may have noticed on a particularly cold winter hike that rhododendron also seems to huddle up for warmth.

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Two people smile while reading a book and holding a tree branch

“Tree Talk” Turns Six This Year!

Happy sixth birthday to our plant identification YouTube series, Tree Talk! It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since the series began, and we’re honored to have taught so many people about so many species!

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Loysville Youth Development Center and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay are partnering to reforest the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Pennsylvania

Beginning in the Summer of 2024, an exciting partnership flourished between Loysville Youth Development Center (LYDC) and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

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What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Virgin-Bower’s

This December, as you drive across the deciduous landscape, be on the lookout for virgin-bower’s (Clematis virginiana) achenes.

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Preventing the Apocalypse with the American Carrion Beetle

Detritivores, such as the native American carrion beetle, ensure the dead return to the earth.

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Close up view of 5 red osier dogwood's white berries with a black dot in the center surrounded by green leaves that are turning red in the Fall.

What’s Peepin’? Spook-tacular Fun: Red Osier Dogwood

Did you know, red osier dogwood berries have a spook-tacular resemblance to eyes?

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