Howard County

Howard Co. MG Annual Report 2006

1. Basic Information
# of active MGs    122
# of interns    24
# of volunteer hours    5,782

2. Plant Clinics
# of active plant clinic sites    5
# of plant clinics    54
# of residents served at plant clinics    467

3. Bay-Wise
# of new yards certified as Bay-Wise (MGs and other residents)     15
# of total Bay-Wise certified yards (all years combined)     85

4. Composting
# of composting demonstration sites    4
# of residents who received a compost bin: 0    Secured through Bureau of Environmental Services

5. Classes taught
# of classes/workshops taught by MGs    43
# of residents educated    768

6. Awards/recognition

Tawes Award for Clean Environment
PLANT (People Loving and Nurturing Trees) Howard County Forestry Board

7. Grants:

Chesapeake Bay Trust: $12,579. Support for Schools and Streams: A Bay Education and Conservation Program

8. Partners:

Howard Co. Conservancy
Howard Co. Public School System
Howard Co. Public Library
Howard Co. Recreation and Parks Dept.
Home and Garden Information Center
Central MD Research and Education Center
Chesapeake Bay Trust

8. Highlights from past year:

1.    Following the compilation of composting curriculum materials for the Howard County elementary science program, an in-service training was conducted by MGs for the second and third grade teachers. Seventy one teachers participated in the training. It is anticipated that MGs will serve as resources in the conduct of compost training.

2. A total of 28 Howard County elementary schools participated in the Schools and Streams: A Bay Education and Conservation Program. MG volunteers provided 490 hours of supervision of the 2,937 students who took part in the on-site planting of riparian stream buffer.

3. In appreciation for MG presentations to Howard County garden clubs, ten clubs gave donations to the MGs totaling $655. Additional contributions totaling $1,215 were given for presentations by 5 community agencies and one business making the total of $1,870 in contributions for educational activities.

4. The creation of a database to maintain information on Bay-Wise Landscape Stewardship clients has enabled the MGs to collect data concerning client consultation visits. To date 180 clients have received visits with a total of 85 certified to date including 15 in 2006.

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5. The MGs received two awards recognizing their accomplishments in environmental programs, especially the Bay-Wise and Schools and Streams programs. The awards included the Tawes Award for Clean Environment and PLANT (People Loving and Nurturing Trees).

6. MG Volunteers provide a variety of educational services at the Howard County Conservancy including Middle School Service Learning days. Ten Service Learning days were conducted in which over 1150 children and 283 adults were supervised by MGs.

For more information, contact Robin Hessey

Last updated: 07/1/2007