As winter sets in, the Earth slows down and becomes quieter, and our enterprise, deeply connected to nature, experiences its own transformations. Though we're unable to tend to gardens during this season, we're still hard at work—planting trees, managing forests, and focusing on career development for our staff and crew. Now, let’s take a look at what December has brought!
Metrics
In December we:
Visited 12 project sites
Installed 538 trees and shrubs
Completed 7 professional development activities
And engaged with 38 volunteers
1 new hire!
Projects
Considering that it’s winter and we don’t install gardens or small plants at this time, our biggest focus this month was tree planting and forest management. Compared to the beginning of 2024, we went out with a bang for December by planting 538 trees! Below are the details:
380 trees planted in Upper Elkhorn in collaboration with Howard County Office of Sustainability and Columbia Association! Special thanks to Grow Home Baltimore, Maryland Corps & Service Year, and the Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps for volunteers.
88 trees planted at Frenchman’s Creek Community.
18 trees planted in East Pines Community.
14 trees planted in North Brentwood Community.
38 trees planted across 14 private residences between Greengate and Dunmore communities in partnership with NeighborSpace Baltimore County. Grant funding was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
Professional Development and Industry Exposure
Our workforce development programs UpLift and Maryland Climate Corps offer opportunities for growth in career development through exposure, networking, and training. Additionally, we offer career development for our staff and senior crew. Here’s what they did this month:
Professional Development Day: Matt Hemler, Programs Coordinator, guided career preparation sessions over two days with UpLift.
Tree ID Lesson #3: Zsuzsanna Cooke, Natural Resource Specialist, led our UpLift crew on a Winter Tree ID lesson which involved identifying trees with no leaves.
Trailer Training: Nick Lovett, Field Technician, led our senior crews in how to properly drive our hitched trailers to haul material for our projects.
OSHA-10 Training: Our senior and seasonal crews received OSHA-10 certification, which is important safety training for the landscape industry.
Climate Webinar: Our conservation crew members completed virtual training with Chesapeake Bay Trust Climate Corps on environmental justice.
Regional Training: Our conservation crew members additionally completed a Service Year regional training with Maryland Service Year.
Merits
New Members!
Board Members: We are excited to announce two new members joining the Board of Directors at Howard EcoWorks!
Courtney Galiber is an Associate at Morris & Ritchie Associates, Inc. (MRA), where she applies her expertise to deliver innovative solutions in the field of engineering and environmental design. Courtney’s experience in the industry will be invaluable as we continue our mission to promote sustainability and conservation in our community.
Todd Warren is the Senior Vice President & Market Executive for the Greater Chesapeake and Baltimore regions at Capital Bank. With a strong background in professional sales and commercial banking, Todd brings a wealth of experience and leadership to our Board of Directors. His expertise will help us strengthen our efforts towards a greener and more sustainable future.
We’re thrilled to welcome both Courtney and Todd to the team as we work together to create a lasting environmental impact.
Senior Crew: Rasa Davidson de Sa is our newest Senior Crew Member at Howard EcoWorks! We're excited to have her on board as we work towards a more sustainable future. Welcome, Rasa!
Volunteering
Holly Hills Clean Up: We hosted our first volunteer event at our new location in Glenwood, Holly Hills! Volunteers braved that chilly morning and received an introduction and a tour from Lori Lilly, our Founder and Executive Director. Eventually, they broke off into teams, some cleaning debris around the buildings, others managing the forested area, and another group distributing a giant mulch pile to trees around the property.
Tree Maintenance Workshop: Zsuzsanna led part 2 of the Tree Care series (1st part was an informational webinar). This in-person workshop focused on forest management and young tree care, and attendees had an opportunity to practice by volunteering their time in a wooded area in Columbia. Volunteers focused on removing invasive vines and fixing up tree cages for young growing trees.
Fundraising
Year End Giving!: We successfully raised $10,516 for our Year End Giving fundraiser to help build a water well for Holly Hills. Our goal was $7,500, so we made 140% of our goal! Thank you so much for all of our donations and supporters!
Grant Award: We received a $4,000 community impact grant award from the Community Foundation of Howard County! CFHoCo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity with the goal of improving the quality of life in Howard County, primarily through endowment building and coordinated grant-making services. We are so grateful they chose us for this donation!
Grant Award: We were notified that we received a $100,000 grant award from the Maryland Forest Service’s Community Forestry Catalyst Fund. This grant will support community engagement and forest stewardship in urban, underserved communities as well as enhance urban forestry curriculum into our green jobs training programs.
Celebrations
And lastly, we kicked off the year with a holiday celebration among our staff and crew. We enjoyed food, games, and a slideshow that captured the memories.
Thank you for joining us for this month's recap on conservation, professional development, and organization expansion. We hope to see you next time in 2025! Enjoy the following bonus photos from our crew below.
Comments