Conserving Chesapeake Forests

Students putting temporary flags in a field to designate future tree planting spots.

Updates from Loysville Youth Development Center

Hear from students at the Loysville Youth Development Center (LYDC) who have worked with the Alliance to valuable, real-world skills such as plant propagation, nursery practices, tree establishment, environmental systems, and more!

Read More

What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: Nodding Ladies’ Tresses & Hill Holly

Nodding ladies’ tresses, Spiranthes cernua Nodding ladies’ tresses spiral down a staircase in a coordinated step-wise fashion, they outpace their bee suitors in elegant white. It’s no wonder the bees start from the bottom of the staircase to intercept the best of their nectar. The older flowers towards the base of the stem produce more …

Read More

A small snake held in a person's hand.

The Northern Watersnake: A Chesapeake Companion

Are you scared of snakes? They don’t want anything to do with you either! Many people fear our legless friends, but they play an integral role in our ecosystems and try their best to avoid humans.

Read More

Close up of a woolly bear caterpillar sitting on a green leaf.

Can Banded Wooly Bear Caterpillars ACTUALLY Predict Winter Weather?

Move over Puxatawney Phil, there may be a new furry meteorologist in the Chesapeake Bay watershed! That’s right, the Wooly Bear Caterpillar has been rumored to be able to predict the harshness of the upcoming winter!

Read More

hands cupping multiple mussels

Luring you In: Freshwater Mussels in the Chesapeake Bay

North America is home to nearly 300 unique species of freshwater mussels. Southeastern states, particularly those with tributaries flowing to the Mississippi River, host a massive hotspot of freshwater mussel species diversity.

Read More

Fungal Armageddon and the Spooky Biodiversity of our Backyards

It’s Halloween season! Experience the wild and wonderful abilities of this parasitic fungi that could be in your own back yard.

Read More

A Nightmare on Barberry Street

Invasive plants are everywhere, and they’ve trapped our ecosystem in a horror film.

Read More

two people tend to a young tree growing out of its tree tube

Another Milestone for Chesapeake Forests

The Healthy Forests Healthy Waters program (HFHW) has planted its 2,000th acre of forest in Maryland! Over 389 projects have been completed under the program since its founding in 2015.

Read More

Tulip Tree Scale: A Messy Pest of Our Beloved Native Trees

What is Tulip Tree Scale? Explore this tiny insect that, while rarely fatal, weakens trees by feeding on sap and attracting sooty mold—highlighting the growing impact of pests in changing environmental conditions.

Read More

What’s Poppin’? Phenological Fun: White Wood Aster

This low-growing hardy native is one of the select few plants that can still thrive in dry, shady spots that otherwise prove too challenging for many herbaceous perennials.

Read More