During the early spring I took a deep dive researching a handful of obscure, hard to identify native plants. Learning the difference between Eupatorium maculatum (Spotted Joe-pye Weed) and Eupatorium perfoliatum (Common Boneset) is one example; Spotted Joe-pye has a reddish stem and pink flowers while Boneset is a white fuzzy perennial whose perfoliate leaves look like they are growing right through the stem. Learning weird facts and identifiers helps me better familiarize my

Longtime supporter and author of this article, Earl Dolan. PC: Margot Resto The best word to describe Wild Turkey hunting is CHALLENGING. Wild Turkeys are very smart, cautious birds with excellent eyesight. The key to a successful Wild Turkey hunt is preparation. Weeks before opening day of Wild Turkey season, I organize my supplies. These include: 1) three turkey decoys (two hens and one jake). A hen is a female turkey, a jake is a young male turkey with a short beard, and a

PGT 2025 Garden Host, Donna Main and her resident scarecrow. PC: Brooke Orr There is something powerful about stepping into a space that is alive with motion. Bees move from bloom to bloom, butterflies drift through the air, and native plants thrive in a landscape designed to support them. On Saturday, June 6, the Lower Shore Land Trust invites you to experience that firsthand at our annual Pollinator Garden Tour. This year’s tour is focused in Wicomico County and marks the k

LSLT Staff: Jared Parks, Matt Heim, Ava Fries, Lauren Imhof, Brooke Orr, and Heather Geraldes. PC: Claudio Garcia The Lower Shore Land Trust was recognized at the PACE Showcase on April 23rd by Salisbury University’s PACE program (Public Affairs and Civic Engagement) with the Community Partner of the Year Award. This was both unexpected and deeply appreciated, and we see it as a strong reflection of the work our team has been doing. PACE at SU holds several opportunities for

We asked our staff to put together themed native plant packs using some of their favorite species from the sale, and they delivered! Each pack reflects a different idea, some practical, some a little more fun, but all thoughtfully pulled together with plants they know and love. Below, you’ll find each themed collection, with every plant linked so you can easily explore or bring the whole pack home. Nectar in the Moment Pack - Beth Sheppard (Restoration Manager) Aster novi be

The milky way in Assateague Island. PC: Ruth Coffey As the sun winks behind the horizon, leaving behind hues of gold and coral, a new world awakens. In twilight, insects buzz, birds fly, and stars twinkle above. The sanctity of a dark environment is essential for the biodiversity that thrives in the night, but with an increase of light pollution, our nocturnal friends are at risk. On the eastern shore, light pollution strongly affects our migrating bird population. Snow gees

Heather Geraldes PC: Heather Geraldes Heather Geraldes joined the Lower Shore Land Trust in March as our Grants Manager. She brings strong nonprofit leadership experience in best practices, capacity building, and grantmaking from her past roles at the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families. Heather is excited to join LSLT with a goal of fostering sustainability and purposeful growth across the organization. Outs

PC: LSLT As the days stretch out and the ground starts waking up, farming season is here. Folks are already out in the fields from sunup to sundown, planting, fixing, checking on things, doing what needs to be done to keep the season moving. That also means you’ll start seeing more tractors and farm equipment on the roads. If you come up behind one, just take it slow and give it some room. Those machines aren’t built for speed, and they need a little extra space to turn and g

Before meadow installation at a LSLT Yards for Creation site, Delmarva Free School. PC: Brooke Orr After meadow installation at a LSLT Yards for Creation site, Delmarva Free School. PC: Brooke Orr Meadows, meadows, meadows. That is all we seem to be talking about in the office lately and honestly, we love it. More and more people across Maryland are discovering just how valuable native plants and native meadows can be for their homes, their communities, and the ecosystems ar

The temperature at the Libertytown Branch tract just outside Berlin read 27 degrees Fahrenheit and with a biting windchill it felt closer to 16. But for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources burn crew gathered on site at 9 a.m. on February 13, those numbers were simply part of the equation. Under a breezy blue sky, the DNR team launched the first prescribed burn of 2026 at the Chesapeake Forest tract, a carefully managed fire that would spend the better part of the day

Mystery Moth Cocoon on a Red Oak in Jared's Yard. PC: Jared Parks Daylight Saving Time is near, and the spring equinox (March 20) is not far behind, though it might not look like it outside my window. Our flower beds are buried in multiple inches (feet in some drifted areas) of snow along with the crocuses that had been in full bloom just the day before, but those are mere trifles. I am busy planning for the warmer days ahead. I know that certain tasks must be performed as

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of sitting with conservation easement holders, supporters, farmers, neighbors, county government partners, and friends as we kicked off outreach for the Lower Shore Land Trust’s next Conservation Strategic Plan. As someone who grew up here on the Lower Shore, has a deep love of the landscape, and now gets to do this work alongside all of you, I can say honestly that these meetings were among the most meaningful moments I’ve had

Sandra Kirkland & Betsy Love's Native Garden, Bunny Hill. PC: Brooke Orr “These freezing temperatures aren’t here forever”, “Don’t worry, Spring is just around the Corner” - this is what I tell myself in the harsh weather days of January and February. And while we aren’t able to dig in the garden we can plan for a hopeful season brimming with songbirds, bees, butterflies and colorful moths. Is 2026 the year for your garden make over? Do you have an area on your property you

2026 starts a new chapter for the Lower Shore Land Trust Land Stewards Program. In many years past, LSLT has relied on volunteers to help steward our over 141 easements and 24,500 acres. Starting this year, LSLT will be piloting a program with Salisbury University. Salisbury University Holloway Hall. PC: Brooke Orr This new and exciting program will open the opportunity for young professionals in SU’s Senior Seminar class to get real life, in-field experience, along with lear

Community Development Coordinator, Margot Resto dreaming of her perfect Valentine's Day gift: A Native Plant Sale Gift Card! PC: Brooke Orr 🌺🎶 “I Gave My Love A Native Plant” 🎶🌺 My Valentine sings beautiful songs to me. Another does a little dance around my back yard, putting on a beautiful show for me. Sometimes, I see my Valentines out my window, arriving right on time for a visit. All I have to do is give my Valentines plenty of water and food, and a safe place to live

Yards for Creation Site Visit Meeting with St. Philip's Episcopal Church's Green Team. PC: Beth Sheppard The Lower Shore Land Trust is hitting the airwaves in collaboration with Delmarva Public Media. Conservation Conversations is a brand-new radio segment and podcast that highlights environmental topics specific to the Lower Shore, hosted by me, Lauren Imhof. As I’ve come to discover, the Lower Shore is a special place where forests, marshes, meadows, and waterways come toge

LSLT is proud to use QRcodeChimp to support our outreach and engagement efforts. Their platform helps us connect people to the right information, quickly and easily, whether that’s through signs, printed materials, or digital posts. Using QRcodeChimp, we’re able to create both static and dynamic QR codes for everything from event signage to program information. For an organization like the Lower Shore Land Trust, access to dynamic QR codes is a true game changer. It allows u

Beth : I’ve never been a New Year’s Resolution follower as it often results in unrealistic expectations for change. Rather, here at the Lower Shore Land Trust I hope to broaden my skills and learn more from the land surrounding us. Being better able to understand the ways nutrients impact soils, taking time to sharpen my lens, observing the close up path of certain insects or turtles and learning the names of butterflies, these are goals I have for the coming year. And, being

Jared on one of his winter walks! PC: Jared Parks The excitement of New Year’s Eve seems to ebb much faster than the other major holidays. Though the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, the three weeks either side of the solstice have nearly identical hours of daylight, so by January 1 st we are all still in the midst of the shortest days of the year and a good three to four weeks from the noticeably longer days associated with the beginning of February. In my e

PC: Jodi Sulpizio, Penn State Extension LSLT is now accepting applications for Yards For Creation, a program that installs native meadows on public land with a focus on congregations in Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset Counties. Earlier this year LSLT via their Yards for Creation Program in partnership with Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake installed a native meadow at The Delmarva Free School ( a member-based intentional land-use recovery community and nature sanctuar