Shore Land Stewardship Council Offers
Speakers Bureau on First Stop for the Bay Campaign
Shore Land Stewardship Council, an initiative of Adkins Arboretum,
is offering the region’s environmental organizations,
watershed groups, homeowner associations, civic groups, realtors,
and industry professionals the opportunity to learn more about
how to care for properties in the Chesapeake Bay Critical
Area through its new First Stop for the Bay Speakers Bureau.
The Critical Area is the 1000-foot wide area of land around
the Bay and its tidal tributaries. The Speakers Bureau provides
accurate and consistent information, technical support, and
referrals on best landscaping practices in the Chesapeake
Bay Critical Area. The Council’s initiative, First Stop
for the Bay, encourages Critical Area property owners to seek
advice and permits from their local planning offices first
before they begin landscaping changes, such as removing trees
or altering their shoreline.
Those who attend a First Stop for the Bay Speakers Bureau
presentation will receive copies of the Council’s recent
publication, The Green Book for the Bay: An Illustrated Guidebook
for Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Property Owners Living on
Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This free resource grew out
of a collaboration of professionals and local citizens on
Maryland’s Eastern Shore who realized that the rules
and the process to follow in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area
are complex and often confusing for those who want to be good
stewards of the land they own. The Green Book provides clear
information on best landscaping practices in an easy-to-use
format that includes FAQs, case studies and color photographs
of beautiful landscapes that are also Bay-friendly.
Upcoming Speakers Bureau presentations in the public libraries
will be held at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton on
Thursday, March 18, 6 to 7:30 p.m.; at the Queen Anne's County
Free Library in Stevensville on Monday, March 22, 6:30 to
8 p.m.; at the Caroline County Public Library in Denton on
Tuesday, March 30, 6:30 to 8 p.m.; and at the Kent County
Public Library in Chestertown on Wednesday, April 7, 6 to
7:30 p.m. To schedule a First Stop for the Bay Speakers Bureau
presentation for your organization, contact Carol Jelich at
Adkins Arboretum at 410-634-2847 or cjelich@adkinsarboretum.org.
For further information about First Stop for the Bay, visit
www.firststopforthebay.org.
Pictured left to right are speakers participating in Shore
Land Stewardship Council’s new First Stop for the Bay
Speakers Bureau: Carol Jelich, project manager for Shore Land
Stewardship Council; Mary Owens, Education and Conservation
Coordinator, Critical Area Commission, Maryland Department
of Natural Resources; arborist Bob Stanley, Tree Keepers;
and Teri Batchelor, Forester, Maryland Department of Natural
Resources, Forest Service
