Rain gardens are a simple and  effective way to "green" your landscape and manage storm water. A rain garden is a shallow, planted depression that absorbs the water that flows from your roof, patio or yard, allowing it to drain directly into the soil.

 

Columbia Association, through a grant from MD Department of Natural Resources, will pay 75% of the installation costs of rain gardens on residential property and has a landscape firm on contract for installation. This program serves Columbia residents whose property is located in the Little Patuxent Watershed. Most properties in Harper's Choice qualify. We have several brochures available at Kahler Hall that explain the program, show costs, templates and photos.

For more information, watch this video or contact CA's Watershed Manager, John McCoy, at 410-312- 6336.

 

Please join the Howard County Lyme Awareness Group on June 23 at 7:00 p.m. for a free webinar to learn about Essentials of Lyme Disease Prevention. Most people know some of the basics about Lyme Disease, but the majority do nothing to prevent it. Don't let yourself or your loved ones experience the horrors that this disease can bring upon your physical, mental and financial health! With the number of new people acquiring Lyme skyrocketing to 300,000+ per year, chances are this disease will hit close to home. This educational presentation will provide some essential steps to protect yourself, your children, your pets and others you care about.

 

You will learn important information relevant to gardeners, landscapers, homeowners, scouts, kids attending outside camps/sports, pet owners and more.

 

Presenter Bob Oley is a Public Health Consultant and a Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention Expert and holds a graduate degree in Public Health from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. He has been involved in public health and site work for over 30 years. Bob has worked in Pennsylvania and the surrounding states as a Public Health Consultant specializing in tick-borne disease prevention. An important aspect of his consulting work involves advising families and businesses on how to make their properties safer from ticks, and on what personal protection measures can be taken to safeguard family members and workers. He will share from his wealth of knowledge on this subject, as well as personal experience.

 

Please register in advance. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend and ask questions. 

When: June 24 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Where: Howard County Conservancy (10520 Old Frederick Road, Woodstock, MD)

Fee: $10/car 

Begin your summer with an old fashioned family picnic. Bring your supper and spread your blanket and lawn chairs. As the fireflies begin to flicker under the trees and in the tall grasses around the property at Mt. Pleasant, listen to musician and storyteller Bill Wellington from Staunton, Virginia, who electrifies audiences with his storytelling, "roses are red poems," and family music programs. Little kids and adults alike are welcome to dance to the fiddles and sing old-timey songs! Learn interesting facts about fireflies and make a firefly craft. In the event of rain, check the Conservancy website.