Natural History Field Studies

NATH8216E, 3 CEUs
Class night and time: Thursdays, 6-8 pm   
Class meetings: June 15-Aug 17
Field trip dates: Friday, July 14, University of Maryland’s Horn Point oyster hatchery. All other trips will occur on Saturdays or Sundays. Dates TBA. Locations: Jug Bay freshwater tidal wetlands, Anacostia River, lower Patuxent River.
Location: Online via zoom
Members $420, nonmembers $470
Instructor: Terry McTigue
Discover how physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes come together to shape the diverse ecosystems within the Chesapeake Bay. Learn the history of the Bay, its current condition, and what people are doing to conserve and restore habitats and ecosystem function to the well-loved and well used watershed and estuary. REGISTER

Required Books and Materials (available at the Woodend Nature Shop):
Textbook: Life in the Chesapeake Bay. Third Edition. 2006, Author(s): Lippson, A.J. and R.L. Lippson, Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN: 0801883385

NATH7142,1.5 CEU 
Class night and time: Wednesdays, 6-8 pm   
Class meetings: June 28-July 26
Class Location: Lectures online via Zoom
Field trip dates: Saturday, July 8 (9 am-12 pm) National Arboretum, DC; Saturday, July 22 (8:30-11:30 am) Riverbend Park, VA
Members $260, nonmembers $310
Instructor: Kit Sheffield
This course covers the identification, evolutionary history, and ecology of ferns and lycophytes. Lectures will focus on understanding the life and reproductive methods of these ancient plants, the local fern families and their characteristics, and their uses by humans and animals. Field trips will focus on identification of ferns using a variety of resources. Registration closes June 25. REGISTER

Required Books and Materials (available at the Woodend Nature Shop):
A Natural History of Ferns, by Robbin C. Moran

NATH7137, 1.5 CEUs 
Class night and time: Wednesdays, 6-8 pm   
Class meetings: August 2-30
Field trip dates: Learning to Use Guides at Woodend, Saturday, August 5 (9:30-11:30 am); Patuxent Research Refuge: North Tract, Saturday, August 19 (9 am-12 pm); Jug Bay Natural Area, Saturday, August 26 (9 am-12 pm)
Location: Online via zoom
Members $290, nonmembers $340   
Instructor: Clare Walker
Maryland Native Plant Society is celebrating 2023 as the year of the asters. Discover the beauty and diversity of this the largest flowering family in North America. It includes many familiar favorites flowers from coneflowers and sunflowers to black-eyed Susan and blazing stars but also many notorious weeds and invasives. Suitable for beginners and immediate students, this class will guide you in the identification of these tricky flowers. We will also look at the ecological roles of these important flowers that support specialist bees, many butterfly and moth species, galls and more. REGISTER

Required Books and Materials (available at the Woodend Nature Shop):
Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Author(s): Lawrence Newcomb, Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, ISBN 10: 0-316-60442-9 OR
Digital flower identification guide (download the free Wildflower App for your state for IOS or Android) Maryland Wildflowers or Virginia Wildflowers
Hand lens
Suggested books and materials
Title: Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Author(s): Steven Clemants and Carol Gracie, Publisher: Oxford University Press, ISBN 13: 9780195150056
Title: Finding Wildflowers in the Washington-Baltimore Area, Author(s): Cristol Fleming, Marion Blois Lobstein and Barbara Tufty, Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 10: 0-8018-4995-0
Title: Summer Wildflowers of the Northeast, Author(s): Carol Gracie, Publisher: Princeton University Press
Title: Flora of Virginia, Author(s): Alan S. Weakley, J, Christopher Ludwig and John F. Townsend, Publisher: BRIT Press (Botanical Research Institute of Texas), ISBN 13: 978-1-889878-38-6, https://shop.brit.org/Flora-of-Virginia
The Flora of Virginia app: https://floraofvirginia.org/