COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS

Redesigning Our Communities for Life After Fossil Fuels

Community Engagement Events

In-person and virtual events
hosted in Montgomery County, Maryland and the surrounding area

Thank you for your interest to attend one or more Community Engagement Events in our series on Redesigning Our Communities for Life After Fossil Fuels in Montgomery County, Maryland and the surrounding area.

This series has 2 parts:

  • Part 1: Saturday, September 10
    1:00 – 4:30 pm ET    –   on Zoom
  • Part 2: Community Engagement Events
    In person and virtual events listed below that are being hosted to provide opportunities for residents in Montgomery County, Maryland and the surrounding area to help out with a community project, learn strategies for increasing resilience, build practical skills to replicate these projects at home and in your neighborhood, or further discuss how to strengthen community resilience, equity, policy changes, and more.

Scroll down to find out how to register for an event.

If you have any questions, please contact Louise at 443-257-3209 (cell / text) or at lifeafterfossilfuels@bio4climate.org. 


Community Engagement Events
Part 2 in the series of
Redesigning our Communities for Life After Fossil Fuels

Saturday, September 17
8:00 am – 2:00 pm

2nd Annual Sweet Potato Dig, Farm Tour and Forest Hike @ Chicken of the Woods Permaculture Farm

In Person Event

Chicken of the Woods Permaculture Farm
13405 Pulver Place
Gaithersburg, MD 20878


Free
RSVP to reserve your spot by September 10

Plunge your hands into sweet smelling, chemical-free soils to find these buried treasures. Learn about curing and processing. Stay for a potluck lunch followed by a farm tour and forest hike.

To Register: chickenwoodsfarm@gmail.com
Hosted by: Chicken of the Woods Permaculture Farm
Contact:  Bridgette at chickenwoodsfarm@gmail.com


Saturday, September 17 
9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Volunteer Day at the Bladensburg Farm

In Person Event
ECO City Farms – Bladensburg Farm
6100 Emerson Street

Free
RSVP by Saturday, September 17 at 8:00 am

Join us at ECO City for a morning of work at our Bladensburg location, a 3.5 acre working urban agriculture farm where organic vegetables are grown and composting happens. Come out and see how we implement sustainable growing practices to advocate for health and wellness in our daily lives, community, and the environment!

To register: https://www.givepulse.com/event/318691
Hosted by: ECO City Farms
Contact: kayla@ecocityfarms.org


Thursday, September 22
10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Volunteer at the UpCounty Hub

In Person Event
12900 Middlebrook Road
Germantown, MD 20874

Free
Registration not required

We are looking for volunteers to help pack or deliver food to families in need in the Upper Montgomery County area. Read more here: https://montgomerycountymd.galaxydigital.com/need/detail/?need_id=721221

Hosted by: The UpCounty Hub
Contact: Carina Arnaiz, carnaiz@theupcountyhub.org


Tuesday, September 27
7:00 – 8:45 pm

Your Neighborhood: Your Village

Virtual Event


Free
Register by September 18

It takes a village, but how do you make a village out of the place you live now? Join us to share inspiration, create your vision and discuss first steps.

To Register: https://camordini.wixsite.com/villagingus/events
Hosted by: Neighborhood Villaging, www.Villaging.Us
Contact: beck@villaging.us


Wednesday, September 28
7:00 – 9:00 pm

What is Our Real Predicament, and What Can Our County Do About It?

Virtual & In Person Event
Cedar Lane UU
9601 Cedar Lane
Bethesda, MD

Free
No deadline to register

We discuss the questions of what are the root causes of climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and other symptoms of our “overshoot” of Earth’s carrying capacity? What are the best ways to address our predicament, especially in a prominent County? What is our moral and ethical response? ESG was founded in 2017 to explore these questions and more using a “systems thinking” approach. Our goal is to educate ourselves, activist groups, and the general public.

To Register: ecosystemsstudygroup@gmail.com
Hosted by: Cedar Lane UU Ecosystems Study Group
Contact: ecosystemsstudygroup@gmail.com


Friday, September 30
10:00 – 11:30 am

Natives Gone Wild Tour

In Person Event
Fern Glade Sanctuary & Urban Farm
10903 Drumm Ave
Kensington, MD 20895

Donation requested
Register by September 24

Enjoy a guided tour of this unique nature sanctuary and urban farm with over 400 species of native plants in full bloom and sample local products from the farm.  Please wear sturdy shoes and long pants.

To Register: dsheveiko@hotmail.com
Hosted by: Fern Glade Sanctuary & Urban Farm
Contact: dsheveiko@hotmail.com


Saturday, October 8   
9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Permaculture Design for Growing Local Food

In Person Event
Morning View Food Forest
1932 Mountain Church Road
Middletown, MD 21769

Donation based
No deadline to register

Join us for a volunteer planting and talk at Morning View Food Forest, a 150-acre permaculture food forest with over 7,000 trees and perennial shrubs on the slope of South Mountain in Middletown Maryland!

Folks who attend will be planting native perennial plants with a focus on densified food systems that also benefit a wide range of wildlife. Please arrive and park by 9 am so you don’t miss the opening orientation. After the planting, from 12-1 PM, the resident designer and soil ecologist Ben Friton will be giving a talk entitled Permaculutre Design for Growing Local Food.

To register: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=7yn7rkebb&oeidk=a07eje4c66318a96cb5
Hosted by: The REED Center for Ecosystem Reintegration
Contact: Gina Angiola, gangiola11@gmail.com


Saturday, October 8
11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Confident City Cycling and Multimodal Transportation

In Person Event
Bethesda Rescue Squad Parking Lot
5020 Battery Ln
Bethesda, MD

Register for $10; free for WABA members

This class teaches you the skills you need to ride safely and confidently on streets and in heavily trafficked areas. The class ends with an on-street group ride, where participants put their newly acquired skills to the test.

To register: https://waba.org/blog/2022/08/confident-city-cycling-47/
Hosted by: Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA)
Contact: education@waba.org


Sunday, October 9
3:00 – 4:00 pm

Certify Your Habitat! How to DIY a National Wildlife Federation Sanctuary

In Person Event
Cedar Lane UU
9601 Cedar Ln
Bethesda, MD

Free
No deadline to register

Anyone can create a welcoming haven for local wildlife. Find out how to turn your yard, balcony container garden, schoolyard, work landscape, or roadside greenspace into a NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat®. See https://www.nwf.org/CERTIFY for more information.

To Register: ecosystemsstudygroup@gmail.com
Hosted by: Cedar Lane UU Ecosystems Study Group
Contact: ecosystemsstudygroup@gmail.com


Saturday, October 22
8:30 – 11:00 am

Regenerative Agriculture; What’s That?

In person Event

Linden Farm
20900 Martinsburg Rd.
Dickerson, MD 20842

Free
No registration required

Sugarloaf Citizens Association (SCA) is pleased to invite the public to learn what we’re doing differently to steward the land at our headquarters. 90 acres of our farm is undergoing a transition from decades of growing conventional commodity crops (corn, wheat & soy) to diverse pasturage for regenerative livestock grazing. Speakers include the farmer responsible for the change, Greg Glenn, CEO of Rocklands Livestock and Amanda Cather, Mid-Atlantic Program Manager for American Farmland Trust. Dress for the weather, as we’ll be outdoors or in a barn. Coffee and carbs provided!


Hosted by: Sugarloaf Citizens Association
Contact: regenerativeagriculture@sugarloafcitizens.org   


Fall 2022 – Date TBD

Volunteer Day at the Bladensburg Farm

In Person Event
ECO City Farms
6100 Emerson Street
Bladensburg, MD 20710

Free
No deadline to register

Join us at ECO City Farms for a morning of work at our Bladensburg location, a 3.5 acre working urban agriculture farm where organic vegetables are grown and composting happens! Come out and see how we implement sustainable growing practices to advocate for health and wellness in our daily lives, community, and the environment!

To register: https://www.givepulse.com/event/324773
Hosted by: ECO City Farms
Contact: kayla@ecocityfarms.org


Wednesday, November 2
9:30 – 11:30 am

Food System Strategies to Address Climate Change: A Virtual Community Symposium

Virtual Event via Zoom

Free
No deadline to register

Join the Montgomery County Food Council’s Environmental Impact Working Group for a capstone presentation on their 2022 collaborative initiative to understand the current policy, programmatic, and investment landscape in our County related to climate change and food systems issues. Many local partners have contributed subject matter expertise to developing recommendations on opportunities to address climate change through local food system strategies. The symposium will showcase findings and launch action priorities to increase local food production, prevent food waste, and expand composting capacity in our community.

To Register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtceqrrTktG9O2Yy78kZZ9eallAxFLsWex
Hosted by: Montgomery County Food Council
Contact: Lorien MacAuley, PhD; lorien@mocofoodcouncil.org


Sunday, November 6
11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Volunteer Day At Koiner Farm

In Person Event
Koiner Urban Farm
737 Easley Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Free
No deadline to register

Koiner Farm hosts bi-annual volunteer days to help “open up” the farm in the spring and “close down” the farm in the fall. These are fun and engaging community days for people to get outside and contribute to their neighborhood farm. These are great opportunities for families, troops, pods, etc. to volunteer together and contribute to their local food system.

To Register: https://www.ckcfarming.org/fall-volunteer-day
Hosted by: Charles Koiner Center for Urban Farming
Contact: Hannah Sholder, hannah@ckcfarming.org


Spring 2023, Date TBA

Native Plant Tour of Sligo Park Hills – You Can Too!

In Person Event
8007 Park Crest Drive
Silver Spring MD 20910

Free
Register by September 27

Walk around a block to see a variety of native plantings in sun, shade, stormwater capture or just lawn reduction.

To Register: kgage@verizon.net
Hosted by: Friends of Sligo Creek and Kit Gage
Contact: Kit Gage, kgage@verizon.net