11/3/25 Minutes

Attending the meeting – Jess Coyle, Brian Coyle, Mike McLaughlin, Mike Maxwell, Calvin Burns and Sophie Smith, Jimmy Rogers, Heidi Hess-Webber, Victoria Bell, Stosh  Comisiak, Cheryl Dyer, Jock Haight, Holly Leopardi, Holly Hoglund

Recent Events 

Chandler Robbins Mural Dedication (Vicky/Cheryl/Jess) - The event was a great success.  We had music by Mike Walls, food donated by many folks, wonderful speakers, including Chandler’s daughter and Jeff Huntington (the artist).  Many folks purchased t-shirts and/or made donations.  The turnout was wonderful and the event was superbly planned by Cheryl and Vicky.

Weed treatment at Sturgis Moore pollinator garden (Cheryl) - The city applied a foam stream treatment to the wire/bermuda grass and other weeds at the Sturgis Moore pollinator garden.

“Microplastics” documentary (Holly) –  This movie is playing at Anne Arundel Community College on November 20th.  The movie will be followed by a panel discussion.  Also, a documentary called “We are all Plastic People Now” will be shown in Howard County.  Information regarding both documentaries will be posted on the website.  Both of these movies are behavior-changing and worth the investment of time to see them.

Upcoming Events

December meeting (Jess) - The December meeting will be an in-person event and will be primarily social.  Who can host?  We will adjust the date to December 5th.  Heidi, Brian and Jess, and Mike and Melissa are all possible hosts.

Jimmy’s talk (Jimmy) - The Chesapeake Watershed Forum will take place on November 8th at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia.  Jimmy will be presenting about our Laurel Native Habitats Program as an example of how to build a native planting movement.  It won’t be recorded but Jimmy is willing to repeat the presentation if we’d like him to.

Litter cleanup (Holly) - The next cleanup will take place on November 15th from 9am til 11am.  The rain date is November 16th.  We need volunteers to shepherd the teen volunteers.  We also need someone to check folks in for the event.  We don’t want to use plastic trash bags.  Can we pay for paper bags?  Amazon sells thirty paper bags for $21.  Jess says yes to purchasing the paper bags.  Jess and Jock will be at the cleanup and can help.

Letter-writing campaign (Brian) - We are supporting a letter-writing campaign and including an opportunity to write letters during the December meeting/social.  The purpose is to let Congress know how important it is to protect USGS and the Patuxent Refuge.  The refuge is in dire straits.  Already it is only open one day a week and is at risk of total shutdown.  Brian will arrange for talking points to help us with our letters.  We will be writing letters to Glen Ivey, Angela Alsobrooks, Senator Van Hollen, etc.

Interpretive sign installation (Jess) - Signage is being installed at both our Sweitzer Park garden and at the Chandler Robbins mural.  These signs will describe the sites at which they are located as well as the purpose and history of each site.

Updates and announcements

Meet and Greet for Michelle Garcia (Mike McLaughlin) - Michelle works for Tom Dernoga and will be running to replace him as he leaves his District 1 County Council seat.  Two Meet and Greets are scheduled.  The first will take place on November 15th from 3:00 til 3:45pm and is being hosted by Amy Dunham and Kathie Petersen.  The second is scheduled for December 7th from 3:00 til 4:30 and is being hosted by Tom Dernoga.  Both events require an RSVP and the links for each will be posted on the website.

Upcoming Prince George’s County Council meeting (Mike McLaughlin) - The January County Council meeting will be an opportunity to make a stand in opposition to approval of the Corridor Center development project.  If twenty people show up it makes a big difference.  Speaking is even better.  Hearing from enough folks will make the councilmembers stop and think.  The state wants development near major corridors and the county is falling in line. But water and sewer approvals are issues for the Corridor Development project. Mike Maxwell can rally his neighbors to protest.  Kate Wright should also be informed of the effort to speak up at the council meeting.

Native gardening publication (Jimmy) - A new native gardening publication has been released by the UMD extension service.  The General Assembly previously passed legislation in support of native plantings and hired a full-time employee to manage this project.  The new publication is a huge improvement.  These are magazine-quality books that list ALL of our native plants, over 300 plants, with great pictures.  Special considerations like deer management and hedgerows are included.  The BayWise book has also been updated.  Both documents will make it easier to support native planting in our communities.

Fish-Grass project (Cheryl) - Several years ago L4P and the Laurel Arts Council created ten planters between the pool and the train station.  Artists created the fish, and the fish and native grasses were installed in the planters together.  The city wants to use the planters for a project to support the Preakness so both the fish and the plants need to be removed.  The fish are cemented into the planters so we need help with removing them.  The fish will go back to the artists who created them.  We are looking for a place to install the grasses.

Laurel City Sustainability Initiative (Mike Maxwell) - The city is trying to move forward with two groups based on the sustainability committees from last year.  For the most part, the groups have disbanded.  Michelle Blair is keeping the composting conversation going at the moment.

Acknowledgement for Vicky Bell (Heidi) - National Wildlife Federation’s and Oseh Shalom’s Sacred Grounds 900 square foot native garden project was completed by a cadre of volunteers on October 26th. Laurel for the Patuxent was well-represented by Vicky Bell.  She was an enormous help and delightful company.  Thanks Vicky!