7/10/23 Meeting Agenda

6:30 pm Zoom

6:30 - 6:35

Gather and welcome new people

6:35 - 6:45 - Jimmy Rogers

Bee/Bird City Updates and New Initiatives

Sweitzer Park and American Legion gardens

6:45 - 6:55 - Cheryl Dyer

Sturgis Moore pollinator mural update

6:55 - 7:05 - Dave Everett

Vine removal from sycamore at Red Hot and Blue

Conservation landscaping at Riverfront

Tree watering strategies for the summer

7:05 - 7:15 - Liz Hume

Pollinator Festival and L4P

Volunteer opportunities with Laurel Horticulture department

Native planting and invasive removal in the city

Tour of home meadow

7:15 - 7:25 - Brian Coyle

Light pollution reduction

Repair the dam or restore the river?

Vine and knotweed mitigation with Youth Conservation Corps

7:25 - 7:30 - Open Discussion

L4P swag: reusable bags, tee-shirts, “business cards,” pens, etc.

August summer break

Grant writing opportunities

Any other business

7/10/23 Meeting Minutes

1) Gather and welcome new people~

In attendance were Jess Bolz, Brian Coyle, Heidi Hess-Webber, Bobbi McCeney, Dave Everett, Stosh Comisiak, Jimmy Rogers, Cheryl Dyer, Scott Lilienthal, Ruth Walls, Pauline Apling, Edith Goldman, Liz Humes, Jock Haight. No one new to the group was in attendance.

2) Jimmy Rogers~

Native Pollinator Garden projects - The Sweitzer Park garden is doing well. It’s very vibrant and there’s not much weed in the garden at this time. In the fall we will need to install additional plants.

The America Legion garden is surrounded by many invasives. There is low engagement from the American Legion members and the garden will be difficult to maintain without additional help.

Bee City (and Bird City) initiatives - At this time, the city’s Environmental Affairs Committee, of which Jimmy is the Chair, is the catch-all for the city’s engagement with residents on all related topics. The committee is looking at introducing environmental initiatives for each season of the year. NoMowApril was introduced this past spring. “Leave the Leaves” is being proposed for this coming fall season. There is also a proposal being considered for a “Winter Sowing” project which would involve teaching folks to plant seed in closed bottles in the winter months. A variety of possibilities are being considered as a summer initiative. In addition, a proposal is being introduced to the Environmental Affairs Committee that would add the “Bird City” program to the city’s existing “Bee City” designation.

Heidi suggested a winter or fall initiative that would teach folks how to collect seed and prepare it for spring planting. This will be considered.

3) Cheryl Dyer~

Sturgis Moore Park pollinator mural – Sturgis Moore Park is at the back of McCullough Field. Work on the mural has begun! The priming of the building began today. The mural will depict the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. Each side of the building will be a different stage of a Monarch’s life. When the painting is completed, a pollinator garden will be planted on the site as well, and a professionally-made sign (by Sign-a-rama) will be posted in the garden. Student volunteers from Laurel High School are helping the artist, Megan Alodie, with the project.

Dave is concerned about traffic trampling the garden. Kids play ball on McCullough Field and we should consider placement of the garden such that balls and kids chasing them won’t damage the garden.

4) Dave Everett~

Invasive vine cutting – Vines were cut out of the sycamore tree at 7th Street and Main Street, by Red, Hot, and Blue. The vines were huge and filled with water, an indication of how much water they were stealing from the tree!

Conservation landscaping at Riverfront Park – Howard County Ecoworks, has funding to do understory native planting around the newly planted trees behind Laurel Museum. This would help to prevent invasives from creeping back into that area of the park. Howard County Ecoworks would plant this coming fall or in the spring of 2024.

There was much lively discussion about this potential project. Liz proposes that a thick layer of wood chip mulch be laid down under the trees to prevent invasives from sprouting. The group was inclined toward planting but felt that a denser planting would be needed to keep invasives at bay. Liz suggested planting mint, which spreads quickly, as an initial step. We could add additional types of plants over time. Brian suggested a meeting with Howard County Ecoworks to discuss the potential project. Heidi offered to contact the National Wildlife Federation to see if we would qualify for their “Tree of Life” understory native plant initiative.

Tree watering strategies for the summer – With five people, it takes about an hour to water the new trees at Riverfront Park. People who water need to be able to carry 5-gallon buckets of water Stosh’s water pump can pull water out of the river and, with a long hose, it can help with the watering. A sign-up sheet will be created to organize volunteers for summer/fall watering as needed.

5) Brian Coyle~

Light pollution reduction – Laurel already meets some criteria to become a “Bird City”. Reducing night lights is another criterion. The city can introduce a variety of light reduction techniques including using different colors of light, turning off lights altogether, and preventing lights from shining into the sky. There is an excellent exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History regarding light pollution and reduction.

Repair the Dam or Restore the River? – Over a million dollars is being is being made available to Laurel to restore the dam ruins. We should consider whether it might be a better use of the funds to restore the river around the dam. For example, the invasion of kudzu on the dam is causing it to crumble. That could be removed. We should see the plan before final decisions are made by the city so that we can advocate. The city’s Environmental Affairs committee could provide oversight and can request a copy of the plan from the city. Jimmy will write a letter to James Kole the project was supposed to begin June 26th and there’s no movement so far, so we have time to take a position.

Vine and knotweed mitigation with Youth Conservation Corps – This topic was not discussed due to time limitations.

6) Open Discussion~

Liz is beginning a collection of photos of the river for the city. She welcomes any pictures that L4P members have taken. Dave has photos of the river flooding after a heavy rain and will share these with her.