The Howard County Conservancy

05/30/2026

Tour the Browns' farmhouse on June 6, 10:30 or 11:30 a.m., and learn the 300-year history of a farming family. The farmhouse, with a log cabin at its core, will be open for free tours. Registration is required and space is limited: https://buff.ly/VjjBYqK
📸: Bedroom, Heather and Rob Photography; hall, Ken Thelen; exterior, Madeleine Gray

05/28/2026

Where else can you eat an empanada while listening to a one-man band and learning about probiscuses? Only at Pollinator Fest! Meet up at the Howard County Conservancy on June 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to discover bees, encounter ambassador animals, touch a giant grasshopper and explore acres of native gardens designed to lure pollinators. Crafts, learning stations, book giveaways, plant sales, games and more. Entrance is free!

Featuring: , , , , , , , , the Howard County Conservancy Program Committee, ’sGelato ($), .md ($) and live music by

Register here: https://buff.ly/5z6OwLC
Photo of boy with bees by Ricky He

05/25/2026

It doesn't feel like summer (yet), but it's coming! Plan your June, July and August and make sure to include nature in your calendar.

Gear up for summer in Howard County!🎡🪁🍦☀️ Get ready for a packed season featuring exciting festivals, live concerts, and cultural celebrations.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming summer events:
🎵 June 4th: AMPed in the Park begins in the Merriweather District
🎨 June 4th - 7th: Paint It! Ellicott City (Howard County Arts Council)
🏳️‍🌈 June 6th: OEC Pride Festival (Ellicott City Partnership and Howard County PRIDE)
🐝 June 7th: Pollinator Fest with the The Howard County Conservancy
🎭 June 12th - 14th: Columbia Festival of the Arts: Free LakeFest Weekend
🌟 June 19th: Juneteenth at the Lakefront (Columbia Association)
🪕 June 20th: Savage Bluegrass Festival (Savage Mill)
🎆 July 4th: Independence Day Celebrations
🥁 July 18th - 19th: Whispering Winds Pow Wow
🎡August 8th - 15th: 80th Annual Howard County Fair

🎥 Plus enjoy free outdoor movies all summer long!

Find more details and other upcoming events at www.VisitHowardCounty.com

05/24/2026

Who says we're slow? On World Turtle Day, we'd like to send a shout-out to our resident diamondback terrapins. Katrina lives at the Belmont Nature Preschool and delights all the young naturalists with her frisky antics. Torope swims through her tank at Mt. Pleasant's nature center and basks on her rock. Both love to eat their shrimp and crab meals, and enjoy getting out for a stroll in the grass and meeting visitors. Plus they're quick scramblers and swimmers, despite the word on the street. Happy World Turtle Day!
📸: Close-up of Katrina on the clover courtesy Howard County Government

05/22/2026

Kids can make memories, forge friendships, explore nature and get their hands (and everything else) dirty at our unplugged summer nature camp. There are limited openings in our week-long sessions:
• June 16-18, Nature Investigators (This session is for full-day, full-week campers during the last half days of Howard County Public Schools, and great for incoming kindergartners)
• June 29-July 2, Talons & Teeth
• July 6-10, Down in the Dirt
• July 13-17, Flying High
• Aug. 17-21, Environment Engineers.
For more information and to register, visit https://buff.ly/RAk4kt4.

05/21/2026

A dozen years and a quarter million butterflies! Learn about 12 years of the Howard County butterfly survey at the Sierra Club Howard County's program next week. Come in person or watch online. Register soon, limited space!

05/20/2026

Be a pollinator investigator! At the Conservancy's Pollinator Fest on June 7, all can learn about the bees, bats, insects, birds, butterflies, moths and more that keep our world pollinated. One out of every three bites of food we consume is possible because of pollinators. This family-friendly festival features crafts, live music, an insect zoo, visits from animal ambassadors, food trucks, educational stations and book giveaways. Join us and friends from Howard County Beekeepers Association, Howard County Bee City, Howard County Bird Club, Howard County Master Gardeners, University of Maryland Extension, The Xerces Society, University of Maryland and more!

June 6 / 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. / FREE! Register: https://buff.ly/5z6OwLC

📸: Great spangled fritillary butterfly, Cris Ausin

05/18/2026

Volunteer Spotlight: Brett Jurd watched Howard County grow up around him. The burgeoning development, along with a masters in environmental science, a lifelong love of nature and 42 years working in environmental safety at W.R. Grace, led him to the Conservancy. Jurd is volunteering with enthusiasm, leading field trips and helping with events. Jurd said, “Most importantly and unexpected to me is how much I continue to learn, from Conservancy staff, my fellow volunteers, the public and the students whom I lead on hikes. It’s humbling. I only hope I’m making a difference.” You are, Brett!

05/16/2026

Congratulations to Hiram Larew, who won third place in NatureCulture's 2026 poetry contest. Hiram was one of the poets who read his work at the Conservancy's Writing the Land poetry reading in October 2024, held in conjuction with HoCoPoLitSo - The Howard County Poetry & Literature Society. To read Hiram's winning poem, visit: https://buff.ly/fKGKYzo
📸: Hiram Larew at the Conservancy, Stephen Cherry

05/15/2026

The Conservancy now hosts a device that tracks bird and insect migration, thanks to the Howard County Bird Club. Members of the club worked for more than two years to research, fund and install a Motus tower at the Conservancy this fall. Our property was a good choice for a tracking tower because the spot filled a gap in the tracking "fenceline" that runs from the Appalachians to the eastern shore. The club coordinated with Maryland Department of Natural Resources- Wildlife & Heritage Service and Motus experts. The program is run by Birds Canada.
This station is one of 2,368 worldwide that track movements of more than 479 flying species, from birds to bats to insects. UMBC graduate student Alan Reich, with his tagged Eastern bluebirds is the first local researcher to use data from the tower, adding his efforts to 1,043 scientific projects worldwide.
Gregg Petersen, former bird club president and current Motus tower working group leader, said he hoped the station would improve management and protection of species. "As tagged animals transit nearby to the Conservancy and are detected by our tower, it will be fascinating to discover what those creatures are, where they came from, and later where they went," he said. "We can take some pride that over time our site will contribute to important conservation studies." Only birds with trackers can be detected by the tower, so mostly resident bluebirds have been spotted. But recently, several wood thrushes migrated over the Conservancy and were detected by the tower. To see what the Motus tower is detecting, visit https://buff.ly/kzTVENQ

📸: Photo includes (left to right) Howard County Bird Club's former Motus working group chairperson, Sue Probst, bird club member Mark Chandler, Dave Brinker of Maryland Department of Natural Resources (a Motus expert who assisted), and the bird club's Tim Thompson.
Bluebird with attached tracking device, Lynn Gregg