Maydale Nature Classroom Opens for Programming
Friends of Maydale held our quarterly board meeting on November 18 at the new Maydale Nature Classroom, and we were joined by Montgomery Parks staff Lynn Vismara (Volunteer Coordinator), Grace Yick (Nature Center Director) and Glenn Rice (Park Naturalist, Maydale Nature Classroom). Board members were given a tour of the interior and exterior of the Nature Classroom and storage building. The classroom boasts an ADA-accessible wraparound deck with gazebo, a rain filtration system for use in the two toilets, two bathrooms, a sink area, classroom material storage, an office area, and newly purchased tables and chairs for class instruction.
Seen in this photo is the mosaic created by an Arts on the Block partnership with Briggs Chaney Middle School's art department depicting Maydale Consvervation Park. The mosaic will be mounted on the wall for display. To the right of the mosaic is a room used for water filtration and other plumbing, which will be visible to visitors through a viewing window.
Naturalist Glenn Rice presented several displays created for Maydale. The one on the right is from the Tree ID program carried out by Northwood High School's agriculture class through a partnership with Parks. The "Meet Your Neighbor" displays will be installed outdoors and provide interpretive information about the flora and fauna at Maydale.
Attractive design elements such as this window decal can be found in and around the nature classroom.
Other notes of interest to visitors include:
-- In addition to the original parking lot, there is now an ADA-accessible parking space located at the top of the hill near the classroom entrance, as well as two additional general parking spaces. A no-parking area at the top of the hill is reserved for fire truck access to the new underground water tank.
-- Winter programs are available for registration at ActiveMontgomery.org! See page 115 of the Montgomery Parks Winter Guide for a complete listing and reserve your spot on ActiveMontgomery.org.
-- There are plans in the works for four different one-week camp programs to be run out of Maydale in Summer 2020. *Tentatively*, one will be for children ages 3 to 5 with their caregiver and will be a half-day camp from 9:30 to noon. This will be in June before school lets out (since the age group is not yet school-age). In July there will be a Wild in the Woods camp for ages 6 to 10 from 9 to 3:30. A camp for 11 and 12-year-olds will focus on aspects of environmental engineering (name of camp TBD) and will include field trips to WSSC, the recycling center, and the Pepco WasterShed Sustainability Center. And finally for 13 and 14-year-olds, Chesapeake Week will be run out of Maydale in August, which includes such activities as sailing with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, kayaking, two nights of overnight camping, and visits to Solomon's Island and Calvert Cliffs! The camp programs will be led by Glenn Rice and additional Montgomery Parks staff. The official details will be published in the Parks camp guide and registration will be available in mid-January 2020.
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In our first year of incorporation, Friends of Maydale is going through the process of 501c3 certification as well as the formalization of our relationship with Montgomery Parks, which involves working collaboratively with Montgomery Parks to complete a Memorandum of Understanding. Your membership supports these activities as well as future activities as set out in our MOU with Montgomery Parks. Initiatives that have been proposed at Friends of Maydale board meetings (to be approved through the MOU process) include field trip bus cost subsidization for local elementary schools (curriculum-aligned field trips to Montgomery County nature centers are free for MCPS, so bus cost subsidization would allow for completely free field trips), camp scholarships, and other programmatic support to Montgomery Parks. All Friends of Maydale are encouraged to Join Today!
Seen in this photo is the mosaic created by an Arts on the Block partnership with Briggs Chaney Middle School's art department depicting Maydale Consvervation Park. The mosaic will be mounted on the wall for display. To the right of the mosaic is a room used for water filtration and other plumbing, which will be visible to visitors through a viewing window.
Attractive design elements such as this window decal can be found in and around the nature classroom.
Other notes of interest to visitors include:
-- In addition to the original parking lot, there is now an ADA-accessible parking space located at the top of the hill near the classroom entrance, as well as two additional general parking spaces. A no-parking area at the top of the hill is reserved for fire truck access to the new underground water tank.
-- Winter programs are available for registration at ActiveMontgomery.org! See page 115 of the Montgomery Parks Winter Guide for a complete listing and reserve your spot on ActiveMontgomery.org.
-- There are plans in the works for four different one-week camp programs to be run out of Maydale in Summer 2020. *Tentatively*, one will be for children ages 3 to 5 with their caregiver and will be a half-day camp from 9:30 to noon. This will be in June before school lets out (since the age group is not yet school-age). In July there will be a Wild in the Woods camp for ages 6 to 10 from 9 to 3:30. A camp for 11 and 12-year-olds will focus on aspects of environmental engineering (name of camp TBD) and will include field trips to WSSC, the recycling center, and the Pepco WasterShed Sustainability Center. And finally for 13 and 14-year-olds, Chesapeake Week will be run out of Maydale in August, which includes such activities as sailing with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, kayaking, two nights of overnight camping, and visits to Solomon's Island and Calvert Cliffs! The camp programs will be led by Glenn Rice and additional Montgomery Parks staff. The official details will be published in the Parks camp guide and registration will be available in mid-January 2020.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In our first year of incorporation, Friends of Maydale is going through the process of 501c3 certification as well as the formalization of our relationship with Montgomery Parks, which involves working collaboratively with Montgomery Parks to complete a Memorandum of Understanding. Your membership supports these activities as well as future activities as set out in our MOU with Montgomery Parks. Initiatives that have been proposed at Friends of Maydale board meetings (to be approved through the MOU process) include field trip bus cost subsidization for local elementary schools (curriculum-aligned field trips to Montgomery County nature centers are free for MCPS, so bus cost subsidization would allow for completely free field trips), camp scholarships, and other programmatic support to Montgomery Parks. All Friends of Maydale are encouraged to Join Today!