The COVID-19 pandemic has helped highlight the importance of walking as a critical aspect of human well-being, not only for transportation and access, but active recreation and exercise. This year, the UMD Department of Transportation Services, UMD Recreation & Wellness, UMD Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, UMD Residential Life , and UMD Office of Sustainability are partnering to promote Walk Maryland Day, October 7, 2020. Celebrate our official state exercise by exploring our new storymap and find a new corner of campus to emjoy! Use the toolkit here to find more tips and activities!

Did you know that not only is our entire campus a world-renowned arboretum, but that you can also perform your Day of Service with us? On September 11, 2020, Governor Hogan announced that all state employees would be granted administrative leave in order to volunteer. If you’ve been missing campus and your colleagues, we encourage you to consider volunteering with us here in our beautiful gardens and help cultivate our living campus. 

The University of Maryland’s Community Learning Garden (CLG) was awarded funds from the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) and American Public Gardens Association who have partnered to offer support to established urban agriculture and other urban food-growing programs at public gardens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, $378,000 was awarded to 28 public gardens across the United States to help sustain urban agriculture and community food growing during this challenging time.

Spring 2020 hallmarks a decade of harvests from the University of Maryland Community Learning Garden. While campus is eerily still and almost empty, the CLG continues to find meaningful ways to serve our campus community, most impactful is its contributions to the UMD Campus Pantry.  When the CLG team heard that the demand for the Campus Pantry’s provisions was increasing due to the health crisis, immediately, it was decided that all produce harvested from the Garden will be donated to the Campus Pantry in 2020