Facilities Management’s (FM) Landscape Maintenance team has accomplished the long-awaited switch from gasoline-powered to electric leaf blowers. Completing a transition that began in 2018, FM eliminated the last of the gasoline-powered equipment at the start of this year. Outside contractors are also required to use electric blowers when working on the UMD campus.

Our campus has many different types and species of magnolias in bloom each spring. If you have magnolias at home, our friends at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has a good article on their care and use. 

Along a busy stretch of Adelphi Road just south of the University of Maryland sits an unremarkable field, its dormant scrub offering little trace of the six-month, nectar-fueled rager it hosted last year. But by June, the sea of muted brown will again give way to a riot of black-eyed Susans, golden Alexanders and crimson beardtongues—a floral feast for the eyes, and for the bellies of bees, butterflies and other frequent fliers roaming the region.

The University of Maryland Arboretum and Botanical Garden is excited to announce a new collaborative effort on campus, seeking to earn the distinction of ‘Bee Campus USA’ for the University of Maryland. This effort is led by PollinaTerps, a collective group of University of Maryland students, staff, and faculty, including entomological, horticultural, and sustainability professionals.

An overgrown alleyway blooms into an oasis for walkers and cyclists, city parks shed creeping invasive species and solar lighting illuminates neighborhood pathways. These are among the 11 projects set to receive a portion of $125,000 from Pepco and the University of Maryland’s Sustainable Maryland program as part of the Sustainable Communities Grant Program, a new partnership between the D.C.-area utility and UMD’s statewide “greening program” to advance local sustainability projects.

Joe Cook With Large Willow Oak on McKeldin Mall, 11.17.22 Photo by Sam Bahr

Members of UMD Club Sports will help cultivate our living campus, but all are welcome to join.  Tools and gloves are provided and volunteers should wear close-toed shoes. Volunteer tasks include weeding, planting, pruning, and mulching. 

Members of the UMD Men's Lacrosse team will help cultivate our living campus, but all are welcome to join.  Tools and gloves are provided and volunteers should wear close-toed shoes. Volunteer tasks include weeding, planting, pruning, and mulching.