Your participation and generous contributions enable us to improve the health of the Northwest Branch.
Membership levels:
Salamander Saver - $20 (student)
Wood Frog Friend (and joint)- $35
Brook Trout Backer - $50
Kingfisher Keeper - $100
Great Blue Heron Hero - $250
ALL donations are appreciated!
Prefer a check? Send to P.O. Box 4314, Silver Spring, MD 20914. Thanks!
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7:30 – 9:15 p.m., via Zoom
(Zoom link will be sent to database and listserv.)
Speaker: Maryland Master Naturalist and science educator Paula Wang
When we're out along the Northwest Branch this winter, what should we look for-- in the trees individually and collectively? What is still green? What birds are here, in the trees and along the water? Paula has captured it all in pictures that she will share with us so we’re primed for our winter walks! For more information, please click on button below.
Saturday, Nov. 7, was a beautiful day for cleanups!
We hosted two, one starting at the end of the NWB Trail on Alderton Road, the other on the Lamberton Tributary of the NWB. In the age of COVID-19, our cleanups definitely have a new twist: participants had to sign up with MoCo Parks ahead of time and sign a waiver. And during the cleanup, they stayed masked and apart. Even our group pictures were affected! Many thanks to leaders Kristin Backert, Michael Evans, Laura Turbe, and Ed Murtagh and all who participated! It is always amazing how much trash we haul out of our parks!
November 14 was another beautiful day for a cleanup!
A small group tackled litter in several fallen tree dams and on the banks, and extracted a radiator and a tire from the stream bed. A productive morning! But the big takeaway was that the trash mixed with the leaves and mud in those partial dams was less than expected. And that's good!
Click on the button below for a gallery of pictures from the Oct. 31 W. Hyattsville and Nov. 7 Alderton sites, a gallery from the Nov. 14 Kemp Mill site, and a video from the Nov. 7 Lamberton site.
(Pictured is the Northwest Branch at the monitoring site.) The water quality monitoring results for the most recent testing, on 9/16/20, are also posted there.
With so many things closed, and people working at home, the parks have become extremely important for getting the exercise we need to stay healthy. The NWB trails map now includes some new trails between Colesville Rd. and the Prince George's line. (Click on the picture to link to the trails map via the Montgomery Parks site.) Information about park road closures to provide yet more space to walk and bike is provided here. Enjoy, and stay safely away from everyone else! And please carry your trash and recyclables to the cans now at trailheads. The trash is unsightly, unhealthy, and is a danger to wildlife.
Wetlands trail in Magruder Park, NWB