Getting into the swing of spring
Spring has arrived in Baltimore County, and the NeighborSpace sites are coming back to life. I love seeing neighbors playing on the playground, walking the dog or just quietly taking in the sun when I visit one of our parks. Trees are budding, and grasses and wildflowers are quickly growing taller.
That also means it's time to roll up our sleeves! Invasives need to be removed, new natives planted, and there are some minor maintenance tasks to be taken care of. We have several spring clean-ups planned for the next few weeks and would welcome volunteers of all ages, no green thumb required. Please see the links below to sign up.
We are proud to announce that both the Ridgely Manor Community Association and the Northeast Towson Improvement Association were awarded Clean Up & Green Up Maryland awards as part of the Keep Maryland Beautiful
program. Ridgely Manor received $1,020 to install educational signage and a pollinator garden, and Northeast Towson received $3,210 for additional native groundcovers, shrubs and trees. Congratulations!
In further exciting news, the Flannery Lane
site is ready for planting. Progress at this new pocket park in Lochearn has been delayed due to scheduling and supply chain challenges, but we have ordered more than a thousand plugs and are looking for helpful hands to get those in the ground on June 4. Blue Water Baltimore will be hosting a workshop that morning, so you will have the opportunity to learn about Bayscaping your own yard while you volunteer.
Saturday April 30, 7-11am: Spring cleanup at Adelaide Bentley Park
Saturday May 21, 8-10am: Cleanup and planting at Adelaide Bentley
Saturday June 4, 8-10am: Ridgely Manor park beautification
Saturday June 4, 8-11am: Planting at Flannery Lane
Finally, I encourage you to check out the calendar and visit some of the other fun events
that our community partners have planned this spring.
I look forward to seeing you on-site. In the meantime, feel free to email or call me if you have any questions ( phyllis@
Thank you for your support.
Thank you for your support.
Live Music and Ribbon Cutting at Graystone 7/28/26 | Will Kaselow, Community Conservation Manager
7/28/26 | Will Kaselow, Community Conservation Manager Thank you to everyone who came out to NeighborSpace’s final concert of the summer! After the original date was cancelled due to wildfire-related air pollution, we were able to quickly reschedule and ended up lucking into one of the most beautiful nights of the summer so far. We […]
7/29/2026 | Phyllis Joris, Executive Director Like many nonprofits, NeighborSpace operates on a fiscal year that runs July through June. This month, NeighborSpace staff and board members took stock of progress made in the past year and drafted a work plan for the coming year. More details will be provided in NeighborSpace’s Annual Report, which […]
Thanks to donations from generous supporters like you, NeighborSpace was able to hire three interns this summer. We want to help young conservationists gain fieldwork and behind-the-scenes experience, and staff is grateful for the extra hands and minds! We introduced you to our stewardship interns last month.Now read on to meet our communications intern, Mykiah. […]
Barbara Waters While I grew up in Massachusetts and then spent 6 years in Northern Maine, I have now lived in Maryland for nearly 32 years. I had been involved in many things in the community, but that involvement really ramped up once the pandemic started. To combat isolation, I started walking daily, and have […]
Thanks to donations from generous supporters like you, NeighborSpace was able to hire three interns this summer. We want to help young conservationists gain fieldwork and behind-the-scenes experience, and staff is grateful for the extra hands and minds! Read on to meet our two stewardship interns, Ashley and Katie. Hi! I am Ashley Metzbower. I […]
6/29/26 | Will Kaselow, Community Conservation Manager This month we welcomed the summer with song, hosting live music events at two of our sites! First, Patrick Alban and his Buena Vista Social Club joined us at Ridgely Manor Park in Towson on one of the hottest nights of the year so far. Despite the heat, […]
6/29/26 | Conor Harrington, Land Steward This spring, NeighborSpace installed its first microforest/Miyawaki plantings at Tollgate Wyndham Preserve in Owings Mills. With the help of some very dedicated volunteer groups from BGE and Stanley Black & Decker, we planted about 150 trees and shrubs in three contained locations of the preserve. The area covered by […]
6/29/2026 | Phyllis Joris, Executive Director NeighborSpace recently added a new site to its portfolio! With the addition of Stonegate, a beautiful 16-acre property in Catonsville, NeighborSpace now protects 116 acres across 22 sites for current and future residents of urban Baltimore County. This property is co-held with Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), the state’s land […]
This month we would like to thank Christie Bianco for her time and dedication as a NeighborSpace volunteer! Christie has lived in the Dunmore community for 21 years and first connected with Levickas Woods through her children, who would play in the woods and catch crayfish in the stream. She considers the woods to be […]
