Annual Events
Learn more about our annual volunteer events and how you can get involved.
Atlantic White Cedar Planting
Nassawango Creek Preserve
Help us restore habitat at Nassawango Creek Preserve by planting Atlantic white cedar seedlings.
This volunteer opportunity is in partnership with the National Aquarium Conservation Team (ACT!) and the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
The planting is part of an ongoing restoration effort through the National Aquarium’s Wetland Nursery Program, which encourages students in Worcester and Somerset counties to become environmental stewards through hands-on opportunities to care for trees in a nursery pond on their school grounds.
Nassawango Creek Preserve is located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, approximately 2.5 hours from Washington/Baltimore.
Anacostia Watershed Society Cleanup
Each year TNC takes part in the Anacostia Watershed Society's Earth Day Cleanup.
Join thousands of volunteers to help stop pollution and restore the Anacostia River by cleaning up sites along the river in Washington, DC and in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.
Red Spruce Tree Planting
Cranesville Swamp Preserve
Help us replant several thousand locally sourced red spruce seedlings at Cranesville Swamp Preserve.
Red spruce (Picea rubens) once covered thousands of acres in western Maryland. Logging and subsequent wildfires at the turn of the 20th century drastically reduced its range. It’s estimated that in the Central Appalachians as much as 90% of the original red spruce forest is now gone.
You can help us change that statistic—one seedling at a time.
This volunteer opportunity takes place over two days; volunteers are welcome to join for one day or both.
City Nature Challenge
Held over four days, the City Nature Challenge is a community science event that encourages people to discover and document the biodiversity of our urban spaces. What began in 2016 as a friendly challenge between Los Angeles and San Francisco has now grown to an international event.
You don't have to join an organized outing to be a part of the City Nature Challenge. Explore your neighborhood parks—or even your own backyard. There's nature all around you!
The City Nature Challenge
Which city on Earth has the most nature and the most engaged residents? The City Nature Challenge—an international community science effort to discover and document plants and wildlife in cities across the globe—aims to find out!
Explore Your World
The City Nature Challenge encourages people to discover and document the biodiversity of our urban spaces. What began in 2016 as a friendly challenge between Los Angeles and San Francisco has now grown to an international event!
There are still many ways to look for nature in your home or backyard. Discover the plants that are growing on their own and the insects and pollinators that live in and around our homes and yards. You never know what you might find!
How to Find Insects
Insects are probably some of the easiest organisms to find in and around our homes, since they’re abundant and incredibly diverse! But where should you look to find them? What can you use to catch them?
These sites provide some guidance on how to find and temporarily hold insects. Be sure to release them after you've posted your observation on iNaturalist!
Moth Lighting
Setting up a light and a sheet to attract moths is a simple and easy way to bring more nature into your backyard. Photographing moths on the sheet is easy, and you’ll definitely attract other flying insects as well!
Science Friday has a great set of instructions for observing moths, and the California Center for Natural History has instructions for building your own moth light to attract a wider variety of moths.
Get Involved
It’s easy to get involved using the iNaturalist app (free on the App Store and Google Play). Just take a picture of a plant or animal and upload it to the app. Any observations made in the Baltimore or Washington, DC metro challenge areas will count during the four-day challenge.
Download
Learn more about the City Nature Challenge and how to get started in our Quick Start Guide.
DownloadIn addition to participating in these events, assistance may also be needed in these areas:
- Volunteer Photography/Videography: Take pictures and/or video throughout the year for use in the Maryland/DC chapter's publications, website and social media.
- Social Media: Share posts from the chapter's Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X accounts with your personal networks to help spread the word about our work across the region.
Contact Us
to learn more about how to get involved.