Volunteer in Maryland/DC

Annual Events

• March: Atlantic White Cedar Planting at 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.

• April: 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!

• April: Fairfax County Watershed Cleanup

  Each year since 2016, the Virginia Chapter has partnered with Fairfax County Park Authority in Northern Virginia to host a Chesapeake Bay watershed cleanup.
  
  The goal of the cleanup is to keep trash and debris out of waterways that flow into the bay. 

  While the scale of the 2021 cleanup was reduced due to Covid-19, TNC implemented safety measures—including limiting group sizes, social distancing and mask wearing—to ensure that we could once again partner with the Fairfax County Park Authority for this annual event.

  Over 3 workdays, 303 volunteers gave 625 hours of service across 11 Fairfax County parks, removing 2.5 tons of trash along miles of stream, shoreline, roadways and trails.

  While the numbers are impressive, it’s the stories that make this effort successful, too. Many volunteers express how the cleanup impacted their children and how it “opened their eyes” to some of the environmental challenges we face. We also get a lot of people asking how they can continue to make a difference.

• April: Anacostia Watershed Society River 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 Prince George’s & Montgomery Counties.

• April: Red Spruce Tree Planting at 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. 

• September: Tree Maintenance at Crescent Preserve

  Join the Maryland/DC chapter as we conduct bay “maintenance” by removing invading gums and maples that have moved in to the wetland at Jackson Lane, threatening to shade out the sun-loving native plants, many of which are state- and globally rare.
  
  The volunteer day will consist of using loppers and hand saws to cut back saplings and small trees. This is a great opportunity to experience a unique Delmarva bay habitat at a preserve that is typically only open for scientific research.

  Crescent Preserve is approximately 2 hours from Baltimore/DC.

• November: Holiday Card Addressing Event in Silver Spring, MD

  Join fellow TNC supporters over a cup of tea or coffee as we work to hand-address nearly 500 holiday card envelopes in preparation for the season! The event is hosted each year in the DC metro area.