Privacy Policy

by | Jul 26, 2018 | Blog Posts

ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY AGREEMENT

NW Communications Sustainability Division, (GreenFrederick), is committed to keeping any and

all personal information collected of those individuals that visit our website and make use of our

online facilities and services accurate, confidential, secure and private. Our privacy policy has

been designed and created to ensure those affiliated with NW CommunicationsSustainability

Division of our commitment and realization of our obligation not only to meet but to exceed most

existing privacy standards.

THEREFORE, this Privacy Policy Agreement shall apply toNW CommunicationsSustainability

Division and any subsidiary company listed below , and thus it shall govern any and all data

collection and usage thereof. Through the use of www.greenfrederick.org you are herein

consenting to the following data procedures expressed within this agreement.

Subsidiary Company:

N/a

Collection of Information

This website collects various types of information, such as:

• Voluntarily provided information which may include your name, address, email address,

billing and/or credit card information etc., which may be used when you purchase products

and/or services and to deliver the services you have requested.

Please rest assured that this site shall only collect personal information that you knowingly and

willingly provide by way of surveys, completed membership forms, and emails. It is the intent

of this site to use personal information only for the purpose for which it was requested and any

additional uses specifically provided on this site.

It is highly recommended and suggested that you review the privacy policies and statements

of any website you choose to use or frequent as a means to better understand the way in

which other websites garner, make use of and share information collected.

Use of Information Collected

NW CommunicationsSustainability Division may collect and may make use of personal

information to assist in the operation of our website and to ensure delivery of the services you

need and request. At times, we may find it necessary to use personally identifiable information

as a means to keep you informed of other possible products and/or services that may be

available      to      you      from      www.greenfrederick.org      and      our      subsidiaries      .      NW

CommunicationsSustainability Division and our subsidiaries may also be in contact with you

with regards to completing surveys and/or research questionnaires related to your opinion of

current or potential future services that may be offered.

NW CommunicationsSustainability Division does not now, nor will it in the future, sell, rent or

lease any of our customer lists and/or names to any third parties.

NW CommunicationsSustainability Division may disclose your personal information, without

prior notice to you, only if required to do so in accordance with applicable laws and/or in a

good faith belief that such action is deemed necessary or is required in an effort to:

• Remain in conformance with any decrees, laws and/or statutes or in an effort to comply

with any process which may be served upon NW CommunicationsSustainability Division

and/or our website;

• Maintain, safeguard and/or preserve all the rights and/or property ofNW

CommunicationsSustainability Division; and

• Perform under demanding conditions in an effort to safeguard the personal safety of users

of www.greenfrederick.org and/or the general public.

Children Under Age of 13

NW CommunicationsSustainability Division does not knowingly collect personal identifiable

information from children under the age of thirteen (13) without verifiable parental consent. If it

is determined that such information has been inadvertently collected on anyone under the age

of thirteen (13), we shall immediately take the necessary steps to ensure that such information

is deleted from our system’s database. Anyone under the age of thirteen (13) must seek and

obtain parent or guardian permission to use this website.

Unsubscribe or Opt-Out

All users and/or visitors to our website have the option to discontinue receiving

communication from us and/or reserve the right to discontinue receiving communications by

way of email or newsletters. To discontinue or unsubscribe to our website please send an

email that you wish to unsubscribe to Lindam.norris@comcast.net. If you wish to unsubscribe

or opt-out from any third party websites, you must go to that specific website to unsubscribe

and/or opt-out.

Links to Other Web Sites

Our       website       does       contain       links       to       affiliate       and       other       websites.NW

CommunicationsSustainability Division does not claim nor accept responsibility for any privacy

policies, practices and/or procedures of other such websites. Therefore, we encourage all

users and visitors to be aware when they leave our website and to read the privacy

statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. The

aforementioned Privacy Policy Agreement applies only and solely to the information collected

by our website.

Security

NW CommunicationsSustainability Division shall endeavor and shall take every precaution to

maintain adequate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to our offices and

information storage facilities so as to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access,

disclosure or modification of the user’s personal information under our control.

Changes to Privacy Policy Agreement

NW CommunicationsSustainability Division reserves the right to update and/or change the

terms of our privacy policy, and as such we will post those change to our website homepage

at www.greenfrederick.org, so that our users and/or visitors are always aware of the type of

information we collect, how it will be used, and under what circumstances, if any, we may

disclose such information. If at any point in time NW CommunicationsSustainability Division

decides to make use of any personally identifiable information on file, in a manner vastly

different from that which was stated when this information was initially collected, the user or

users shall be promptly notified by email. Users at that time shall have the option as to

whether or not to permit the use of their information in this separate manner.

Acceptance of Terms

Through the use of this website, you are hereby accepting the terms and conditions stipulated

within the aforementioned Privacy Policy Agreement. If you are not in agreement with our

terms and conditions, then you should refrain from further use of our sites. In addition, your

continued use of our website following the posting of any updates or changes to our terms

and conditions shall mean that you are in agreement and acceptance of such changes.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Privacy Policy Agreement related to our

website, please feel free to contact us at the following email, telephone number or mailing

address.

Email: lindam.norris@comcast.net

Telephone Number: 2403158876

Mailing Address:

NW CommunicationsSustainability Division

9227 Baltimore National Pike

Middletown MD 21769

10/23/2017

Take Care How You Kill Your Grubs–It May Wipe Out the Bees

by | Jul 18, 2018 | Blog Posts, Green Living

From the University of Maryland Extension Service:

European honey bees, native bee species, and other pollinators in Maryland have suffered population losses in recent years. This has led to increased scrutiny of a widely used class of insecticides, known as neonicotinoids. Public concerns resulted in the passage of the Pollinator Protection Act of 2016 by the Maryland General Assembly. The law went into effect on January 1, 2018 and restricts the sales and use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Only farmers and certified pesticide applicators (or people working under their supervision) can apply neonicotinoid pesticides outdoors. So while neonicotinoid products may appear on store shelves in Maryland they cannot be applied outdoors by gardeners.

bumblebee

Bumble bee. Photo: David Cappert, Bugwood.org

What are neonicotinoid insecticides?

  • Kill insects by causing nervous system excitation, resulting in paralysis and death. Their chemical structure is similar to nicotine.
  • Active ingredients of neonicotinoids: acetamiprid, clothianidin, cyantraniliprole, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, sulfoxaflor, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam.
  • Systemic action: the active ingredient is absorbed by leaves, stems, and roots and moves through the plant’s vascular system.
  • Persist in plants from months to multiple seasons depending on active ingredient, application rate, plant species, and environmental conditions.
  • Low risks to people, mammals, and other vertebrates. Imidacloprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, thiamethoxam are considered by the US EPA to be highly toxic to honey bees. Acetamiprid is the least toxic neonicotinoid for bees but is more toxic to mammals (it’s on the US EPA’s reduced risk list).
  • Used by commercial growers and gardeners around the world. Some products are labeled for controlling fleas and lice on dogs and cats while others are labeled to control pests of turf, ornamental plants, and food plants.
  • Products may be applied to soil, seeds, and foliage, sprayed on bark, or injected into trees. Research has shown that neonicotinoids can move into pollen, nectar, and fruits.

Local notes from GreenFrederick.org:

Home Depot provides the following list on their website of the  products that contain these insecticides, alternatives, and their policy on using them on their own plants.

We unknowingly purchased this product late this spring to kill grubs in our yard, and found that it contains trichlorfon, one of the offending ingredients. Needless to say it was taken back without use!

Lowes stopped selling these insecticides in 2015.

Stadler Nursery in Jefferson had this to offer:

 Mainly what we can use now are products containing pyrethrins, sulfur, insecticidal soaps, and horticultural oils (these are generally touted as “natural/organic” options), as well as spinosad and Sevin (carbaryl) spray. They are available in a variety of constitutions listed for specific pests/diseases and for specific plants/crops.

It is important to note that, in addition to correctly identifying the pest before applying any treatment, any product should only be used according to the label instructions and for the pests listed within the label.

Also, Certified Pesticide Applicators have access to more effective treatments for heavy infestations and/or pervasive pests and diseases and they are the only professionals who are authorized  (by MD law) to provide advice on treatment options (i.e. even we at the garden center have to  identify the issue then read from the label before making recommendations).

Mother Nature Network –,Here’s a great article about the subject that includes info that Lowes stopped selling these in 2015.

According to Texas State Extension, neonicotinoids are most often used to control certain beetles (like white grub larvae in lawns), fleas (Advantage flea control products, and nitenpyram pills for pets), certain wood boring pests, flies (fly baits), cockroaches and others.

Are they harming bees?

  • The consensus among researchers is that the interaction of multiple stressors and factors has contributed to honey bee and native bee population declines. These include parasites (especially varroa mite in honeybees), habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and diseases.
  • There is no evidence that neonicotinoids caused colony collapse disorder, and the role of neonicotinoids in high honey bee mortality is not clear. Researchers believe that neonicotinoids pose a greater threat to native bee species than to honey bees.
  • Pollinators can pick up neonicotinoids from treated plants by ingesting 1) nectar and pollen from flowers, 2) honeydew excreted by aphids and other sucking insects feeding on plants, or 3) water droplets pushed out of plant leaves and stems at night (guttation).
  • Exposure to neonicotinoids can produce sub-lethal effects such as impaired foraging, navigation, and reproduction.
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(link is external) has taken steps to reduce the risk of negative effects of neonicotinoids on non-target organisms. These include changes to pesticide labels regarding the timing of pesticide applications and other actions that will protect pollinators.

honey bee

Honey bee. Photo: Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org

What can I do to help pollinators?

Pollinators are essential for the reproduction of many native plant species, and to the production of food crops on farms and in gardens. Gardeners can help by reducing or eliminating pesticide use and growing plants that provide habitat, nectar and pollen for a wide range of pollinators.

  • Most plant problems are caused by a host of environmental and cultural factors, such as weather extremes, compacted soil, poor location or installation, crowding, winter injury, and over-mulching. Yet insects and diseases usually get the blame! Use our resources to learn how to diagnose and prevent problems, distinguish between beneficial and pest insects, and manage pest problems without pesticides.
  • If you decide to use a pesticide, follow these tips to reduce risks:
    • Select the least toxic product and avoid broad-spectrum pesticides that target a wide range of insects
    • Select products listed by the Organic Manufacturers Research Institute (OMRI) or are on EPA’s Reduced Risk list whenever possible
    • Carefully read and follow label directions
    • Avoid spraying open flowers
    • Spray in the evening when fewer pollinators are active
    • Wear protective clothing and gloves
  • Some large chain stores are responding to public interest and demand by either phasing out or eliminating the sale of plants treated with neonicotinoids.  Ask your local garden centers and nurseries about the pesticides that are used to produce the plants they sell.
  • Learn about and plant for pollinators! See other resources below.

Sources

2015. PLOS One.(link is external)Assessment of Chronic Sublethal Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Colony Health(link is external)

2016. Journal of Economic Entomology.(link is external)Survey and Risk Assessment of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Exposure to Neonicotinoid Pesticides in Urban, Rural, and Agricultural Settings(link is external)

2013. PLOS One.(link is external)Assessing Insecticide Hazard to Bumble Bees Foraging on Flowering Weeds in Treated Lawns(link is external)

2015.(link is external)Vermont Agency of Agriculture. Neonicotinoid Pesticides: Safety and Use(link is external).

Additional Resources

By Jon Traunfeld, Extension Specialist, University of Maryland Extension. Reviewed by Mike Raupp, Ph.D., Professor, UM Dept. of Entomology; Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, UM Dept. of Entomology; Graduate students, UM Dept. of Entomology

TRAVELLING LIGHTLY Cycling & Camping in Maryland’s “Southern” Town-Pocomoke City

by | Jul 12, 2018 | Blog Posts, Green Living

 

It’s mid-March, the sun has gone down and the air is heavy with the feel of cold + moisture–snow. More than foot is in the wings.
It’s time to think back to a warm summer weekend in a sweet, small town. Let’s head to  Pocomoke City on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Bring your Flannery O’Connor or Jan Karon novels. This is the closest Maryland gets to Mayberry and small-town Southern living.
You’d better be up for some  outdoor recreation, though, or you will find yourself looking for things to do.
Camping: The Best View
First, set up camp at Pocomoke River State Park. We stayed in the mini-cabins at Shad Landing, which are equipped with a bunk and a single bed, and can accommodate a family of 4-5 or a couple. They are a bit pricey at $75 a night including fees, but they do have heat and a room air-conditioner and are a good way to lure people used to hotel life into the outdoors like my husband, who was glad the single bed had room for the blow-up mattress because the thin camp mattress on plywood is something to be prepared for.
​​SLXLM

Tent sites and group camping is also available along with a campstore with a small grill with limited breakfast, lunch and dinner hours (hot coffee for those who need one in the morning before firing up the campfire/campstove).
You’re in for several treats when you camp at the park. Its situated on the 66-mile Pocomoke River, which begins up in southern Delaware. Local people like to claim Pocomoke means “dark water” referring to its upper reaches that leach out to the Big Cypress Swamp, but it really is Nanticoke Indian for “broken land”.
Canoeing/Kayaks/Paddleboats
You can rent many ways to float through the beautiful cypress trees and loblolly pines right at the campground, where there is a dock that makes for a nice place to sit with a bottle of wine, a book or a morning coffee.
LXLMS​​
Ore, you can head into town and book a guided trip, or rent gear at the Pocomoke River Canoe Company, in Pocomoke City. Its worth poking your head into just to take in the beauty of the rustic paneled building filled with canoe gear.
​​MLXLS

 Once you’ve canoed the river and fixed a relaxing camp lunch, hop on your bicycle and meander the5  miles to the town of Snow Hill. When we did this in August, we were delighted to happen upon a town festival featuring in an Antique Car Show at Byrd Park tucked up alongside the Pocomoke River. The festival isn’t  listed yet for this year’s schedule, but concerts and even a tragic night of Hamlet (Shakespeare in the Park) are something to look forward to in the warm nights ahead of us.
We biked around the city and were disappointed during daylight hourshours to find few options for lunch, but we had packed our own, eating it on the front steps of the Blue Dog Cafe which was closed, but promises a WWII band that plays 40s music on Friday and nights. Let us know how it is if you go!
Spend some time wandering the streets of Snow Hill, where there are a number of bed and breakfast inns if you prefer the city life. Numerous churches and federal style homes will give your eyes something to drink in as you wander, or return to bike, walk or canoe along the Pocomoke River that centers this entire region.
​​SMXLL

You’ll forget any thoughts of snow and city life after a trip east.

 

Frederick Food Security Network Wins Chesapeake Bay Trust Grant

by | Jul 12, 2018 | Blog Posts, Green Issues

 

The Frederick Food Security Network has been selected as a recipient of the Green Street, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the EPA in the amount of $65,136. This grant will allow the expansion of our gardening network to include gardens at the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick and the Islamic Society of Frederick and to expand the existing garden jointly run by Hood & Frederick Memorial Hospital, in addition to other exciting growth. Construction will be under way soon! Stay tuned in the coming months to hear and see more details and look out for lots of upcoming volunteer opportunities.

Each of our partner sites have planted their gardens, and we have already had produce harvested and distributed! Peas were harvested from the Religious Coalition garden and radishes and spinach from the Hood/FMH garden. Produce has been distributed to Religious Coalition clients as well as to the Community Action Agency food pantry and Catoctin senior apartments. Additionally, more than 90 plants started in the Hood greenhouse by student volunteers were transplanted to our four partner gardens this month.

The Religious Coalition garden continues to grow and improve, this month adding a children’s garden bed, a compost container, and its official community open hours. Stop by the Religious Coalition garden during these open hours to help out, learn more about what’s happening there, and bring home produce (produce reserved for low-income Frederick residents).
Cucumber plants thriving at the Religious Coalition garden with the help of some organic fertilizer added by a RCEHN client and garden volunteer.
128 lbs of produce harvested from the Hood/FMH garden was distributed the first week of July.

Biochar: Builder of organic matter and super-charged compost

by | Jul 3, 2018 | Blog Posts, Green Issues, Green Living

What is Biochar?

Biochar is an ancient human agricultural practice, largely forgotten until recent decades. Ancient biochar has been discovered in the Amazon basin, where it is known as “Terra Preta.” Fertile soil infused with biochar provided food for millions of Ancient South Americans in a region otherwise challenged by low soil fertility.

“Terra Preta” biochar soil remains rich and fertile to this day. Biochar is the carbon which remains after plant or animal matter is baked or “pyrolized” at low temperatures, in the absence of oxygen. It is a natural process that occurs during forest fires. Carbon is a natural component of healthy living soil. The ancients augmented this naturally occurring soil carbon by producing biochar in a process similar to charcoal-making. Modern biochar pyrolysis is an efficient, tightly engineered process which generates biochar and valuable by-products cleanly, with energy self-sufficiency, and is carbon negative.

How does Biochar work?

1. Production. Biochar, when property produced via pyrolysis, retains the microscopic cell structure of the plant or animal material from which it was made. A handful of biochar contains many square miles of surface area and billions of cellular cavities. Biochar comes out of the pyrolysis process sterile.

2. Inoculation. Sterile biochar is “inoculated” with beneficial biological life. The easiest method is by incorporating biochar into an existing compost operation. Beneficial microorganisms, fungi, and bacteria take up residence in the vast network of biochar cell cavities, where they flourish, reproduce, compete and generate plant-available nutrients. This can take 3-12 weeks.

3. Use as Soil Amendment. Inoculated Biochar compost is introduced into agricultural fields or lawn soil. There, it improves virtuous nutrient cycling, increases water retention, accelerates the building of soil organic matter, and filters out mineral fertilizers and toxins that would normally run off into streams.

Biochar Advantages

• Biochar helps build soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil biological activity. Compost alone is a good method to sequester carbon into soil (thus removing it from the atmospheric stock of CO2.) However, compost oxidizes in a few years, returning its carbon into the atmosphere. Biochar is soil carbon which remains stable in soil for hundreds or thousands of years, while also benefiting soil fertility.

• Biochar enhances the rainwater infiltration capacity of soil. Less run-off means reduced nutrient management issues, increased drought tolerance and reduced stormwater management costs.

• Biochar acts as a large-scale “carbon filter,” absorbing surplus mineral fertilizers, pesticides and toxins prior to stormwater carrying them into waterways. • Biochar turns agricultural waste into a valuable farm product. Chicken litter, diseased trees, manure, invasive species biomass, municipal wood chips… All can be pyrolyzed into sterile biochar.

• Biochar production is energy self-sufficient and can generate excess energy for resale into the grid, to heat greenhouses or otherwise displace conventionally-produced energy. • Biochar production is clean, exceeding California emissions standards.

• Biochar production generates valuable by-products. Depending on the feedstock biomass that is being pyrolyzed into biochar, the process can yield valuable quantities of waste heat, syngas, wood vinegar and other high-value products.

• Biochar helps restore essential soil carbon levels and biological biomass levels, which have been depleted by intensive agriculture. Biochar is NOT a waste product, it is carbon mad from organic feedstocks, which augments a natural soil-building process that is millions of years old.

• Biochar is particularly effective in accelerating the conversion of “conventional” agricultural fields, domestic lawns and municipal greenways to organic practices.

 

 

jefferiesbiochar.jpg

Richard with biochar that is being blended with his compost.

Richard Jefferies operates Utica Bridge Farms, a chemical-free farmstead which grows 50+ varieties of heirloom vegetables, berries, fruits, nuts and grains, using practices which build healthy biologically-active soil, support biodiversity and produce nutrient-dense food. This work is taken from a presentation he made at a Future Harvest CASA conference.