ETE Scholars

Congratulations to ETE seniors graduating this week! We enjoyed celebrating with you at the Senior Sendoff last month!

College Park Scholars

Local food expert Bodhi Vasilopoulos of Nature's Love and Wisdom introduced ETE students to some of the edible and useful plants that grow wild in suburban Maryland. We met dandelion, plantain, ground ivy, garlic mustard, wood sorrel, and many others. Getting to know our plant neighbors is a rewarding (and flavorful!) way to connect to the ecosystem where we live.

At the Academic Showcase, sophomores present their capstone projects. ETE sophomores present posters that share what they learned from their practicum experience and talk about how their takeaway connects to what we learn in ETE.

College Park Scholars

In CPET101, we talk a lot about regenerative agriculture, or farming using techniques that support soil, water, and biodiversity. At the end of April, we got to see regenerative agriculture in action at Deep Roots Farm in Upper Marlboro. Thanks to Farmer Gale for the inspiring farm tour!

The second half of College Park Scholars trip to the Eastern Shore focused on the courage, resilience, and resourcefulness of Harriet Tubman, who was born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland. Alex Green of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Center led us on a tour that included Harriet Tubman's childhood home; the Bucktown Store where she sustained a devastating head injury; the woods and marshes of the Blackwater River where she became an expert naturalist; Cambridge, Maryland, where she learned the ways of watermen and town folks; and the Dorchester County Courthouse, where she witnessed her older sisters being sold away. Many of the landmarks that testify to Tubman's story are threatened by rising sea levels and are likely to disappear in the next century.

Our day ended in community with a soul food feast at the Harriet Tubman Freedom Center.

ETE Scholars joined with students from across programs for an all-day trip to the Eastern Shore. Our first stop was the Horn Point Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, where billions of baby oysters are hatched under ideal conditions in order to rebuild oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay.

On April 4, six ETE students and director Tim Knight braved the first truly hot day of the spring to remove invasive plants from the Anacostia Watershed Society headquarters grounds. This is the first stage of a project for the Maryland Master Naturalist program. With planning help from ETE students, Tim will install a native food and medicine garden and ETE will return each year to assist with the maintenance of the garden. These kinds of partnerships help to build relationships and root students firmly in this community and watershed.
Anacostia Watershed Society
College Park Scholars
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources - University of Maryland

ETE students unleashed their creativity to create zines on topics ranging from soil to corn to pollinators to birds to masculinity.

Zines ("zeens") are typically small, handmade and hyperlocal sources of information. They are a flexible, low-budget art form that can be used to share ideas and foster community.

Thanks to the Office of SustainableUMD and Max Barnewitz for hosting this energizing workshop. And thanks to UMD Arts for All for funding the sweet Zinemobile made from second-hand and upcycled parts!

College Park Scholars

[Image descriptions

Image 1: A student, surrounded by art supplies, places a clipping from a magazine on a page of her zine. Two others students engrossed in zine creatiion are in the background.

Image 2: Two students select zine-making supplies from a table loaded with magazines, stickers, paint, crayons, and other art materials.

Image 3: A student smiles and displays his zine about corn.

Image 4: A student smiles and displays his zine about pollinators

Image 5: A student standing at podium presents his zine about masculinity to the room using a document camera

Image 6: A student standing at podium presents her zine about bird populations to the room using a document camera

Image 7: Eight students and ETE Assistant Director Dani Moore pose with their zines with the UMD Zinemobile

]