Chesapeake Natives, Inc.

Mission

Chesapeake Natives is a volunteer-driven nonprofit dedicated to promoting, protecting, and propagating plants native to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Using a strong volunteer base our primary objectives are to increase the knowledge about local native plants, reclaiming space lost to non-native plants by reinstating native plants to fill the gaps. To fulfill this objective, Chesapeake Natives volunteers at Mt. Airy Mansion Greenhouse in Rosaryville State Park, Upper Marlboro, are engaged in local piedmont/coastal plain ecotype production, native plant gardening workshops, and forest and landscape restoration.

Goals:

• to expand the nursery operation of CNI at Eleanor Medill “Cissy” Patterson’s historic greenhouse at Mt. Airy Mansion in Rosaryville State Park, Upper Marlboro. This 80-year Lutton Solar V-Bar greenhouse is being brought back to life with the education and training of local volunteers in plant production from local ecotypes, forest restoration, and community outreach, using native plants and the local environment of southern Prince George’s County, southern Maryland.
• to build up an army of people that know how to work with native species and why they should do it. Both small and large scale forest and meadow restorations, and their buffers, require planting with local ecotypes. A wide range of these plants are almost invariably unavailable for restoration projects. Working with native plants can lead people into jobs that work to preserve the natural environment.

Organization Information