Wild Wanderers Winter Edition is here! Bring this family-friendly, self-guided activity with you on your next hike to deepen your observation skills and connect with your inner naturalist. You can download, view and print this nature learning activity.
Treat it like a scavenger hunt — all of the plants in this guided activity have been spotted recently on the Muddy Branch Trail. Use this guide to learn about their place in the ecosystem and deepen your connection to the wilderness around you.
Please share your wilderness finds with us on Instagram @MuddyBranchAlliance and Facebook at facebook.com/MuddyBranchAlliance using hashtag #MBAWildWanderers to join the conversation and perhaps be spotlighted! We will be shining the spotlight on our participants throughout the year on social media and in our newsletter!
When my wife and I were thinking of putting an offer on a home in Gaithersburg, one of the first things I did was look at Google Maps to see how close it was to parks and trails. I was excited to see the neighborhood was adjacent to a city park that ran along Muddy Branch creek. The proximity to nature wasn’t the main reason we ultimately ended up buying the home, but it was a major bonus for me and my hobby: bug photography.
The first time I actually walked onto one of the trails leading to the creek, I knew I was going to become intimately familiar with the landscape. Just this past year I likely spent over 50 hours on and off trails, in the brush and in the forest. I know where damselflies spend the night. I know which logs six-spotted tiger beetles use for shelter. I know which bushes gnat ogre robber flies like to perch on. I know where to find the biggest wolf and fishing spiders. But even after a year of encounters, I’m still surprised and amazed by the variety of bugs I can find in just a few square feet. And there are SO many square feet to search.
For a macro photographer, the habitat around the Muddy Branch is a dream. But the quality of habitat is about so much more than photography. Our tiny invertebrate neighbors are critical to the ecosystem we all share. Given the amount of developed land in our area, they need the space more than we do. It’s their home.
And I feel like I owe them. Since I moved to Gaithersburg, my photography hobby has transformed into something else entirely. Over the past year I’ve become an OM System (formerly Olympus) Ambassador, won international awards, and had my images viewed by millions of people through news/magazine articles and social media.
An image I took of a wolf spider mom with babies on her back recently won first place in The Nature Conservancy’s global photo contest, a massive contest with over 80,000 photographers. I’m always quick to share that the image was taken just down the road from my house, not on some exotic trek through the jungle.
Because of my time in nature around Muddy Branch, I’ve been able to create a platform to advocate for insects, spiders, and our environment. I think the best thing I can do to pay back the bugs of the Branch is to continue to highlight their uniqueness, and introduce people in the community to the world of bug photography. The more appreciation, the more awareness.
Wild Wanderers Fall Edition is here! Bring this family-friendly, self-guided activity with you on your next hike to deepen your observation skills and connect with your inner naturalist. You can download, view and print this nature learning activity.
Treat it like a scavenger hunt — all of the plants in this guided activity have been spotted recently on the Muddy Branch Trail. Use this guide to learn about their place in the ecosystem and deepen your connection to the wilderness around you.
Please share your wilderness finds with us on Instagram @MuddyBranchAlliance and Facebook at facebook.com/MuddyBranchAlliance using hashtag #MBAWildWanderers to join the conversation and perhaps be spotlighted! We will be shining the spotlight on our participants throughout the year on social media and in our newsletter!
The Muddy Branch Alliance is working hard to protect the Muddy Branch stream for people and wildlife. Here’s what we accomplished between our annual meeting in September 2022 and our subsequent gathering in September 2023.
Not even a full week after the 2022 annual meeting, we hosted a tour of our meadow at the Izaak Walton League national headquarters. Though the group that day was smaller than what we had seen at earlier similar events, our attendees were highly engaged and asked lots of great questions as we walked around the meadow and the lake.
The week after that, we tabled at the open house event of the Izaak Walton League’s Rockville Chapter. We talked to lots of visitors about compost, native plants, Salt Watch, and the Muddy Branch Trail.
In October of 2022, we tabled for MoCo Epic. From our location at the corner of Turkey Foot and Query Mill Roads, which is an access point to our trail, we served over 400 bike riders as they enjoyed outdoor recreation in our watershed.
In January we started off the new year by hosting a trash clean-up around Lake Varuna, in honor of the Martin Luther King Day of Service.
In February, Seneca Creek Watershed Partners distributed a sign-on letter regarding the redevelopment proposal for the Lakeforest Mall. We supported this effort to protect streams and forests in the Seneca Creek watershed on the north side of Gaithersburg. At least 34 advocates signed the letter and sent a copy to the mayor and council.
In March we held another successful tree giveaway event, sending over 400 young trees to new homes in our watershed.
In April we won an Environmental Achievement Award from the City of Gaithersburg. This award was specifically for the “Wild Wanderers” project, an initiative led by our director and communications chair Julia Rasnake. “Wild Wanderers” encourages families to get outdoors, explore the watershed, and learn about interesting native plants.
Not to be outdone, our director Karl Van Neste won an Individual Achievement Award for his work on road salt, and our long-time member Kevin Misener won an Individual Appreciation Award for his work leading stream monitoring initiatives, organizing trash clean-ups, and serving as a Weed Warrior. We also recognize and celebrate the Watts Branch Watershed Alliance, who won an Appreciation Award for a salt monitoring project they did in partnership with us.
Moving on through the spring, in May we hosted our fourth annual native plant sale. This year we engaged about 115 people in native plant gardening and welcomed 1,269 native plants to our community. This was made possible through the hard work of 19 volunteers, some of them members of the Muddy Branch Alliance and others pitching in on behalf of partner groups. We thank our two official partner groups, G-PARC and the Wild Ones, for their invaluable contributions to the success of our event.
This past spring also brought a new edition of the seasonal “Wild Wanderers” activity books from Julia, while in the summer our director and treasurer Mary Hlavinka led three Weed Warrior events in Malcolm King Park. We also took action on the proposed redevelopment of the historic missile site on Muddy Branch Road, which sits just above a stretch of our stream.
Rounding out the summer, we corrected a longstanding oversight and became an official partner in the Izaak Walton League’s Salt Watch program. Throughout the year, we had been monitoring at Route 28, Quince Orchard Road, Great Seneca Highway, and Lake Varuna, among other sites. In November of 2022, we submitted a memo asking the City of Gaithersburg to collect salt use data in terms of pounds per single lane mile, and in early 2023 we rapidly gathered over 300 signatures on a petition making a similar request. We will continue advocating for all of these priorities.
Finally, in August we submitted a grant application to develop a replicable process to help HOAs get started with native plant gardening. We look forward to a decision in December. That grant, if successful, would augment the healthy organizational funding we already have.
In the coming year, we’ll continue to pursue many initiatives to protect the health of our watershed and promote outdoor recreation around our stream. Your support makes our work possible!
Wild Wanderers Summer Edition is here. Bring this family-friendly, self-guided activity with you on your next hike to deepen your observation skills and connect with your inner naturalist. You can download, view and print this nature learning activity.
Treat it like a scavenger hunt — all of the plants in this guided activity have been spotted recently on the Muddy Branch Trail. Use this guide to learn about their place in the ecosystem and deepen your connection to the wilderness around you.
Please share your wilderness finds with us on Instagram @MuddyBranchAlliance and Facebook at facebook.com/MuddyBranchAlliance using hashtag #MBAWildWanderers to join the conversation and perhaps be spotlighted! We will be shining the spotlight on our participants throughout the year on social media and in our newsletter!
This activity was made specially for the Muddy Branch community by board member and UMD Master Naturalist Julia Rasnake, LCSW-C
This self-guided, family-friendly, seasonal nature activity will teach you about plants that can be found throughout our trails and in our backyards. You can print this document and use it as a coloring book and explorer’s journal! Record your finds in the scientific report box at the top of each page. Remember to keep the last page digital, to view color photos of these plants on your device.
We invite you to share your forest adventures with us! Take a picture of your wild self with your plant finds or artwork and tag us on Instagram @MuddyBranchAlliance and Facebook at facebook.com/MuddyBranchAlliance using hashtag #MBAWildWanderers to join the conversation and perhaps be spotlighted!
We ask that you please do not pick any plants that you find on the trail, but rather leave them to grow free. We also remind you that this is not a scientific identification guide, but rather a learning activity, and should not be used to help you forage plants for any reason.
We call it “The Meadow”, and indeed that is what you find on what used to be a weedy lawn area on the grounds of our partners, the Izaak Walton League of America (707 Conservation Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20878). The lawn was not in use as a sporting field or other active space, but it did require regular mowing – plus, it received a deluge of stormwater from the adjacent roadway and pavilion rooftop every time it rained. So it seemed to be the perfect location to demonstrate how a native planting can help to absorb rainwater while also providing habitat and beauty!
An unused lawn area at the Izaak Walton League.
In addition, this Lands Green Waters Clean project was developed with the explicit goal of demonstrating that a project of this size – 7,000 square feet – could be maintained on a limited budget and with minimal time. That proof of concept would inspire other land managers to consider similar low-maintenance projects on their own property. And every one of these new meadows would reduce stormwater runoff, improve biodiversity, and add beauty to the landscape.
The project launched following a meeting with our partner agencies: the Izaak Walton League as the landowner, and the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the City of Gaithersburg as funding partners. With a thumbs-up from all the partners, the Muddy Branch Alliance submitted a grant application to the Chesapeake Bay Trust. We waited anxiously for the funding announcement, and we were very pleased to be awarded a grant to move forward with the project!
The team visits the site of the future meadow.
In early 2020, we drafted a landscape design to define the overall area of the meadow, as well as the boundaries and features of a rain garden that would sit within the meadow. The rain garden would play a crucial role in capturing and holding runoff from the rooftop and roadway, allowing water to soak into the ground before heading towards the nearby waterways.
All rain gardens need an overflow plan to manage especially large rain events. In this case, the rain garden is designed to overflow directly into the main meadow area.
The plant list for the meadow focused on plants native to our area, with a robust mix of species to ensure the natives would thrive and outcompete any weeds that inevitably blew in.
From the start, we planned for a low-maintenance installation. We did this through careful site preparation and high-density planting methods. Because we were on a limited budget, we used mostly seeds, with some live plants. Even the spaces between the live plants were seeded to encourage desirable plants to fully cover the ground.
We prepared the meadow area by applying herbicide to remove all existing vegetation. After the herbicide application, we dug the rain garden and installed pipes to help guide the rooftop runoff into the new basin. Then we added the live plants and the seed mixes. The meadow includes both sunny and shady spaces, so we had seed mixes specific for each area.
Preparing the site of the future meadow.
The seeding approach caused some concern amongst the Muddy Branch Alliance’s leaders and friends! That first year, waiting for the seeds to sprout and grow was nerve-wracking. So much bare ground never looks good. But we were confident in our plan.
We waited patiently for our seeds to grow.
It was July of 2020 when the plants and seeds began to settle into their new home. By September, the signs were looking good – and it just got better and better through the first growing season as more species appeared and some even bloomed!
Butterfly Milkweed.
As we emerged from the first winter season, all eyes were on the meadow. Again we were nervous, as the ground looked bare in March of 2021. We checked in with our design partners, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, who assured us that all was well.
Indeed, as the weather warmed and the season developed, we were rewarded with a spectacular explosion of blooming Rudbeckias, Coreopsis, Butterfly Milkweed, Monarda, Asters, and more – all the way into late fall! Well, at least in the sunny areas. The shady areas, especially under the large (native!) Sycamore tree at the center of the project area, were still looking bare. Again, our design partners assured us this is normal. We expect the shady spaces to take at least a year or two longer to fill in.
Rudbeckia.A Black Swallowtail on Butterfly Milkweed.The meadow in full bloom in early September 2021.Purple-headed Sneezeweed and Blue Mistflower blooming in the meadow.Purple-headed Sneezeweed.
As we had intended, so far there has been very little need for hands-on maintenance. Our design partners conducted several spot sprays of herbicide to catch some early weedy areas. The Izaak Walton League staff had a fun afternoon clearing away the invasive Creeping Charlie around the edges. It took a couple of staff members only two hours to take care of that issue. A few mullein have been cut down to keep them from going to seed.
Otherwise, there has been no weeding or other maintenance, and the natives that bloomed in 2021 set LOTS of seed, so we are well on our way to enjoying a gorgeous low-maintenance meadow. Annual maintenance involves mowing the area once a year in late winter. We’ll monitor for weeds, but the success so far indicates that will likely not be a major issue.
The meadow will change from season to season and year to year. Different species dominate at different times of year, and slower-growing species become more apparent as time goes on. We hope you will visit the area several times a year to enjoy this ever-changing tapestry that makes the meadow a magical place.
Members of the public testified to Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council on July 6. Please continue to send comments, and/or present comments in person Monday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m. https://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/government/virtual-meeting-information
7/6/2021 Update: An agenda item at the July 6 Mayor and City Council meeting to approve a construction contract for the Solitaire Court Stream Restoration project has been delayed. A discussion of the history of the project and how the restoration aligns with the City’s approach to stormwater management will instead take place at a Mayor and City Council Work Session on Monday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m. View the meeting live on YouTube. Register to participate in the meeting here.
The City of Gaithersburg plans a major stream restoration on a tributary of Longdraft Branch as part of its MS4 stormwater permit requirements. The stated goal of the proposed project is to stabilize the stream banks and gain credits toward the City’s MS4 permit requirements.
The project site is in Diamond Farms Park in Gaithersburg along the Longdraft Branch stream greenway that connects to Seneca Creek State Park at Clopper Lake. A trail connects the two parks.
The project proposes to clear 3.14 acres of riparian forest from the City’s portion of the greenway, fragmenting the continuity of the forest habitat from city to state land. The forest has a variety of native hardwood canopy and understory trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses and ferns.
The Gaithersburg City Council meets (virtual) on TUESDAY July 7 at 7 pm. to VOTE on the project. Please ask the Council to place a hold on this project due to excessive impacts and lack of public participation. Please be polite with your correspondence.
You may contact Mayor Jud Ashman and Council members at 301-258-6300, [email protected], or:
Ah, the first spring in a new meadow…. The plants are germinating, the Rudbeckia are growing quickly, and the whole thing is accidentally getting mowed to the ground.
All of these things happened in our meadow in the past couple of months, but don’t worry. Our plants are going to be fine.
Once they mature a little more, they’ll be doing great things to protect our watershed. They’ll slow down stormwater, filter out pollutants and reduce flash floods that erode streambanks.
All native plant gardens provide these important benefits. But they need a little help. Join us this summer to learn how to maintain a native garden by identifying and removing (sneaky) non-natives.
Fighting back against weeds helps a native plant garden do its job — and sets an example to the community about how to be good stewards of our watershed. Our meadow isn’t ready for this type of maintenance yet, but you’ll be able to check in on its progress while helping some of the more mature plantings at the Izaak Walton League.
The League grounds sit directly on a stretch of the Muddy Branch stream that struggles with heavy runoff from major roads and big parking lots, so your help will really make a difference!RSVP here to join us Saturday, June 26 (9:30-11:30 am) and/or Sunday, July 18 (3-5 pm).
The Seneca Creek watershed is very large- it covers 129 square miles. It is roughly bounded by Darnestown, Poolesville, Clarksburg, Damascus, Germantown, Montgomery Village. Laytonsville, and Gaithersburg. The headwaters of Seneca Creek are near Damascus and the mouth is at Rileys Lock on the Potomac River. Major tributaries are Little Seneca Creek and Dry Seneca Creek. It isn’t possible for just a few people to take care of it. There’s no shortage of creative ideas! Join us for an event, or ask us to help you organize your own.
Here’s just a few possible topics:
Canoeing and Kayaking
Communications
Cultural history
Education
Environmental equity and nature access
Grants and Fundraising
Journalism, Photography, Video
Multilingual outreach
Native plants and wildlife
Outdoor performance and visual arts
Policy and Regulations
Public outreach
Spatial data-GIS
Stormwater
Stream Sampling
Trails and Greenways
Trash Cleanups
Weed Warriors
Wetlands
Winter Salt
Do you want to “dive in” deeper? We welcome new directors who help guide our mission and activities. Directors serve renewable 2-year terms, commit to several meetings annually, and lead or participate in activities according to their interests or expertise. We also have an immediate need for a Board secretary and/or treasurer. Email us at [email protected] or call Deby at 505-412-1827 to discuss.
Secretary – Records board and committee actions; takes minutes at meetings; distributes meeting announcements, agendas and minutes; and maintains membership mailing list.
Treasurer – Receives and disburses all funds and manages the finances; files annual tax reports; keeps financial books and records; assists in budget preparation and fund-raising plans; and makes financial information available to the board, the membership and the public.
