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Nature Forward

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Nature Forward is the longest-serving independent environmental organization in the DC area. Grounds are open dawn to dusk, 7 days a week.

Nature Forward reserves the right to moderate comments on our website and social media channels to ensure content reflects our values and our commitment to inclusivity. Hate speech of any kind will be deleted.

10/13/2026

Happy Indigenous People’s Day!

10/10/2026

Less than a month away — Nature Forward and Chesapeake Climate Action Network are hosting the People Over Data Centers Maryland Action Summit on November 7!

Join us at the Baltimore Convention Center for a day of strategy, stories, and action against unchecked data center expansion in Maryland.

You’ll hear from local and national speakers, sit in on panels covering everything from water pollution to AI to local moratorium victories, and connect with other advocates driving this movement statewide.

The Speaker Line Up: Advocates, Legislators, and Thought Leaders
» Bill McKibben, co-founder of Third Act, is a nationally recognized climate activist, author, and educator
» Delegate Lorig Charkoudian represents Maryland’s District 20, Montgomery County, MD
» Natali Fani-Gonzalez, President of the Montgomery County Council, represents District 6
» State Senator Katie Fry Hester, Maryland Senate D9 represents Maryland’s District 9, Howard County, MD.
» Councilmember Will Jawando is an “at-large” representative on the Montgomery County Council
» Saul Levin, Program Director, Center for Nonviolent Conflict Research, hosts “The Hum” podcast.
» Dayvon Love is Director of Public Policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.
» Taylor Frazier McCollum is a Prince George’s County organizer with Maryland Green Party
» Sheila Ruth, District 44B Delegate represents Maryland’s District 44B in Baltimore County, MD.
» Khalil Shahyd is Senior Strategist for Environmental Equity, NRDC

Tickets are $25 ($15 for students). Join us: http://peopleoverdatacenters.org

10/09/2026

What's at Woodend this week?? Beautyberries! 🫐

On Monday, we learned about a disease affecting beautyberries from our Director of Restoration. But did you know we have two species, a native and a non-native.

Our native beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, has berries that are attached directly to the stem. Their leaves also tend to be larger and wider than it's non-native counterpart. We can find naturally occurring American beautyberries around Assateague Island 🐴.

The non-native beautyberry, Callicarpa japonica, has berries that are branched off the stem. Its leaves tend to be smaller and less wide than our native species. These species often get confused 🤔 at nurseries so make sure to look carefully when buying these cool shrubs.

Come check out our native species in person at Woodend! You can find it planted around our nature playspace.

10/08/2026

What is a data center moratorium?

Moratoriums are temporary suspensions on hyperscale data center development, allowing us to assess what their impacts on our communities and environment are. Maryland and Virginia both do not have state-wide moratoriums. More than half of Maryland counties have moratoriums passed, very few Virginia counties have pauses or zoning restrictions in place.

To keep up with data center updates, check our new Data Center Dashboard with information about county restrictions and the status of data center developments throughout the state: https://anshome.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/36fd5cb6687a40998b9981de5d2eec3b #

To rally for data center moratoriums in Alexandria, join us this Saturday at 12pm (847 S Pickett Street Alexandria, VA): https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/march-for-a-moratorium-stand-up-against-dirty-data-centers-in-virginia

10/06/2026

Fall is a great time to plant perennials!

Cooler temperatures and warm soil, make it easier for plants to establish their root systems before spring. It gives them a better head start, and you’ll see them blooming earlier than perennials planted in the spring and providing food for wildlife. Plus, consistent fall rain means less watering and work for you!

Perennials for sale at Woodend Nature Shop (8940 Jones Mill Rd, Chevy Chase, MD)

🌱White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)
🌱Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
🌱Bluestem Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
🌱Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
🌱Butterfly W**d (Asclepias tuberosa)
🌱Hairy Alumroot (Heuchera Villosa)
🌱Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans)
🌱Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)

We are also hosting our Native Plants Garden Tour of Woodend this Friday, October 9th from 10am-11:30am if you want to learn more about native gardening this fall. Sign up here: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/NatureForward?season=3822232&sessionType=1816840

📸: Easyscape

10/05/2026

Happy Monday!

Today we are talking about the crepe myrtle bark scale that’s been affecting our beautyberries.

10/02/2026

Calling all Nature Forward members!

Join us for our 2026 Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, October 22, 2026 from 6:00-8:30pm at Woodend Nature Sanctuary🌱

The evening event will include a fiscal year wrap-up presented by Executive Director, Alison Pearce, recognition of our Volunteer of the Year, and the election of members to the Nature Forward Board of Directors.

Alice Sturm, Nature Forward's Director of Restoration, will give a special presentation “Habitat Restoration: From Woodend to the Watershed.”

Light refreshments, coffee, and dessert will be served.

RSVP to this free event by Friday, October 16: https://give.natureforward.org/event/annual-membership-meeting-2026/e820647

Read the bios of Board of Directors candidates here: https://natureforward.org/board-of-directors/

09/30/2026

What's at Woodend this Wednesday? Asters!🌼

Plants of the family Asteraceae have a unique flower structure. Flowers of this family are borne in 'heads'. When we look at an aster 'flower', we are actually looking at an inflorescence or multiple flowers. An inflorescence is a cluster of flowers arranged on a stem. Aster flowers are split into ray ☀️ flowers, the petal-like ones, and disk 💿 flowers, those in the center or eye of the inflorescence.

Late summer and early fall are a great time to appreciate our asters. This post highlights some of those species! The first one is narrowleaf sunflower 🌻, Helianthus angustifolius. Next is New England aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae. The white flower is small white American-aster, Symphyotrichum racemosum. Finally, we have one of our major groups of asters, goldenrods. The one pictured here is zigzag goldenrod, Solidago flexicaulis.

Come to Woodend soon to see how many flowering asters you can find!

09/29/2026

It’s almost October🎃

Join us for spooky, nature-packed events this month!

Check them out: https://natureforward.org/events-calendar/

09/28/2026

Happy Monday!

Last Friday, we had over 800 trees and shrubs delivered to Woodend. Join us as we talk about the projects we are using them for!

Volunteer with us 🌱 https://natureforward.org/volunteer/

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Forest Service

Address

8940 Jones Mill Road
Chevy Chase, MD
20815

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+13016529188

Website

https://natureforward.org/

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