Embedded Files
The Kate Farm is excited to embark on a new project in partnership with Underwood & Associates, a leading landscape architecture firm focused on ecosystem restoration. Through a raised aquatic bed nursery, we are propagating and raising native plant species for restoration activities on the SMCM campus and other restoration sites in the St. Mary's area. The Agro-Ecological Restoration Nursery at the Kate Farm is a living laboratory for students to learn about and practice the skills necessary for ecosystem repair and restoration.
Other projects around campus, including the collection and processing of native seeds from St. John's Pond and Wherritts Pond, will broaden the collection of native plants under our care at the Kate Farm.
On-site signage will help students and community members identify and learn more about nursery processes and wetland restoration.
Check back often for new developments and opportunities to get involved!
SMCM students, interns, and U&A crew members pot hundreds of native plant plugs.
Pickerel weed thrives in its new nursery bed.
"Wet" Bed Construction
"Wet" Bed Construction
Project Preparation
Wet Bed Construction
Analyzing Restoration Plans
Finished Native Plant Beds
Through the construction of four preliminary "wet" beds, the team was able to pot hundreds of native plant plugs for use in future ecosystem restoration and stormwater management projects.
Click on each image below to learn more about individual plant species and their role in ecosystem restoration.
Nursery Expansion
Nursery Expansion
Building on volunteer projects pioneered over the summer, in mid-October, 2022, students in ENST 391 (Field Study in Sustainable Agriculture) learned how to survey, prep, build, and install raised aquatic beds, adding four more "wet" beds to the project.
Project survey
Measuring materials
Assembling beds
Discussing design careers
Nursery Maintenance and Renovation
Nursery Maintenance and Renovation
Continuing to cultivate our plants and partnership, in Fall 2025 students in ENST 391 (Field Study in Sustainable Agriculture) re-potted "stubs" and seedlings, and refreshed our population of Atlantic White Cedar with the help of folks from Underwood & Associates.
Explaining Atlantic White Cedar Restoration
Weeding and Seeding
Prepping sphagnum "islands"
Next-gen teamwork
Severn Chapel Farm
Severn Chapel Farm
Located in Millersville, MD, Severn Chapel Farm is an established example of our where our fledgling nursery is headed, providing a home for native plants to be protected, reproduce, and flourish. From the mighty Atlantic white cedar, to the fiery red blooms of cardinal flowers, to the low-lying prickly pear cactus, the farm provides a place for local, native plants to thrive. These native plants are used in ecological restoration projects to replant restored streams and shorelines with their native flora.
Establishing Atlantic White Cedar
Establishing Atlantic White Cedar
Expanding on nursery installations the previous summer, in early November, 2022, students in ENST 391 (Field Study in Sustainable Agriculture) potted and planted over 600 rare Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) seedlings, a species integral to threatened peatland ecosystems along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.
Background on endangered peatlands
Seedlings in sphagnum moss mat
Filled wet beds
Potting process overview
Potting techniques
Horticulture heroism!
Stacking the "stubs"
Over 600 tree babies tucked in to grow
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