2-16-2024 4:49am

35TH SEASON FEATURES

Outdoors Maryland Episode Highlights Efforts To Engage Local Students And Improve Green Spaces Across The State

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) award-winning original series Outdoors Maryland, now in its 35th anniversary season, will feature wildlife, people, and places from Central Maryland to the Eastern Shore and locations in between during an episode premiering Tuesday, February 20.

Produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Outdoors Maryland continues to captivate viewers with memorable stories and dazzling videography. A preview of the new season is available for viewing at youtube.com/watch?v=ri–ixoemds.

Outdoors Maryland airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on MPT-HD and online at mpt.org/livestream. Episodes are also available to view live and on demand using the free PBS App and MPT’s online video player.

The episode debuting February 20 highlights unique efforts to develop the next generation of Maryland’s outdoor enthusiasts, archers, and trees. Segments premiering during the episode are:

Nature’s Classroom (Cecil County, Baltimore City) – At NorthBay Adventure, on the coast of Elk Neck State Park, Maryland middle schoolers receive an exciting introduction to the natural world. Founded nearly 20 years ago, this outdoor education park in North East aims to cultivate in young people a lasting love of nature. Join students from Baltimore’s Harlem Park and Mount Royal schools as they face fears and connect with their peers during vertigo-inducing high ropes challenges and intimate encounters with local wildlife.
Raising the Forest (Caroline, Carroll, Frederick counties) – A sprawling Caroline County property, the John S. Ayton State Tree Nursery, is home to the future of Maryland’s forests. Here, more than three million trees get their start each year, sprouting from seeds hand-collected by volunteers across the state. Nursery Manager Richard Garrett walks viewers through the process of nurturing these seeds into seedlings and reveals how the tiny trees make their way to plantings across the state, such as the former Westminster golf course being transformed into a city park. Francis Smith, a natural resources planner with the Maryland Forest Service, explains how seeds are collected, including those from trees behind Frederick County’s New Market Elementary School, and why seed-harvesting volunteers are so essential to the state’s effort to plant an additional five million trees by 2031.
Aiming to Win (Charles, Carroll, Baltimore counties) – Drawing students from all backgrounds, archery has become an exciting new adventure and a safe haven for many young people. Thanks to Lou Compton, longtime president of the Maryland Bowhunters Society and former Maryland coordinator for the National Archery in Schools Program, many who would not otherwise have access get the opportunity to bring out their inner Katniss. As the state tournament in Carroll County creeps closer, students from Charles County’s Southern Maryland Christian Academy, Baltimore County’s Franklin Middle School, and others from across Maryland practice and sharpen their archery skills.

Since debuting in 1988, MPT has produced more than 700 Outdoors Maryland stories on topics ranging from science-oriented environmental issues to segments about unusual people, animals, and places around the state. The series has earned more than 50 awards over nearly 35 years of production, including several Emmy® Awards from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.