Patapsco Valley Heritage Area

09/03/2026

We’re excited to welcome Humane Gardener - Nancy Lawson as the featured speaker at An Evening in the Patapsco Valley on Wednesday, October 7 at the The Elkridge Furnace Inn and Garden House!

Nancy is a nature writer, habitat consultant and author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife and Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature. She founded Humane Gardener to pioneer creative wildlife-friendly landscaping methods, and she co-chairs Howard County Bee City to advocate for native bees. Her work and garden have been featured in Science Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah magazine, Entomology Today, and Ecological Entomology. Nancy is the wildlife columnist for American Gardener magazine, an honorary national director for Wild Ones, and a board member of Patapsco Heritage Greenway in Maryland.

This year’s lecture will explore the topic of Finding Home in the Patapsco Valley.

Planners, architects, and landscape designers often strive to create a sense of place and belonging. But what can we learn from the original placemakers, the animals and plants who’ve already made their lives in our communities for countless generations? And what can we learn from people who came before us, including those who’ve stewarded these vibrant lands long before most of us ever set foot here? If home is where the heart is, then finding our place in it is heart-work, asking us to observe, listen, and act with intentionality and care to ensure a welcoming place for all of our neighbors, both human and wild.

Tickets are on sale now at patapsco.org/events

09/02/2026

We’re ready for fall in the Patapsco Valley! Spend some time in the Valley with us at our upcoming September events.

RSVP at patapsco.org/events

08/27/2026

Curious about archaeology in the Patapsco Valley?

Join us on Thursday, September 10 at the Catonsville Branch Library for a brief introduction to archaeological dating methods.

Dr. Kyla Cools, Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s Heritage Program Manager, will share how dating methods have been applied at sites ranging from famous case studies to local sites in the Patapsco Valley Heritage Area.

Click the link below to RSVP.

Join Patapsco Heritage Greenway in learning about some of the ways in which archaeologists are able to date artifacts.

08/26/2026

We hope you’ll join us for An Evening in the Patapsco Valley on Wednesday, October 7!

Enjoy dinner, dessert, drinks, conversation, and a lecture by Humane Gardener - Nancy Lawson at the historic The Elkridge Furnace Inn and Garden House.

Your ticket purchase helps support our mission of preserving, protecting, interpreting, and restoring the environment, history, and culture of Maryland’s most dramatic river valley for all.

Get your tickets at patapsco.org/event/an-evening-in-the-patapsco-valley

📷: Craig Gormus

08/25/2026

Fall in the Patapsco Valley is just around the corner!

We have a variety of stewardship and outdoor events planned for this fall, including cleanups, invasive plant removals, tree maintenance, Festival del Río, and Fall Family Day on the Trolley Trail.

View our full event calendar and register at patapsco.org/events

08/21/2026

The PaSNAPsco Photography Exhibit Reception is one week away! Stop by the Catonsville Clubhouse next Friday, August 28 from 6 to 7:30 to view a collection of photos from the PaSNAPSco Photo Contest, all featuring the Patapsco Valley.

Click the link below to RSVP.

Join us for the PaSNAPsco Photography Exhibit Reception, featuring photos of the Patapsco Valley taken by local photographers.

08/17/2026

Interested in learning more about biological monitoring? Do you have a stream in your backyard or nearby that you'd like to know more about? Want to become certified as a Save Our Streams Monitor?

Join us on Friday, September 11, 2026 for a free training at the Avalon Area of Patapsco Valley State Park to learn how to monitor streams using the macroinvertebrates (mostly insects) that live in the stream. This biological assessment training uses Izaak Walton League protocols and identifies organisms down to the taxonomic order level.

The training will begin at 9:30 am and wrap up by 2:30 pm. Please bring lunch, a snack, and a refillable water bottle.

This is the Field Training Module, which is one part of the certification. The online modules must be completed ahead of the Field Training. If you do not complete the online modules by September 7, your spot will be reassigned.

Register for the training at https://ow.ly/6gf450ZAxKM

If the training is full, please email Mandy DeLeo ([email protected]) with the subject line "Wait List” and we'll add you to the waitlist.

08/13/2026

The PaSNAPsco Photography Exhibit will be on display at Baltimore County Arts Guild's Catonsville Clubhouse from August 25 through September 30, 2026. This exhibit will showcase 20 winning and honorable mention photographs from the 2025 PaSNAPsco Contest.

We invite you to join us for a Community Reception on Friday, August 28 at 6 pm as we share this outstanding collection of photographs featuring the Patapsco Valley.

RSVP to the reception at patapsco.org/events

Learn more about the photo contest at patapsco.org/attraction/pasnapsco

08/11/2026

Join us at Backwater Books in Ellicott City on Saturday, August 29 at 11 am as we welcome photographer Riley Goodman for an artist talk and book signing.

Riley will discuss his artistic process along with his photobook, From Yonder Wooded Hill: a visual narrative that juxtaposes Riley’s own heritage and that of his ancestors to show the interwoven continuum of a long-passed yet ever-present culture embedded in hills near and far to his upbringing in the Patapsco River Valley. If you love history, our relationship to nature, and even the occasional ghost story, you don't want to miss this.

This event is free to attend, with copies of From Yonder Wooded Hill available to purchase.

Get tickets and support Backwater Books by becoming a member

08/06/2026

The FY27 Patapsco Valley Heritage Area (PVHA) mini-grants application cycle is now open.

The PVHA Mini-Grant Program is designed to assist heritage-related sites, organizations, and municipalities to develop new and innovative programs, partnerships, exhibits, tours, events, and other initiatives consistent with the regional goals and objectives stated within our state and county-approved Management Plan as well as our five year strategic plan. One of many benefits of inclusion in the PVHA is the opportunity to apply for mini-grants of up to $5000 to support non-capital projects. Nonprofit organizations and government entities in the PVHA and/or those who will conduct the work within the PVHA are eligible. This project has been financed in part with State funds from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority but does not necessarily reflect its views or policies.

The application deadline is Monday, October 5, 2026.

For more information on the program, guidelines, application materials, and previously funded projects, visit patapsco.org/about/grant-opportunities

As the managing entity of the PVHA, Patapsco Heritage Greenway (PHG) is here to work with you through the grants process and ensure that your organization has the best chance for success should you apply.

Additionally, we encourage organizations with projects that are eligible for our EC250 Legacy Fund to also consider applying for that program. The Fund has annual quarterly deadlines with the next one on September 30, 2026.