The Howard County Conservancy is a non-profit land trust that operates a
nature center in
Woodstock, Maryland
Woodstock is an unincorporated community which is a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The original village of Woodstock is located in Howard County, and also includes portions of Baltimore County and Carroll County.
History
Thomas ...
. It is located at the 300-year-old,
Mt. Pleasant Farm.
History
The center was founded in 1990 as a private land trust with the goal of protecting and preserving farmland and historic sites in
Howard County. The conservancy currently manages legal easements on 1,600 acres of land. In 2014, the conservancy started a second nature center at Belmont Manor.
Mt. Pleasant Farm Center
The Mt. Pleasant farm dates back to 1692 when Patuxent Ranger
Thomas Browne II
Thomas Browne II (1648–1715) was an early settler of Maryland.
Early life
Thomas Browne II was an early settler of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, in regions now part of Howard County, Maryland. He was frequently referred to as "Thomas B ...
built a log house on a land grant "Ranters Ridge". Owners and descendants Ruth and Francis Brown died in 1990 and 1992 respectively requesting their estate be preserved and used for educational purposes. James Eacker, George Reynolds, Joyce Kelly and Senator
James A. Clark, Jr. completed tasks to acquire the farm and have the state and county pay estate expenses.
In 1997, the center hired its first full-time director.
In 2005 the Gudelsky Environmental Education Center opened.
In 2008, the center started an exhibit on
solar energy, promoting it as a way of reducing energy costs.
In 2010, the center obtained an
owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
as part of a program to teach children about environmental threats to the owl species.
A historic barn from
Mt. Joy in Ellicott City has been relocated to the site.
See also
*
*
Belmont Estate
*
James and Anne Robinson Nature Center
Gallery
File:Foxes, Howard County Conservancy.jpg, Stuffed foxes on display
File:Turtle at the Howard County Conservancy.jpg, Turtle
References
External links
{{Protected areas of Maryland
Nature centers in Maryland
Howard County, Maryland landmarks
Tourist attractions in Howard County, Maryland
Protected areas of Howard County, Maryland
1990 establishments in Maryland