For Home Owners in Kent and Queen Anne's Counties

All bags for the 2022 season are claimed

The Maryland DNR Forest S​ervice in partnership with Washington College's Center for Environment & Society are running Backyard Buffer programs for Kent and Queen Anne's Counties. Here you will find additional resources to help you better understand what a riparian forest buffer is and how to plant one in your backyard.

BYB provides free native tree and shrub species to landowners interested in planting trees to improve water quality, reduce soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat.

To qualify, you must own property in Kent or Queen Anne’s County Maryland with a stream, drainage ditch or other waterway on or adjacent to your property. This program is for smaller landowners who do not qualify for other cost share programs.

Tree/shrub bundles include 25 hardwood species and an optional 10 softwood species. One bundle of hardwood and softwood is allowed per property. ​

Backyard Buffers 2022 Sign Up Information

Deadline to sign up: April 1 2022, or until quantities run out.

Tree pick-up dates and times:

• April 15th 1pm-5pm
• April 16th 9am-noon
  

Pick-up location:

Washington College's Semans Griswold Environmental Hall
485 South Cross Street
Chestertown, MD 21620.
To sign up: Click here to sign-up​
(Please only sign up once per property)
For assistance, contact: Dan Small at 410-708-4479 dsmall2@washcoll.edu

Resources

• Seedling Care and Planting Guide
  

  The Bare Root Seedling Planting Guide provides all the information needed to care for and plant your seedlings including proper transport, storage and field handling. The guide also recommends tools to make planting easy, tips on how to plant to the correct depth, how to shelter seedlings and what to do if you have leftover seedlings.
  

• Landowner Assistance Brochure​

  The Landowner Assistance Brochure provides information on forest stewardship, cost share to plant trees, tax incentives and other forestry services.

Resources (Video)

Check out the videos below to learn more about riparian forest buffers.

• Why riparian forest buffers are important
• How to plant a bare root seedling
• How to plant a bare root seedling