Scenic Rivers Land Trust, in partnership with Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks, celebrated the 16th Walk for the Woods at the Bacon Ridge Natural Area in Crownsville on Saturday, April 24, 2021. This is the first in-person event the Annapolis-based nonprofit has hosted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual day of guided hikes promotes families exploring the outdoors and public access to the Bacon Ridge Natural Area, the county-owned property full of forests, wetlands, and history permanently protected by a conservation easement co-held by Scenic Rivers and Maryland Environmental Trust.
“We are so thankful that Anne Arundel County and the state of Maryland granted us permission to host Walk for the Woods in person,” said Joan Renner, Scenic Rivers Board President. “We were thrilled to be back in the woods celebrating the power of protected land with our supporters. You could tell that attendees were glad to be safely back outside with one another again too.”
Over 200 participants, including families, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts, turned out over the course of the day to explore the 1,000+ acre natural area on a variety of guided hikes, including bird watching, a reptile and amphibian search, and woodland hikes. A self-led naturalist hike, complete with interpretive signs at points of interest along the trails, was available for attendees who preferred to explore on their own.
Programs were also held throughout the day, including the popular-with-children “Critter Discovery” aquatic wildlife program presented by experts from Coastal Resources, Inc. and the “Say My Name” cemetery remembrance ceremony conducted by local historian Janice Hayes-Williams. The “Say My Name” remembrance ceremony is held annually in conjunction with Walk for the Woods to honor the African-American patients interred in the Crownsville State Hospital Cemetery with only numbers to mark their graves.
“The last year has certainly highlighted the importance of our natural, open spaces for creating healthy, thriving communities,” said Scenic Rivers Executive Director, Sarah Knebel. “Walk for the Woods is a celebration of Bacon Ridge Natural Area—which is truly a hidden gem in Anne Arundel County—and the joy of being outdoors. At the same time, it is also an urgent reminder that as a community we need to work quickly to permanently protect more of these special places so that they are there for us now and in the future.”
