News Releases

Western Maryland principal honored with environmental stewardship award
Appalachian Laboratory recognizes Dr. Dana McCauley and Crellin Elementary School

FROSTBURG, MD (April 26, 2012)--In honor of outstanding contributions to environmental education in Western Maryland, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory selected Dr. Dana McCauley as recipient of its 2012 Richard A. Johnson Environmental Education Award. 

As Principal of Crellin Elementary School in Oakland, Maryland, Dr. McCauley leads and coordinates an instructional program that guides students to achieve and sustain academic success, including greater awareness of their impact on the environment.

Mid-Atlantic suburbs can expect an early spring thanks to the heat of the big city

FROSTBURG, MD (March 8, 2012) – If you’ve been thinking our world is more green than frozen these days, you’re right. A recent study has found that spring is indeed arriving earlier – and autumn later – in the suburbs of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The reason? The urban landscape traps heat in the summer and holds it throughout the winter, triggering leaves to turn green earlier in the spring and to stay green later into autumn. The result is a new, extended growing season.

New study uncovers how animals use underground highway culverts

CUMBERLAND, MD (December 19, 2011)--As traffic rumbles overhead, two eyes glow inside a 3-foot-wide storm drain beneath one of Maryland’s busy highways. A raccoon is making his way from one side of the street to the other in the relative safety of an underground tunnel. He is one of close to 60 diverse species of animals statewide that use the culverts as their own personal transportation system, according to a recent study.

Appalachian Laboratory Honors Maryland Park Service’s Caroline Blizzard for Raising Environmental Awareness in Western Maryland

Frostburg, Md. (April 22, 2011) – The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory has selected Maryland Park Service’s Caroline Blizzard as its 2011 Richard A. Johnson Environmental Education Award recipient for helping elevate environmental stewardship and understanding throughout her western Maryland community.