Kathy Thornton, a field technician with Washington College, spreads native plant seeds on a former farm field at Conquest Preserve in Queen Anne's County, Md. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Watch how Small and his team helped restore a similar grassland at Washington College's Chester River Field Research Station at Chino Farms.
Common milkweed emerges from winter dormancy at Conquest Preserve. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Conquest Preserve is seen in 2017, before extensive grassland restoration and food forest transformed its farm fields. In 2016, to protect the property's shoreline, an 1,170-foot living shoreline was built in a collaboration including Maryland Department of Natural Resources, National Wildlife Federation and Queen Anne's County. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program with aerial support by Southwings)
A rare grasshopper sparrow perches on wineberry, an invasive species, growing in non-native cool-season grasses on a portion of Conquest Preserve.
Eastern red cedar trees are killed by prescribed burns in order to keep woody vegetation from crowding out grassland plants and animals. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Mallard ducks perch on a tree trunk placed within the restored wetland. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Soft rushes are among the species that have appeared on their own in the restored wetland. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)Cattails are also abundant in the wetland. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Dan Small, center, stands with Thornton, right, and undergraduate intern Taylor Mantyk in the middle of rows of black chokeberry, part of the food forest planting. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A mining bee visits black chokeberry flowers at the food forest. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)Tree shelters protect a variety of trees and shrubs, including paw paw, serviceberry, persimmon, hazelnut and American plum. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
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