Merikay Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener, will discuss valuable native shrubs, their growth habits and benefits to our environment at the Rotary Club meeting on May 9, 2024

Merikay Smith became a Maryland Master Gardener in 2007 and led the Montgomery County Master Gardeners Speakers' Bureau. Merikay is a Board

member of Latter-day Saint Earth Stewardship, launching their first local chapter here in 2016. Check out the native plant garden this local chapter created at historic Pleasant View: http://www.eartheast.org. She has helped mentor an additional 11 new chapters of LDSES located across the globe. Merikay has also served many years on the Boards of both the Muddy Branch Alliance and Seneca Creek Stewardship Partners, recently as president of Seneca Creek Watershed Partners (SCWP). Native plants, which have evolved locally, are important cogs in the ecosystem wheel, supporting beneficial insects and animals, and protecting our soils. Valuable native shrubs, their growth habits and benefits to our environment will be discussed.