Conservation and Environmental Research Areas of UMBC

Conservation and Environmental Research Areas U of Md-Baltimore County Campus
Type	Educational trail, Nature reserve
Location	5524 Research Park Drive Baltimore, Maryland
Area	50 acres (0.20 km²)
Created	1997
Operated by	University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Hiking trails	2
Website	umbc.edu/cera

Conservation and Environmental Research Areas (CERA) of University of Maryland, Baltimore County is a nature preserve on the grounds of the UMBC campus in Baltimore, Maryland. The wooded area is located on the southern end of the campus and is bordered by bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park to the north, UMBC Boulevard to the west, Selford and Shelbourne Roads to the south, and athletic fields to the east. CERA is used for education purposes for programs at UMBC such as the departments of Geography and Environmental Systems.^[1]

History

President Freeman Hrabowski dedicated Conservation and Environmental Research Areas on Earth Day, April 22, 1997, "to further our understanding and appreciation of this natural landscape."^[2]

Description

View of Pig Pen Pond in CERA, used for student recreation.

CERA covers about 50 acres of the university landscape, and is located in two different areas. The larger tract, covering approximately 45 acres of the south end of the main campus, contains a wide variety of ecological conditions: mature upland forest, early- and mid- successional forest, and riparian and wetland environments.^[3] The second, and much smaller CERA area (about 3 acres), surrounds Pigpen Pond. There are also several areas within CERA where evidence of previous human occupancy and use can be found. In addition to teaching opportunities for faculty, CERA offers a wide range of opportunities for students and faculty to undertake short and long term research projects in a variety of disciplines.^[4]

References

External links

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Academics

Athletics

Teams	Baseball Basketball Lacrosse Soccer Cross Country Softball Swimming & Diving Tennis Track & Field Volleyball

Facilities	Retriever Soccer Park The Baseball Factory Field at UMBC UMBC Aquatic Complex UMBC Stadium

Campus

Landmarks	Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall The Commons CERA Erickson Field Giffen Hill Joseph Beuys Sculpture Park Retriever Activities Center The Silo Spring Grove Hospital Center Research Park

Communities	Arbutus Baltimore Beechfield Catonsville Ellicott City Irvington Oaklee Oella Yale Heights

Transportation	UMBC Transit MTA (Line 77, Line 35) Halethorpe (MARC station) BWI Airport (Amtrak) Baltimore Light Rail

Centers

People

Student life

Protected areas of Maryland

Federal

National battlefields	Antietam Monocacy

National historical parks	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

National historic sites	Clara Barton Hampton Thomas Stone

National monuments	Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

National seashores	Assateague Island

National Park Service parks	Catoctin Mountain Park Fort Foote Park Fort Washington Park Glen Echo Park Greenbelt Park Harmony Hall Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm Piscataway Park

National wildlife refuges	Blackwater Eastern Neck Martin Patuxent Research Refuge Susquehanna River

National historic and scenic trails	Appalachian Trail Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

Other protected areas	Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

State

State parks	Assateague Big Run Bill Burton Fishing Pier State Park Calvert Cliffs Casselman River Bridge Chapel Point Cunningham Falls Dans Mountain Deep Creek Lake Elk Neck Fort Frederick Fort Tonoloway Gambrill Gathland Greenbrier Greenwell Gunpowder Falls Hart-Miller Island Herrington Manor Janes Island Jonas Green Martinak Matapeake New Germany North Point Palmer Patapsco Valley Patuxent River Pocomoke River Point Lookout Purse Rocks Rocky Gap Rosaryville Sandy Point Seneca Creek Smallwood South Mountain St. Clement's Island St. Mary's River Susquehanna Swallow Falls Tuckahoe Washington Monument Wye Oak

State forests	Cedarville Chesapeake Doncaster Elk Neck Garrett Green Ridge Pocomoke Potomac-Garrett Savage River Seth Stoney Wicomico

Wildlife management areas	Avondale Belle Grove Billmeyer Bowen Cedar Island Cedar Point Cheltenham Chicamuxen Dan's Mountain Deal Island Diersson E.A. Vaughn Earlville Ellis Bay Fairmount Fishing Bay Frederick City Watershed Grove Farm Gwynnbrook Heater's Island Hugg-Thomas Idylwild Indian Springs Islands of the Potomac Isle of Wight Johnson Le Compte Linkwood McKee-Beshers Maryland Marine Properties Millington Mt. Nebo Myrtle Grove Nanticoke River Old Bohemia Pocomoke River Prather’s Neck Pocomoke Sound Sideling Hill Sinepuxent Bay South Marsh Strider Taylors Island Warrior Mountain Wellington

Natural environment areas	Belt Woods Dundee Governor Parris N. Glendening Mattawoman Morgan Run Severn Run Soldiers Delight Zekiah Swamp

County and
municipal

Parks and sanctuaries	Acorn Park Centennial Park Clifton Park Constitution Park Fort Smallwood Park Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Lake Elkhorn Lakelands Park Oregon Ridge Park Patterson Park Lake Roland Park Wheaton Regional Park Troy Park

Non-
governmental

Parks and sanctuaries	Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary Conservation and Environmental Research Areas of UMBC Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary Sherwood Gardens Somers Cove Marina Sugarloaf Mountain Western Maryland Rail Trail Youghiogheny Scenic & Wild River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Maryland

Maryland Department of Natural Resources (web): Maryland Forest Service and Maryland Park Service (web)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/3/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.