Jade Farm sells great foods at the Overlea Farmers Market every summer and is now delivering in Overlea! They offer pastured chicken and eggs, woodland raised pork, sauces and honey along with duck and turkey when in season as well. It’s all delicious. You can order on their Facebook page at Jade Farm.

Join us at this year’s Fullerton Fireworks display! The festivities will be on July 1st with fireworks beginning at 9:15 pm. The field will open at 3pm with food vendors and at 5pm live music by “Awaken” begins! Bring the family for dinner and stay for the excitement.

Fullerton Fireworks Foundation is a non-profit organization run by volunteers. The Foundation has built one of the largest, non-government sponsored fireworks programs in the region. It is supported by the communities of: Linover, Overlea, Elmwood, Belmar and our neighbors in Perry Hall, White Marsh, Parkville, Rosedale, and NE Baltimore City. 2023 will be the 60th Anniversary of the event.

Volunteers are always needed! If you can help, please contact George Stover at: george@adventureproductions.com

Part of Overlea’s charm, along with its historic homes, is the number of well-established trees we have. But many of them are threatened by English Ivy, a non-native plant that quickly takes over gardens, fences, and walls—and it climbs trees, smothering them and eventually killing them. (It will also damage your home, if you allow it to climb.)

If you have a tree covered in ivy, you can save it! Cut into the ivy stems until you reach the trunk, being careful not to damage the tree’s bark. Cut in two spots, one about 12 inches above the other, and remove the cut section. Do this all around the tree to clear a “window” in the ivy’s growth. Then uproot the plant to remove it from the ground. (The ivy still on the tree can be left to die in place.)

To protect Overlea’s trees—which increase property values, provide shade in summer, and make our neighborhood beautiful and livable—we can all start by removing English Ivy.

More Info:

• English Ivy – National Invasive Species Information Center
• How to Get Rid of Invasive English Ivy – Gardening Channel

Get Involved in Keeping Overlea Green:

• Overlea Greening Project

Hey Overlea residents-it’s time to shine with what’s cooking in your kitchen! Enjoy food and fellowship with your neighbors at the Overlea Pot Luck Dinner! Bring your family and a dish of your favorite food creation. For planning purposes, respond with how many are in your group and what you’ll be bringing to the buffet. RSVP to Doris at dfpoling18@yahoo.com.

When: Saturday, April 22nd, 5-8pm.
Where: The Natural History Society of MD-6908 Belair Road

It’s going to be a Tasty Night in Overlea! Come join us on Tuesday, August 1st, 6-8pm. Save the date and stayed tuned for more information in the next newsletter, on Facebook or in the Community Bulletin. This is a wonderful event and it’s a great opportunity to meet your neighbors!

34 Elmont Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21206

Holt Park is a jewel in our neighborhood. On your next visit walking the trails, make a point to stop by the Nature Center cabin to visit the critters. Ranger M. Tillery works with home school kids to support their science curriculum, and they have named the resident terrapin “Poppy.”

Until recently, Poppy’s habitat was a bit limiting. Alex Dusza from BSA Scouts Troop 16 has built a new habitat for our favorite neighborhood turtle as part of his Eagle Scout project. The new hundred-gallon tank includes a platform for Poppy to warm herself under the lamps, and plenty of water to swim in. Her habitat also includes some live clams to filter the water naturally and help keep Poppy healthy and happy. Thanks, Alex! The Nature Cabin is open on Saturdays from 12:00 – 3:00pm.

Make time to visit us and join in on the fun! Please pre-register for Holt Park programs on our website.

Save the dates for the 2023 season of this community treasure. The Overlea Farmers Market, organized by your Overlea Community Association, begins on Saturday, June 10 and runs every other Saturday through October 28. We’ll once again be in the parking lot of the Natural History Society of Maryland (6908 Belair Rd). So get those dates on your calendars now, and plan to support local farmers, bakers, and makers this season. If you’d like to help please email OCA president Melissa Davis: president@overleaonline.org.

Kids and teens now have their very own art show dedicated to them and their work! The 1st annual Youth Art Show will be on March 24th, 25th and 26th, 2023 at Holt Park & Center for the Arts, with a fun 3-day program of activities and entertainment.

The show is being produced in collaboration with Holt Park and local Girl Scout Troop 5335. All young artists between the ages of 6 and 15 living or attending school in Maryland are eligible to submit their artwork. Cash prizes and certificates will be given to the top winners. Art teachers and Scout leaders are welcome to connect with us at contactus@overleaartsfest.org to get involved.

Submissions are open through Monday, March 6th, so hurry! There is NO FEE to submit. Get all the details on our website.

Planting Trees, Removing Invasives

Our neighborhood has numerous historic trees, but as they age, many have been cut down. Plus, older trees often struggle with invasive vines that weaken them and make damage more likely in bad weather.

The Value of Trees

Trees increase the value of our homes, provide significant cooling in summer, offer countless environmental benefits, and improve Overlea’s appearance. To maintain the healthy tree cover that has long distinguished Overlea, we need to protect the trees we have and replace the ones that have been taken down.

“The Overlea Community Association (OCA) is launching two initiatives to protect our community’s diminishing tree canopy.”

MELISSA DAVIS, PRESIDENT OF THE OCA

Initiative #1 – 100 New Trees

The OCA has a goal of planting 100 trees in our neighborhood in the next year. We need your help!

The OCA is working on organizing free or significantly discounted Maryland-native trees for
Overlea residents. The OCA is happy to help neighbors plant new trees, as well.

If you’re interested in participating, please submit the form below!*

Initiative #2 – Removing Invasives

The OCA is addressing the harmful invasive vines that are damaging Overlea’s trees. All hands on deck! English Ivy and Japanese Honeysuckle threaten mature trees by weighing them down. The increased weight can create a hazard for nearby structures in inclement weather because it contributes to limb breakage and tree collapse.

If you’d like to help, please submit the form below!*

Yes — I want to keep Overlea green!

Follow the OCA on Facebook to keep up with the latest events and news.

We’re Still Composting

The OCA will continue to collect compost in the parking lot of the Natural History Society of Maryland (6908 Belair Road) beginning Saturday November 5 from 9:30-10:30 am. This will continue every other week, through the winter and spring, until the Farmer’s Market begins next year.

What Can We Take?

We accept all fruit and veggie scraps, egg shells, nuts shells, teabags and coffee grinds and filters. Please, no bones, yard waste, dairy, or meat. Many of our neighbors who routinely bring their compost will store it in their freezers until the collection day. The compost is taken to Ladybrook Farms in Monkton, Maryland where it provides feed for their free range chickens, ducks and geese. The chickens especially love pumpkins, gourds and fall squash!

Why It’s Important

The compost enriches the soil in which Ladybrook Farm grows the flowers sold at our Overlea Farmer’s Market. Composting helps reduce the effects of climate change by diverting food waste from landfills and promotes nutrient rich soil. In addition, it increases the water holding capacity of soil. And because the soil is less dry, composting works to reduce soil erosion. Food that is deposited in landfills is a large contributor of methane to the atmosphere, so it is important to reduce this waste as much as possible.

Hope to see you join the community effort to save the environment!

Help make our streets litter free!

Please join us this Saturday (11/12) for a neighborhood clean up. We will provide all the supplies needed.

We’re meeting up at the Overlea Bus Turnaround at 10am. From there we will walk up Belair Rd. tidying up as much as we can. Below is a map of the general area (in red) we’ll be focusing on. Hope to see you there. If you can’t make it, at least give us a friendly honk if you’re driving by!

Baltimore County Department of Aging (BCDA) along with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) welcomes all the qualifying residents of Baltimore County to register for an appointment at our regional application assistance events.

In addition to getting help with the application process, we will have various internet/wireless service providers available for you to learn more about and/or set up your service.

Who Qualifies?

There are four (4) ways your household can qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP):

• Based on your household income – Single – $27,180, Couple – $36,620, Trio – $46,060
• If you or anyone in your household already receives a Lifeline benefit
• You may qualify for the ACP through a participating provider’s existing low-income program
• If you or someone in your household participates in one of these programs you are automatically eligible for ACP:
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps
• Medicaid
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA)
• Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
• Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program
• Received a Federal Pell Grant in the current award year