My Recent Work
Chesapeake Bay Wedding Magazine - Fall 2025
From theater to florals: Event florist Ian Tresselt discusses a big career change and the importance of locally sourced flowers
While studying design leadership at a unique master’s program with the Maryland Institute College of Arts and Johns Hopkins University, instructor Jonathan Erwin challenged Tresselt to admit what he was most passionate about. Nervous, Tresselt thought of his lifelong love of nature, first inspired by his grandparents who grew, painted and photographed flowers.Tresselt spent more than 20 years working as an arts and theater administrator with performing arts organizations in Los Angeles, Pittsbur...
Spring 2025 Cover Shoot at the Pavilion at Weatherly
Excitement was in the air as engaged couple Kennedy Taylor and William Tibbetts sat in the dressing room at the Pavilion at Weatherly, a waterfront wedding venue in Newburg, Maryland. As they patiently waited for makeup artist Lina Walker to finish Taylor’s look, from the balcony they could see flower farmer Brittany Doyle arranging blue hydrangeas on an archway with the Potomac River flowing gently behind her. Taylor, a cyber security consultant and former Miss Maryland, and Tibbetts, a senior...
At Ease September 2024
Southern Maryland Wedding Magazine - Fall 2024
SHORE September/October 2024
Chesapeake Women's Network
Record Observer 200th Anniversary
In recent years Queen Anne's County has been busy with environmental efforts as passionate nonprofit groups push for more recycling programs and regulations to reduce plastic waste and litter.
Maryland military facilities probing groundwater for ‘forever chemicals’
WASHINGTON — Maryland military facilities are in the early stages of remedial investigations into “forever chemicals” that jeopardize drinking water supplies in groundwater after a September report by the Department of Defense identified hundreds of military sites across the country as at risk for such chemicals.
The facilities include high-profile Joint Base Andrews, home to Air Force One, as well as Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Meade, Fort Detrick, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and the Na...
The facilities include high-profile Joint Base Andrews, home to Air Force One, as well as Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Meade, Fort Detrick, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and the Na...
Lead persists as problem in holiday gifts, environmental cost
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Lead poisoning has hit the news recently with pollution from leaded aviation gasoline, poisoning from applesauce pouches and federal lead pipe replacement projects. But some lead poisoning threats come during the holiday gift-giving season from jewelry, toys, makeup and other gifts.
In October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency highlighted the dangers of lead exposure from leaded gasoline still used by some small planes. Communities near general aviation airports experien...
In October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency highlighted the dangers of lead exposure from leaded gasoline still used by some small planes. Communities near general aviation airports experien...
As flood plans come to fruition, climate experts say they’ll quickly be inadequate
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – As Annapolis readies to start construction next spring on the first phase of its ambitious flood prevention project, businesses are grateful for the pending relief, but climate scientists are warning that it’s exactly the wrong way to tackle the problem of rising sea levels.
By the end of the estimated three-year construction, the dock will be elevated and passive flood barriers along with a pumping station will be installed, according to the Annapolis government website.
“It’s...
By the end of the estimated three-year construction, the dock will be elevated and passive flood barriers along with a pumping station will be installed, according to the Annapolis government website.
“It’s...
Halloween beetles sneaking inside as temperatures drop. Here's how to prevent it and more
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A spooky, imported ladybug, often mistaken for a native bug, known as the Halloween beetle is preparing to migrate from gardens and into homes as Maryland heads for colder weather.
And while they are extremely valuable to plant life, the little bugs bite. Halloween beetle home infestations could result in odors and stains, too.
And while they are extremely valuable to plant life, the little bugs bite. Halloween beetle home infestations could result in odors and stains, too.
Seeing spotted lanternfly eggs? Scrape, smash, report them - Maryland Matters
By Cecelia Shilling
The spotted lanternfly, an invasive, crop-damaging insect, has finished mating season and is preparing to lay egg masses around Maryland, threatening farms and local plants, particularly on the Eastern Shore and in northern Maryland.
If you see these egg masses or the bugs, officials say to scrape, smash and report eggs to the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Spotted lanternflies have spread quickly across 14 states, including Delaware, Virginia and Maryland since their ar...
The spotted lanternfly, an invasive, crop-damaging insect, has finished mating season and is preparing to lay egg masses around Maryland, threatening farms and local plants, particularly on the Eastern Shore and in northern Maryland.
If you see these egg masses or the bugs, officials say to scrape, smash and report eggs to the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Spotted lanternflies have spread quickly across 14 states, including Delaware, Virginia and Maryland since their ar...
Hellish tree of heaven weeds out native plants
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – As the invasive spotted lanternfly continues to spread nationwide, its proliferation has highlighted an even more worrisome invasive species: the prolific “stinking sumac,” or tree of heaven.
National Geographic referred to the tree of heaven as the “hellish invasive species” in 2021. It is a fast-growing deciduous tree that provides food for the spotted lanternfly, kills native plants and can cause severe damage to infrastructure.
Since its introduction in Pennsylvania in the...
National Geographic referred to the tree of heaven as the “hellish invasive species” in 2021. It is a fast-growing deciduous tree that provides food for the spotted lanternfly, kills native plants and can cause severe damage to infrastructure.
Since its introduction in Pennsylvania in the...
Mallow's Bay offers a unique look at the Potomac
“It is a place in this beautifully rural area of Charles County,” Orlando said. “More than anything else, it’s a place that just calls to people to come out and reconnect with nature or reconnect with history and the culture that belongs to the area.”Orlando said that if he was to visit the park on a day off he would spend time birdwatching. An abundance of birds can be seen there, including some “iconic ones.”“This time of the year, there’s going to be the eagle, the osprey, the blue heron, and...
Forrest center students lead water monitoring project
Teachers and students at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center in Leonardtown worked through last school year to build, place and brand Breton Observation Boxes, or BOBs as they are affectionally known, to monitor water quality.By partnering with community volunteers Norm and Shelly O’Foran and using funds from a Chesapeake Bay Trust grant, the students and staff were able to create inexpensive remote monitoring kits comparable to equipment that could normally cost up to $20,000,...
St. Mary's school board OK's renovation for Dent Elementary
The budget of $17,689,000 was approved to renovate Dent Elementary School. The dollars will go toward major interior renovations as well as some exterior windows and the playground at the school in Mechanicsville on Route 6.The first phase of the project will begin this summer and focus on the left-front corner of the building. A timeline presented by Laino estimates the renovations to finish by August 2025 with major renovations such as the media center and gym to take place during summer month...
Nest cams inspire conservation efforts, help environmental research
The three nest cameras in Southern Maryland — the eagle cam at Port Tobacco River Park, the osprey cam at Smallwood State Park and the purple martin cam in La Plata — were installed over the last four years as a part of the Maryland-D.C. Breeding Bird Atlas, a 5-year project to document changes in breeding birds.“Our goal for this comprehensive, 5-year field survey is to refine our knowledge of the current distribution, relative abundance and the timing of breeding for all the breeding birds of...
International yoga instructor returns to Calvert to offer online course
Now, he’s back in Solomons Island teaching “The Yoga Starter Course: 28 Days to a Self-Guided Practice.” The online course aims to give people the tools to connect with their bodies and quiet their minds.While traveling and teaching in Los Angeles, Brown said he taught yoga to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, X-Files star Gillian Anderson and other celebrities. He traveled with his teacher, Maty Ezraty, and developed digital content for major yoga companies in Europe.After working in France and London...
Jazz and seafood festival returns to banks of the Potomac
The Potomac Jazz & Seafood Festival, one of the Mid-Atlantic’s signature jazz events, held along the shores of the beautiful Potomac River and in the charming town of Leonardtown in St. Mary’s County, will feature fantastic jazz artists during the three-day jazz weekend from July 7–9.This popular, annual festival, which has become known in the past two decades for showcasing local culinary delicacies of Maryland’s mother county in addition to renowned, national jazz talent, will feature three da...
Northern High graduate contributes to Space Telescope mission
Mitchell graduated from Northern in 2002 and went on to study psychology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2006, she spent her summers working administrative support jobs that helped her land a position with NASA’s only Nobel Prize winning physicist.“I was searching for administrative support jobs right out of college and there was one online on monster.com,” Mitchell said. “At the time, it had a job ad for administrative specialist for a scientist...
Women to Watch 2023
Erin Kimbro, owner of 231 Farm & Outdoor Sports, has been working to grow her equipment store since she and her family first started selling mulch out of her brother's office in 2011.
Group seeks design ideas for women veterans memorial
The state commission is hoping to hear ideas from the public for a concept, design and place for a memorial to honor Maryland’s female veterans, said Karen Calvert, the chair of the group.Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) approved Maryland House Bill 167 on May 16, 2022, which created the Commission to Establish a Maryland Women Veterans Memorial, according to a press release published in the Maryland Department of Veteran Affairs newsletter. The commission meets regularly and is made up of representa...
Veteran-owned women’s gym in Dunkirk holds 'Sip-and-Shop' market event
The market took place Dec. 18 and showcased 11 vendors from the area. Wine was available for guests at the door and many carried a cup as they wandered through the gym. The vendors ranged from apparel to small crafts and beauty products.SWT stands for “Sistas Work Together” and is pronounced like the word “sweat.” The goal of the gym and the event was to create a gathering space for women, said SWT owner Sandra “Sandy” Vazquez.“It’s another way to bring us together because COVID really messed us...
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