Oxford Conservation Park adding 30 acres of native meadows and walking trails

OXFORD — Originally farmland, Oxford Conservation Park was designated to become a subdivision before Talbot County’s former Director of Parks and Recreation Preston Peper, Talbot County Engineer Bill Wolinski and a team of community stakeholders worked together to plan and create a public park where anyone from the community could go to walk and enjoy nature.

Now this warren of wetlands and meadows is enjoyed every day by birders, walkers, photographers and visitors of all ages. Soon it will offer even more.

In 2023, the Friends of Oxford Conservation Park volunteer group approached Eastern Shore Land Conservancy with concerns over the condition of the park’s habitat, asking for help.

The land conservancy’s Enhanced Stewardship Manager Larisa Prezioso then began working with Talbot County Parks and Recreation, Washington College’s Natural Lands Project and the Friends of Oxford Conservation Park to help enhance the existing habitat in need of maintenance and restoration.

In addition to the collaborative efforts to keep present grasslands healthy and forests diverse, the partnership worked together to pursue funding for the completion of the initial park plan. Activating this plan will result in converting the park’s remaining 30 acres from row crops to passive recreational grasslands and trails.

As of this summer, Washington College’s Natural Lands Project has received funding from the Department of Natural Resources Atlantic and Coastal Bays Trust Fund to initiate the expansion of Oxford Conservation Park starting in the spring of 2025.

“This project is a great collaboration between our project, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Talbot County, and the Friends of Oxford Conservation Park,” said Kathy Thornton, a Natural Lands Project field technician.

The new 30-acre mix of native meadows will feature tree plantings and native short-stature grasses and wildflowers not found in the existing habitat, which is currently dominated by native tall grasses.

A network of walking trails will connect to and double the length of trails across the park. Educational signage will teach visitors about the many ecosystem services that these diverse native meadows provide, including flood mitigation, prevention of soil erosion and improved water quality within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“Climate change resilience, expanded trails and educational opportunities will be of huge benefit to the public, but the real beneficiaries of this new project will be the wildlife,” read a press release from the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. “... When supporting early successional species, the overall footprint of the habitat is crucial. Adding these next thirty acres will create larger habitat areas that can support more individuals.”