Starting this spring, Preservation Maryland is hosting cemetery workshops across the state, where participants learn the basic preservation techniques of caring for a cemetery. These tasks may include cleaning the site, maintaining landscaping, and cleaning markers. We are currently planning 18 workshops within the next year and will host one workshop in each of the following counties: Allegany, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, St. Mary’s, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester.
We hope to connect with locals in each county who would be interested in learning more about the preservation process and how to care for Maryland’s history. We especially hope to connect with youth ages 12 and older to help build the next generation of preservationists and historians who can help maintain these sites into the future.
These workshops will be approximately 3 to 4 hours where participants will be expected to stand or crouch while completing the preservation work in outside weather. Our first workshop will be in Frederick County on April 30th.
If you are interested in participating at one of these workshops, as an individual or with your youth group, please fill out this sign-up form. We will send more details about how to register to interested participants closer to the workshop date.
For any further questions, please reach out to our Cemetery Workshop Coordinator, Zola Barnes at zbarnes@historictrades.org.
This program was made possible by a grant from the Rural Maryland Council. Additional support was provided by last fall’s Save a Grave fundraising campaign and Atlas Preservation. These workshops are hosted by the Campaign for Historic Trades, a program of Preservation Maryland.