The Prince George’s Soil Conservation District and Bloomin’ PGC Partners invite you to participate in our upcoming Urban Farmers & Growers Open Mic Night! This event is a platform for the urban farm community to collaborate and share useful information. While the focus is on Urban Ag Conservation, any topic is open for discussion. All farmers (not just PGC urban farms) and growers are welcome to join us!

Join Emmie Woerner from the University of Maryland, School of Public Health, to learn about rainwater harvesting. She will discuss the benefits of rainwater harvesting, address concerns regarding rainwater quality, and share research from irrigation experiments conducted at urban farms. She will also discuss how the Safe Rainwater Harvesting team installed a rainwater harvesting systems at an urban farm using an existing high tunnel.

Emmie researches the environmental and public health implications of microbial contamination of irrigation water. As a member of the Safe Rainwater Harvesting team, she works with Maryland farms to collect rainwater and run irrigation experiments. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, and her M.S. in Marine Biosciences from the University of Delaware. Emmie is currently completing her PhD program at the University of Maryland.

*** THIS MONTH’S OPEN MIC NIGHT WILL BE HYBRID (IN-PERSON PARTICIPATION IS STILL PREFERRED!) ***

Register Here: Bloomin’ PGC Open Mic Night: Rainwater Harvesting on Urban Farms Tickets, Tue, Nov 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite

Light refreshments will be provided. Please refer to your confirmation email for exact address and additional instructions. If the event is sold out, please email us at karlynch@pgcmd.gov or 301.574.5162 x3 so that we may add your name to the waiting list.

*Must have at least 12 farmers registered BY NOON the day before the Open Mic Night or it’s subject to cancellation*

For more information on the Bloomin’ PGC Urban Farm Initiative: https://www.pgscd.org/urban-agricultural-conservation/urban-farms/bloomin-pgc/

Bloomin’ PGC is an initiative launched by the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council in partnership with the Prince George’s Soil Conservation District, the University of Maryland Extension in Prince George’s County, ECO City Farms, Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission, the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment, the Office of Food Security, and The Capital Market to support the growing urban agriculture movement in Prince George’s County.