• 7566 Main Street, Suite 302 Sykesville, MD 21784

  • (410) 216-4543

    • Downtown Sykesville Connection

    Our Community Gardens, Their Volunteers & Activities


    Sykesville Community Gardens

    The Sykesville Community Gardens is managed by the Green Committee and conducts most of its activities at the Sykesville ‘Eileen M. Merkle’ Community Garden, overlooking Main Street, in the heart of our downtown at 7547 Main Street.

    The Downtown Sykesville Connection Green, Clean and Safe Committee (Green Committee) is composed of residents and Master gardeners working jointly to create green spaces and support sustainable environmental efforts within the downtown Sykesville community.

    Volunteers’ opportunities and educational programs are held at this location throughout the spring, summer, and fall months of the year. Consult our Facebook event page for more information.

    Herbal Tea Sesh

    Would you like to make your own herbal tea? Join us in the Sykesville 'Eileen M. Merkle' Community Garden, July 31, 2024 at 6pm, where we have been growing herbs especially for this event! Kathleen Hiteshew, our local expert, will teach you how. As we are the Green Committee, we ask that you bring your favorite reusable mug. More info on our Facebook page!

    Natives Talk!

    Join us at the Sykesville 'Eileen M. Merkle' Community Garden to learn about how to enhance your personal taste in your garden and yards while simultaneously supporting the survival of native plant species. Our local former park ranger Kari Katapodis will be lead our talk. All ages welcome. More information on our Facebook page!

    weather permitting.Weekly meet-ups are on Wednesdays at 7 pm at the Sykesville ‘Eileen M. Merkle’ Community Garden, 

    Check our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SykesvilleGarden) for updates!


    Want to catch your breath and enjoy the sunset over Main Street's colorful historic cornices and gorgeous storefronts? Or maybe you just want to hang out with a super cool group that meets at the community garden every Wednesday at 7 PM? Whichever it is, join us in dirt-friendly clothing and shoes to pull a weed, water the plants, exchange garden tips, and shoot the breeze! Meet us at the Sykesville Eileen Merkle Community Garden at 7547 Main Street. We can’t promise it won’t turn into a happy hour at one of our downtown watering holes.



    2024 Volunteer opportunities:

    Watering in downtown (see below for links and info)
    Join us for fun or service hours!

    Water the Main Street Flower Post


    Sign Up

    Water the Little Sykes Gardens


    Sign Up

    Watering the Main Street Garden


    Sign Up

    Composting in Sykesville: Check out our pilot program: https://www.downtownsykesville.com/composting
    2024 Calendar of Activities:

    Check our Facebook page for the latest updates!


    Green Committee’s Mission

    The Downtown Sykesville Connection’s Green Committee strives to increase outreach and train community members to end littering, improve recycling and beautify our community through green initiatives. The Green Committee seeks to make Sykesville a cleaner, greener and healthier place to live, work, and play while promoting individual responsibility for the community environment.

    The Green Committee operations are largely organized around the maintenance and development of both of the community gardens – the main garden at 7547 Main Street, Sykesville, and the Schoolhouse garden at 518 Schoolhouse Road, Sykesville – and the cold frames at 731 Sandosky Road, Sykesville.

    Green Committee Chair: Laura Donnel Green

    Committee Meetings: 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Sykesville ‘Eileen M. Merkle’ Community Garden, weather permitting, 7:15 pm, contact [email protected] for the latest location information.

    Other contact information: DSC’s Executive Director: Julie Della-Maria [email protected] 410-216-4543

    Green Committee’s Responsibilities

    The DSC Green Committee conducts most of its operations at the Sykesville ‘Eileen M. Merkle’ Community Garden, on Town property and coordinates with the Town the upkeep of the gardens.

    Green committee duties:

    • The GCS committee plant, maintain and winterize the community gardens at both the Main Street location and the Historic Schoolhouse location, between April and the second week of October.
    • The Green committee hosts a total of 10 events at either one of these locations throughout the summer and fall, and 1 event at the cold frames by the little Sykes railroad.
    • The Green committee ensures that the areas where the activities are taking place are left clean after the activities.
    • The Green committee trims, maintains and waters plants added to the garden flowerbeds described below.
    • The Green committee plants, maintains and waters the Main Street flower pots and the Parklet planters between April and October.
    • The Green committee repairs and varnishes as needed the dedicated bench at the Main Street location.
    • The GCS committee maintains the cold frames on Sandosky Road.
    Green Committee’s Garden Locations

    The GCS committee’s garden locations and the areas for which the GCS committee is responsible are described below.

    Garden Map 20190925

    The GCS committee is responsible for planting, maintaining, watering, and winterizing these larger flowerbeds and the flowerbeds lining the adjacent property.

    • The Schoolhouse garden, 518 Schoolhouse Road, Sykesville MD.

    The GCS committee is responsible for planting, maintaining, watering, and winterizing the 2 sets of flowerbeds

    • The cold frames, 731 Sandosky Road, Sykesville MD.

    Cold Frames

    The GCS committee is responsible for the maintenance of the cold frames.