The Rachel Carson Open House will take place on Saturday, May 9th, 2026 at the National Historic Landmark Site where Carson wrote her most widely acclaimed book, Silent Spring.
FREE PROGRAM
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Door Opens at 12:30 PM. See below for schedule.
Rachel Carson House
11701 Berwick Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904
PLEASE RSVP: 301-593-4900 or RachelCarsonLandmark@verizon.net
—Rachel Carson’s Birthday Month Program–
SCHEDULE
12:45 PM Welcome & Announcements
First Presentation, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Speaker Mike Weilbacher: “Microplastics: An Invisible Pollutant”
Second Presentation, 1:50 PM – 2:30 PM
Speaker Ben McGraw: “What Rachel Carson Might Think of the
Modern American Lawn: Pesticides, Pollinators, and the Path Forward”
Sponsored by Clifford Hall, Diana Post, and Rachel Carson Landmark Alliance (RCLA), www.rachelcarsonlandmarkalliance.org.
RSVP REQUIRED FOR INDOOR SEATING
Due to limited indoor seating, reservations are required for those wishing to attend inside. Outdoor seating will be available without reservations, with live audio from the indoor presentations.
Parking: Street parking where available. Please No Parking on the grass.
Call with any questions on parking.
Special Door Prizes.
Please consider supporting RCLA’s ongoing work—donations are appreciated.
Mike Weilbacher
Speaker Weilbacher is a writer and naturalist who travels the Midatlantic region offering walks and talks on everything from climate change to the migration of the monarch butterfly, the plight of pollinators to the future of fungi. A former nonprofit executive, Weilbacher is the author of “Wild Philly: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Philadelphia.” He has hosted public radio programs for regional stations and has been a columnist for 30 years for Philadelphia-area newspapers.
“Microplastics: An Invisible Pollutant”
A new environmental threat has quickly grabbed public attention: microplastics. These tiny fragments are now found everywhere we look from the bottom of the ocean to our bloodstreams. Amazingly, each of us ingests a credit card’s worth of plastics weekly—to unknown effects—and microplastic particles in the ocean now outnumber the stars in our galaxy by a factor of 500.
While research reveals new information almost daily, Mike Weilbacher will discuss what we don’t know about microplastics, what surprising ways they get into the ocean, food chains—and us, and perhaps most importantly, what we can do about this growing problem.
Ben McGraw, Ph.D.
Speaker McGraw is a Professor of Turfgrass Science and serves as Program Coordinator for the Turfgrass Science (B.S.) and World Campus programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Entomology, and his research focuses on understanding the biology and ecology of turfgrass insect populations to improve current management practices and develop novel, more sustainable management and monitoring programs. Given the heavy reliance on chemical controls in many managed turfgrass systems, Ben McGraw also addresses critical knowledge gaps in the ecology of soil arthropods and communities.
“What Rachel Carson Might Think of the Modern American Lawn: Pesticides, Pollinators, and the Path Forward”
The lawn is among the most polarizing landscapes in America – celebrated for its utility yet increasingly scrutinized for its environmental footprint. Well-managed turf provides genuine ecological services, from carbon sequestration to urban heat mitigation, but pollinators largely fail to benefit as turfgrass requires no pollination services, and insects may be exposed to pest control products. This talk examines both the threats turfgrass poses to pollinator health and emerging research on practices that can make these landscapes more pollinator-friendly…. without sacrificing the values that make turf worth managing.
