The mission of the Howard County Conservancy is to educate children and adults about our natural world, preserve the land and its legacy for future generations and model responsible stewardship of our environment.
Received by the Conservancy in 1993 by Ruth and Frances Brown, Mt. Pleasant is a 325-year-old farm now operated as a nature reserve and educational facility. The Gudelsky Environmental Education Center, on-site at Mt. Pleasant, is Howard County’s first nature center, opening in 2005. The Conservancy, originally founded in 1990 as a private, nonprofit land trust, today has a dual mission of preserving land in Howard County and providing educational programs.
Dedicated to educating youth and adults about environmental stewardship and ecosystems, the Conservancy focuses its programs on local animal and plant life found in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Conservancy has been educating Howard County youth since 1997, and has been an Educational Partner with the Howard County Public School System since 2003.
Located on 232 acres of rolling hills, with a variety of habitats, Mt. Pleasant is ideally suited for nature study and exploration. Mt. Pleasant is home to more than 140 species of birds and other wildlife, and offers beautiful vistas of the Patapsco Valley – all just 15 minutes from Columbia.
Mt. Pleasant Farm’s historic buildings include the farmhouse which encompasses the original log cabin, a carriage house, blacksmith shop, bank barn, wagon shed, corn crib, smokehouse, and two hen houses. Mature hardwoods, historic gardens and trees, and an heirloom orchard surround the farmhouse and outbuildings.
The Conservancy maintains a number of active partnerships with a variety of organizations for its education programs, public events, land conservation, and Mt. Pleasant restoration. These include a Howard County Public School System Educational Partnership, and partnerships with Howard County Master Gardeners, Howard County Recreation & Parks Department, the Howard County Bird Club, Howard County Beekeepers, the Howard County Blacksmith Guild and others.
