Maryland Public Television (MPT) is celebrating the 35th anniversary of its award-winning original series “Outdoors Maryland.”
This milestone season’s finale will feature wildlife, people, and places from all over Maryland, including Central Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and many locations in between during its sixth episode airing on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
There will be segments featuring Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Allegany County, and more.
The segment entitled “A Perilous Passage” follows a crew of wildlife enthusiasts with Lights Out Baltimore as they search the Baltimore City streets for injured birds. Given that billions of birds pass through the mid-Atlantic twice a year for migration, Maryland makes a good resting stop for them geographically. Unfortunately, the urban landscape creates dangers for them in the form of reflective windows and bright lights. The group, an initiative of the Baltimore Bird Club, is working with local businesses to make Birdland bird-safe. The segment follows the rescued birds’ recovery journey at the Phoenix Wildlife Center in Baldwin.
Another segment, entitled “Nature’s Archivists” explores the local wild wonders with the help of the Natural History Society of Maryland. The segment follows botanist Charlie Davis and Entomology Curator James Young for a tour of a “cabinet of curiosities” which contains ancient arthropods, rare butterflies, and century-old pressed plants. Viewers then join society members on a fossil hunting expedition in western Maryland. There’s also a visit to a classroom in Baltimore County’s Dumbarton Middle School to join a new generation of aspiring naturalists getting their hands dirty with the state’s prehistory.
Since its debut in 1988, MPT has produced more than 700 “Outdoors Maryland” stories about science-oriented environmental issues to segments about unusual people, animals, and places around the state. The series has earned more than 50 awards over those 35 years, including several Emmy Awards from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
“Outdoors Maryland” airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on MPT-HD and online at mpt.org/livestream. Episodes are also available to view live and on demand using the free PBS App and MPT’s online video player.
