Join us on a field trip to Adkins Arboretum for a special showing of “Rooted Wisdom” followed by a walk led by specially-trained docent guides to understand how slaves and self-liberators used the natural landscape to forge a path for freedom. Their methods for navigating, concealing themselves, finding food, and evading capture reflect a deep connection to, and understanding of, the natural landscape. Throughout the walk, we’ll explore how nature both helped and hindered the journey.
In the showing of “Rooted Wisdom,” we will travel through Adkins Arboretum with historian Anthony Cohen to understand how self-liberators used their knowledge of nature to forge a path to freedom. Filmed over the course of a year, this guided experience explores Adkins Arboretum on Maryland’s Eastern Shore through the seasons and brings history alive in the landscape you see today. The Arboretum is located in the traditional homeland of the Choptank People, Algonquin-speaking Woodland Indians who lived along the Choptank River basin. Before European settlers arrived in the early 1600s, there were approximately 20,000 Choptank living on the Eastern Shore. Less than 150 years later, they were driven to near-extinction by illness, fighting, and forced migration. During the 1700s and 1800s—the time leading up to and concurrent with the Underground Railroad—it was home to planters, Quakers, free Blacks, and enslaved people.
What to Expect: The showing of “Rooted Wisdom” is an immersive experience that takes us on a journey through the arboretum, showcasing the seasonal landscape and breathing life into history. It includes a docent-led walk over reasonably stable terrain to see in-person what the movie depicts.
Meet at the Arboretum’s Visitor’s Center (12610 Eveland Road, Ridgely, MD) at 12:45 pm. Our tour is from 1 – 3 pm. The price of the program includes park admission and the tour.
DIRECTIONS:
The Arboretum is centrally located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 25 miles east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at 12610 Eveland Road, near Ridgely, MD. The Arboretum is adjacent to Tuckahoe State Park, which offers tent and cabin camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, and canoe and kayak rentals.
Directions from Easton, MD (25 minutes)
From north of Easton on U.S. 50, take Cordova Road (MD 309) to MD 404. Turn right onto MD 404 and go to the first stoplight at MD 480. Turn left onto MD 480 and take the immediate first left onto Eveland Road. The Arboretum is two miles ahead on the left.
Directions from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (30 minutes)
Take U.S. 50 to U.S. 404. Turn left onto U.S. 404 and go approximately 7 miles to the second stoplight at MD 480. Turn left onto MD 480 and then take the immediate first left onto Eveland Road. The Arboretum is two miles ahead on the left.
Directions from Centreville, MD (20 minutes)
Take MD 304 across U.S. 301. Continue on MD 304 to Ruthsburg and turn right onto MD 481. Go two miles and take the first left onto Crouse Mill Road, which will take you to Crouse Mill Lake. Continue on Crouse Mill Road to Eveland Road, the first road on your right after the lake. Turn right onto Eveland Road. The Arboretum is ¼ mile ahead on your right.
FIELD TRIP by car to Adkins Arboretum (12610 Eveland Road, Ridgely, MD) | 1 session | Friday | May 3 | 1 – 3:00 pm | $35
