The New Housing Trend

This week I learned that it is possible to talk about the shortage of housing without having the whole world crash down on you. Really. It’s easy once you know the secret.

Thanks to all the kids and families who joined the Conservancy at Belmont last weekend to combat the fairy housing shortage. With natural materials that our volunteers gathered, little ones planned and built their fairy village in the pine forest. Now we just need patience and a quiet dark night for the fairies to choose their abodes!

Image from Howard County Consevancy social media

Yes, there it is: a fairy housing shortage. You can relax now. No one is going to come along and ask what color the fairies are or demand that the fairy children go to someone else’s school or live in someone else’s neighborhood.

It’s a perfectly lovely and playful experience - - immersed in nature and imagination. The children who participated probably have a strong concept of home and that everyone needs one. Why not fairies?

Today: building fairy houses. Tomorrow? Plan Howard Academy.

Applications Now Open for PlanHoward Academy Fall 2025

The Academy is an award-winning planning course designed by the Department of Planning and Zoning that educates residents on how the planning and land development process works. The free, five-week course includes in-class instruction, hands-on learning exercises and take-home materials. Taught by professional planners and legal experts, the Academy provides residents with a thought provoking, interactive curriculum focused on the underpinnings of land development in Howard County.

Yes, it says “hands-on learning exercises” but somehow I don’t think you’ll get to make Fairy Houses. Still…perhaps there’s an adult equivalent. I’m all for hands-on learning.

Interested? Apply here. The deadline to apply is Sunday, September 7th at 11:59 pm. Don’t put it off til the last minute, or you just might turn into a pumpkin.

Images from Woodlark Blog

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