Federation Blog

For the second year in a row, Kevin Green, South River Federation Board member and Master Watershed Steward, has organized an Earth Day volunteer project for 11^th graders at the Key School.  The Hillsmere Community has a beautiful rain garden within walking distance from the school.  To keep the garden looking attractive, Kevin recruited a class of enthusiastic volunteers to help him do maintenance work on the garden.   The students pulled weeds, mulched, and placed wood chips on the walking path through the gardens all while having loads of fun of course!

Kevin did more than just organize the maintenance work; he helped to get the project started back in 2010.  Along with Master Watershed Stewards Jennie Gundersen and Chris Moore, the team combined their forces to build this rain garden for their Watershed Steward Capstone Project.  With funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, South River Federation, Unity Gardens, and the Hillsmere Community, two rain gardens were built into the existing contour of the landscape near the Hillsmere community pool.  These were no ordinary gardens!  The soil was amended to increase infiltration and check dams were installed to slow the stormwater.  Volunteers planted 1,000 plants when it was initially put in and Kevin continues to use Key School volunteer to replace any plants that have perished.  All this work sure did pay off!  The rain gardens can capture and filter 160,000 gallons of stormwater!  That is as much as 3,200 rain barrels!

Needless to say, we are looking forward to going back to the Hillsmere gardens with the Key School next spring!  A special thank you Christian Elkington and Chris Moore for all their help this spring!

Enjoy pictures of the Key School students working the gardens from the past two years:

Project Clean Stream 2012 was a great success with almost 40 South River Federation volunteers coming out to make our watershed a better place!   This annual event organized by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay brings together thousands of volunteers on the same day each year to clean up the Chesapeake Bay watershed from upstate New York all the way down to Virginia. The South River Federation and its volunteers cleaned up a portion of Church Creek, along Annapolis Harbour Center.  Easily collecting trash from the nearby stores and shoppers, this creek was in desperate need of attention.

Our dedicated group of volunteers picked up about 80 bags of trash totalling 1, 640 pounds and an additional 1,000 pounds of recyclables. Volunteers also pulled out about 15 tires, a lawn mower, and a stroller from the stream!  Needless to say, after all this was removed, Church Creek looked beautiful!  Luckily for the Federation, Annapolis Harbour Center was eager to help get their area cleaned up.  The property management company, Lerner, had employees with a golf cart on hand to haul trash over to the dumpster.  Old Navy sent out a crew of enthusiastic team members to help pick up trash and after all that hard work, our tired and hungry volunteers were rewarded with a delicious lunch of Potbelly sandwiches!

We would like to thank our other generous local sponsors who helped make this event a success:

Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay provided the gloves, safety vests, first aid kit and more!

Home Depot donated trash grabbers to help volunteers get that hard to reach trash.

Starbucks of Edgewater donated hot coffee to get the volunteers motivated.

American Rivers donated the trash bags.

Community sponsors: Flood Bros. Marine Consultants, Lesley & Gary Geisel, Anne Guillette, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Oak Grove Marina, Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis, and Keeper Springs Natural Spring Water

April may be our busiest volunteer month, but with the South River on the Half Shell Auction, the Mayo Elementary Marylanders Grow Oysters Program, and three stream clean-ups, March came in a close second.

We started March off with a fun-filled bog clean up and less than two weeks later, we gathered yet another great crew to clean up a portion of Crab Creek heavily affected by stormwater.  You may remember this site featured on the front page of our Spring 2011 newsletter.   The story begins at the federally-subsidized housing development of Newtowne 20.  Built in 1971, this development does not have proper stormwater controls so runoff is carried into a single 800 foot pipe, measuring 36 inches in diameter.  Gaining speed as it travels down the pipe, the high velocity water, often carrying trash, travels into the headwaters of Crab Creek.  This has resulted in mounds of trash piling up on private property and eventually making its way into the creek.

With the large amount of trash at this site and tricky access to the stream, we needed a very special crew to take on this challenge.  We reached out to the Maryland Conservation Corps program and they responded by sending out 20 amazing Corps members from four different state parks!   The day started with a talk by the South RIVERKEEPER® about stormwater and was then followed by 2.5 hours of hard work removing the seemingly endless mounds of trash. In total, the Corps removed an astounding 70 bags of trash and 4 tires!  But their hard work didn’t stop there!   After enjoying pizza donated by Dominos, the volunteers headed over the Maryland Department of Agriculture and worked  to remove invasive plants throughout the property.  The Maryland Conservation Corps members were fantastic, hardworking volunteers – this is one partnership we definitely hope to continue!  A special thank you goes out to American Rivers for the trash bags!

On the last day of March, the South River Federation teamed up with the Watershed Stewards Academy to clean up the headwaters of Warehouse Creek, near the intersection of Solomons Island Road and Mayo Road.  Volunteers worked hard to pick up a total of 19 bags of trash.  When the owner of Vocelli Pizza in Edgewater saw our volunteers hard at work, he donated pizzas for lunch – it was the perfect way to end a great month of clean-ups!

We had a blast with our March Waterfront Challenge Cleanups and are looking forward to more in April!

Earth Day may be on April 22nd, but one day is not enough time to celebrate all the great things about the South River!  If you are looking for a way to give back to your community or for something to do with the whole family, you don't want to miss Project Clean Stream or the South River Snapshot!

 Project Clean Stream

Saturday, April 14th 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Join the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed on the morning of April 14th to clean up a local stream!  The South River Federation will be hosting a local cleanup along Church Creek at Annapolis Harbour Center at 2512 A Solomons Island Road in Annapolis.  Last year, over 4,000 volunteers throughout the entire Bay region picked up 150,000 pounds of trash at 165 different sites.  Join the Federation’s Project Clean Stream team this spring and let’s help make this year even better than last year! Please email Jennifer at jennifer@southriverfederation.net to RSVP.

South River Water Quality Snapshot

Saturday, April 21st 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Have you ever wanted to get hands on experience monitoring water quality? Here is your chance to get the whole family involved!  The Federation will be holding our Annual Snapshot on April 21st to conduct water quality tests to assess the Rivers' health.  Although the data represents just a “snapshot” in time, collecting the data from over 40 sites around the River simultaneously, and doing it at about the same time each year, gives a good general barometer of the relative health of our streams and creeks.  Volunteers are required to attend one training session prior to the Snapshot. The trainings are on 4/15 at 3:00 p.m. or 4/19 at 6:00 p.m. at the Londontowne Community Hall located at 170 Mayo Road in Edgewater.  Please email Jennifer at jennifer@southriverfederation.net to RSVP.

After the Snapshot, head over to the Earth Day at ClockTower Place on April 21^st.  This great event has something for everyone!  Get a close up view of birds of prey, enjoy wine tasting, or get your face painted.  You can even chow down on a delicious burger by My Butcher & More with a portion of the proceeds going to the South River Federation.  The Federation will be there so make sure you stop by and see us!

I can’t think of a better way to enjoy a beautiful March day than cleaning up a bog with a group of enthusiastic students from Edgewater Elementary! During the first week of March, twenty-six students from Ms. Daciek’s 4th grade class volunteered with the South River Federation to clean up the bog in front of the school.

Bogs were historically a common feature in the Maryland coastal plain, especially in Anne Arundel and the surrounding counties. They are composed of a very unique group of native plants and animals that we don’t even see in other types of wetlands, even those that might be located next to a bog. Bogs often look beautiful, but are naturally nutrient deprived which means that they can accept nutrient rich water from the suburban runoff that often flows down into them. Bogs can treat the pollution to some extent, and are sometimes created in new places specifically to help treat stormwater. Most of the county’s native bogs have been filled in or drained over the last 400 years, making it that much more critical to preserve them!

Although it was great to see so much trash removed from the bog, the best part of the day was seeing how genuinely interested the students were in the health of the bog. Many of the students talked to me about how much they love nature and all the different types of animals they see in the bog. It was very clear that the students enjoy having the bog at the school and look forward to participating in the cleanup again! With the many wonderful handmade thank you cards we received from the students, it is easy to tell this is an experience the students will remember for a long time. The South River Federation thanks Edgewater Elementary and their students for taking such great care and pride of the bog - a beautiful, natural place right here in Edgewater!

Special thank you to American Rivers for donating the trash bags!

Elected officials, business owners, fishermen, and other advocates testified before the Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs committee on Tuesday, February 28th in favor of Senate Bill 614 (House Bill 987), which would require counties and cities to collect fees to reduce the rising source of polluted stormwater runoff. Contaminated stormwater has caused State and local officials to advise residents not to come into contact with creeks, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay for two days after a heavy rainstorm, due to serious health risks; it also causes costly flooding and erosion damage. However, the State has no dedicated revenue to meet this challenge. Studies show fixing the problem could create 36,000 jobs in Maryland in the next five years.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman plans to testify in favor of the stormwater legislation in the House Environmental Matters committee on Friday. County Executive Ulman said: "Cleaning the Chesapeake Bay isn't just a local concern. It's a national and state problem. We need smart, coordinated efforts to meet mandatory pollution limits, and a statewide stormwater initiative will help get us there."

Maryland is halfway to its Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals. But to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s “pollution diet,” Maryland is required to significantly reduce contaminated runoff by 2025. In addition, Maryland’s most populated counties and cities must comply with the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer (MS4) permits, many of which are currently being renewed and will include stricter limits on polluted runoff. In its Phase I Watershed Implementation Plan, the state committed to supporting legislation to require stormwater utility fees.

The problem of contaminated runoff stems from decades of neglect of the community systems that drain and treat water after storms. While Governor O’Malley has proposed adding $27 million in capital spending for structural stormwater projects in his FY13 budget, the State has estimated it will actually cost billions of dollars over the next few decades to correct this growing problem.

The good news, however, is the work could create thousands of full-time jobs. In Montgomery County, which already has enacted a stormwater utility fee, officials say stormwater work there will create 3,300 construction and engineering jobs.

Jurisdictions that have already enacted stormwater utility fees include Frederick City, Annapolis, Takoma Park, and Rockville. Other jurisdictions are actively considering fees.  

Projects that reduce stormwater often have multiple benefits that can also help improve public health. In Baltimore, community groups are removing hundreds of acres of unused pavement at City schools to create open green space for learning and recreation. Street trees not only help absorb polluted runoff, they also help provide heating and cooling benefits and reduce air pollution.

A recent report, Bay Restoration Supports Good Jobs, Clean Waters, concluded that water quality programs have generated enormous environmental, economic, and quality-of-life benefits for communities across the state.

In that report, Carter McCamy, owner of Environmental Quality Resources, LLC, a Baltimore environmental construction company that does stormwater management work, said the economic impact that he sees from his work goes well beyond the people he employs. Every project requires fuel and materials, and the money from the projects flows to McCamy’s suppliers and their employees, and into the community.

Richie Gaines, a light tackle fishing guide from Kent Island and avid waterfowl hunter, also said, “The bay is a huge economic engine. If they were to fix that, the economy of Maryland would boom.”

In addition to improving water quality, reducing polluted stormwater runoff reduces flooding. A 2011 article in The Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals says that green infrastructure, or low impact design, to reduce stormwater runoff can provide “substantial benefits regarding flood protection.” In two case-study scenarios, green infrastructure stormwater controls reduced flood damages by about 40 percent and infrastructure that kept stormwater runoff onsite reduced losses from flood damage by between $6,700 and $9,700 per acre.

A stormwater user fee for residential and non-residential properties would be based on the area of impervious surface coverage, or a similar mechanism. The revenues generated from this fee would be dedicated to such uses as installing stormwater management practices where none exist, restoring streams degraded by stormwater runoff, improving and managing existing stormwater facilities, and educating citizens about how they can reduce stormwater. 

Maryland is now more than halfway to the goals set 20 years ago for a restored Chesapeake Bay. To make sure that Maryland finishes the job and meets our “pollution diet,” the Clean Water, Healthy Families Coalition is working to achieve these goals during the 2012 Maryland General Assembly:

1        Finish upgrading the wastewater treatment plants that Maryland has already committed to upgrade (Senate Bill 240 / House Bill 446)

2        Ensure that local governments have resources to reduce polluted stormwater runoff and implement their local clean water plans (Senate Bill 614 / House Bill 987)

3        Reduce pollution from poorly planned development – including limiting new septic systems (Senate Bill 236 / House Bill 445)

4        Require that all wastewater discharges, including septic systems, are treated at the highest levels to protect public health and ensure clean water (Through amendments or by regulation)

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The members of the Clean Water, Healthy Families Coalition are: 1000 Friends of Maryland, Anacostia Watershed Society, Audubon Naturalist Society, Blue Water Baltimore, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chester River Association, Clean Water Action, Environment Maryland, Maryland League of Conservation Voters; Mid-shore Riverkeeper Conservancy, Patuxent Riverkeeper, Sierra Club, South River Federation, and West/Rhode Riverkeeper. More information is available at www.cleanwaterhealthyfamilies.org.

Saving oysters and the South River through the eyes of a nine year old Federation and Marylanders Grow Oysters volunteer

My name is Amanda, I'm 9 years old and I live on Turkey Point Island. I also have oysters in the bay! Oysters are a very important part of our water. They are great, fun, and awesome! But the problem is that they are getting extinct. There are only 2 species left. The fertilizer that you put on your plants to make them grow really kills the oysters. When it rains the fertilizer washes through drains causing it to go in the bay. Then, algae grows because of the junk that's in the water. Algae can take up a lot of oxygen. Oxygen is what oysters need to live, so when algae uses up the oxygen in the the water, it kills oysters. The name oysters may sound really gross, but they're not. I just had an experience with them, and they are awesome! You can find scars, boxes, babies, and more! But the most important lesson here is that they are special. They are just like you and me, only animals. Oysters have a right to live, just like us. 

Special thank you to Tonia for the pictures!

If you thought keeping up with the Kardashians was tough, try keeping up with Kudzu! Also known as the Foot-a-Night-Vine and the Vine that ate the South, this Japanese native can grow up to a foot a day. Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) is an incredibly invasive woody vine that will consume the landscape from the ground to the top of the trees.

Kudzu was first brought to the States in 1876 to be displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, better known as the World Fair. After that, kudzu grew in popularity as an ornamental plant, soil conservation ground cover, and livestock feed. (Source: Sierra Club) By 1976, the USDA declared kudzu a noxious weed.

Keeping up with kudzu is certainly a challenge but that didn’t deter Master Watershed Stewards Nancy Tait and Leslie Riddle from teaming up with Edgewater Beach Citizen’s Association’s Joan Scott to remove the kudzu in their community. The team was awarded a mini grant from the South River Federation and also received funding from the Forestry Board and their community.

The process began back in the fall by first spraying the area, a steep hill overlooking the South River, with an herbicide. After the vines died back, community volunteers removed five large truckloads of kudzu and took it to the County landfill. Annual rye grass was then planted on the hill. Watershed Stewards Leslie and Nancy along with Joan plan to reassess the area this spring and will continue to battle the kudzu until the hill is reclaimed by native plants.

At Left: Master Watershed Steward Leslie Riddle chopping down the thick, woody kudzu vine.

At Right: Edgewater Beach community members removing the dead kudzu

The Girl Scout Gold Award recognizes young women who make a difference in their communities.  The South River Watershed was lucky enough to be a beneficiary of a Girl Scout Gold Award last fall!  When Girl Scout Sarah Walsh applied for a $500 matching grant from the South River Federation for her Gold Award erosion and stabilization project at Camp Woodlands, we were thrilled to support her!

From the time she was in first grade, Sarah has gone to Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center where she has developed a deep appreciation for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Learning about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the impact of society on the Bay’s ecosystem encouraged Sarah to dedicate her Girl Scout Gold Award Project to the preservation of the Bay.  Working with Ashley Jarvis of Arlington Echo as her advisor, she decided to focus her efforts on an area of Camp Woodlands along Broad Creek designated as a “critical area” for stabilization.

Working with Arlington Echo, a swale was designed and installed through volunteer labor.  In early September, volunteers lead by Sarah spread 400 cubic feet of mulch along the path to catch water not contained by the swale.  In October, they built the swale lined with weedblock and river jack to slow the flow of water coming downhill.  By the end of October, Sarah and her team of volunteers planted a variety of native trees and shrubs including: hackberry, serviceberry, tulip poplars, white oak, inkberry, highbush blueberry, and Atlantic white cedar. Sarah has plans to create an informational kiosk explaining the project and offering information on erosion control. In the long-term, a ranger at Camp Woodlands will continue to monitor the swale.

The leadership skills required for this project taught Sarah just how difficult it is to plan and execute these types of projects and gave her a new level of respect for people doing conservation work.  Recruiting volunteers to do physically demanding labor and communicating with so many different organizations and people proved to be one of the more challenging aspects of the project.  When the project was finally completed, Sarah said, “seeing everything come together made it worth all the headaches along the way.”

Sarah learned much more beyond project management, especially in regards to erosion. “I knew erosion was bad, but it was incredible to learn how shorelines are disappearing and how the pH of the Bay has changed. For me, the most amusing thing to learn was that rocks can be native. I thought that any kind of cheap rock would be fine for the swale. I was wrong. I had to research native Bay rocks because these rocks do not alter the pH of rainwater, and even have some filtration properties.”  Sarah feels that small projects to prevent erosion are important for our watershed. The change may not necessarily be visible, but the reduction of runoff will make the Bay healthier and create an environment more conducive to our native flora and fauna.

Sarah will continue to have a life-long appreciate for the Chesapeake Bay and plans on becoming a surgeon!  The South River Federation was proud to be able to support Sarah in her project and wishes her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.  Although the grant program is geared towards Watershed Stewards, we are happy to work with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts on their Eagle and Gold Award projects.