Federation Blog

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.

Winter weather has arrived in the South River, and most life has settled down throughout the watershed. Snakes, turtles, and frogs are hibernating. Our summer songbirds have, for the most part, left the area. Blue crabs and most fish species have also left the River in order to spend it in the slightly warmer waters of the lower Chesapeake Bay. People have settled down too - the River is free of paddlers, crabbers, and anglers, and indeed most boats have been winterized for a month or more, and now sit high and dry on trailers or boat lifts.

But if you look closely enough around the watershed, there are still signs of life. Otters and beavers continue their work. A light waterfowl migration has brought some additional ducks and geese to the River. And as of the new year - one native, yellow, flower still bloomed - the common or Virginia Witch-hazel. 

If you're out in the woods in December or even in a mild January, you're unlikely to see a lot of color unless you see a blooming Witch-hazel - literally one of the latest blooming plants in the forest. I've read some theories that this late bloom is an adaptation to the "availability" of bees and other pollinators on warm days in late fall and early winter - very little competition from other blooming plants. So where does this magical plant live around the South River, and how can someone recognize it?

Witch-hazel is pretty recognizable during the growing season because of its shrubby growth, broad, toothed leaves, and zig-zagging twigs holding cone-like seed pods year-round. It rarely grows more than 15 feet tall and the leaves turn bright yellow in the fall, prior to the appearance of its distinct yellow flowers. The shrub prefers to live along the edges of shady woodlands and bright yards or fields, in moist, acidic soils that are high in organic matter.

If this sounds like a spot that you know, maybe you already have a Witch-hazel! If not, they make are readily available at local plant nurseries. Witch-hazel's tolerance of deer browse, its amazing fall foliage and winter flowers, and its resistance to both pollution and pests make it a compelling native plant specimen for almost any landscape in the South River watershed.

The Wilelinor restoration site received some holiday cheer over the weekend! On a beautiful December morning, a team of South River Federation volunteers came together to do maintenance work on the site. Volunteers began the day by spreading 15 bales of peat moss under the Atlantic white cedars (Chamaecyparis thyoides) lining the stream and wetland pool. The peat moss served as a soil amendment to adjust the pH value. We hope that by spreading peat moss around the cedars, there will be an increase in germination and seedlings.

Next, volunteers armed with limb saws and loppers, tackled and removed sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis) trees. Why would we want to remove these trees? Many had begun to grow close to the cedars, blocking out the full sunlight that the cedars need to grow. The shade makes it especially difficult for new seedlings to survive.

Atlantic white cedars were specially chosen for this restoration site because of their efficiency and effectiveness at processing pollution and removing nutrients. Cedars also tend to do well in acidic wetland environments and provide important habitat for wildlife. For example, in North Carolina, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that over 39 species of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians and over 46 species of birds were reported to use Atlantic white cedar wetlands.

While most of the group was hard at work tackling the sweetgum trees, others removed invasive vines and cleared out a large section of invasive green bamboo. Thank you to all of our volunteers and South River Watershed Stewards for making this day a success! We could not have done it without your hard work. Thank you Edgewater Starbucks for donating coffee to keep us warm and motivated!

What and Where is Wilelinor?

This beautiful site located right off of Route 2 across from Admiral Cochrane Drive. This area is one of the headwaters for the southern branch of Church Creek, a tributary to the South River. Located near large areas of impervious surfaces, this restoration site is able to properly convey stormwater going into Church Creek. This project has enhanced water quality, aquatic habitat, and ecological functions. Routine maintenance, such as this volunteer event on Saturday, is important to keep this site functioning properly.

We are sending out an SOS to “Save Oyster Shells!” Thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), the South River Federation now has our very own oyster collection station to make oyster shell recycling easier for our community. Next time you eat some delicious Chesapeake Bay oysters, don’t throw away the shells! Stop by our office complex located near Yellowfin Restaurant and recycle your shells. Simply place your used dead oyster shells into the baskets and encourage your friends to do the same.

The photos below show the collection location. Please note, the collection station is located near the main entrance to the Yellowfin/Oak Grove complex and is not near the entrance to our office. 

What is the “Save the Shell program?” The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) coordinates a partnership between restaurants, communities, and organizations like the Federation to recycle oyster shell. The shell will then be used in oyster restoration. When oysters are in the larval stage, they are free floating. Before they can become spat and eventually oysters, they must attach themselves to hard surfaces, preferably other oyster shells. This program helps CBF to collect the shells needed for their restoration efforts.

Looking for volunteer opportunities? Volunteers are needed to drive the filled oyster baskets down to Shady Side, MD as needed. Email Jennifer at jennifer@southriverfederation.net if interested.

A special thank you to Oak Grove Marina for allowing us to keep the collection baskets on their property!

Got green?  Tell us about it!  This new monthly series by the South River Federation will focus on the efforts made by residents of the South River Watershed to make their homes or yards more environmentally friendly.

When Tropical Storm Nicole roared through in the fall of 2010, it left its mark on Jim and Joan Hunter’s yard. The storm destabilized the area, the slope slumped, and the Hunter’s had to figure out how to put it back together. After considering many different options and wading through the maze of permitting and engineering consultations, the Hunters, with the help of Jimmy Dick of Furbish Co., decided on a SmartSlope living retaining wall.

What is a SmartSlope? A SmartSlope is a locally produced plantable retaining wall. This “critter friendly” wall allows animals to move up, down, and through the wall the way they could move before the slope slumped. The SmartSlope is not static – it eventually becomes habitat.

Why a Smart Slope? For starters, it was the lowest cost option. The installation cost ranges from $30-50 per square foot. The Hunters wanted the slope to look as close to its natural state as possible and be consistent with the neighboring slopes. Matt Ciminelli, of Ciminelli’s Landscape Service feels, “if you care about the environment, this wall has a lower carbon footprint. The Smart Slope is part of the environment instead of an attachment.” As the plants and roots grow, the wall gets better over time and only requires maintence like any other landscape bed. Additionally, the SmartSlope should never need repairing.

As an added benefit, Ciminelli’s was able to complete all of the construction through manual labor and did not have to bring in any heavy construction equipment to the residential area. They “don’t destroy to build.”

Mr. Hunter’s advice to others wishing to do the same? Be sure to explore all various options of retaining walls. And remember, you “don’t have to compromise what is best for the environment for cost reasons.”

A special thank you to Jimmy Dick, a Master Watershed Steward, who nominated this month’s project! Got green at your home? Tell us about it and you could be the next South River Federation’s “Got Green Project of the Month!”

On a beautiful, sunny Tuesday morning last week, members of Arundel Lodge in Edgewater were working hard to install a new rain garden. Together with volunteers from the South River Federation and the Watershed Stewards Academy, the members planted 150 native plants in the garden. These included Black-eyed Susans, St. John’s Wort, Little Lemon, and White Turtlehead. The members of Arundel Lodge, a rehabilitation center for adults with mental illness, had been looking forward to this day for awhile. As you can see in the pictures below, the members had a great time planting, mulching, and watering the garden!

The rain garden was installed in the front of Arundel Lodge to capture rainfall from three downspouts from the roof. Previously, stormwater would flow over the compacted soils untreated and eventually go into Church Creek. Now, the water is captured in the garden and is able to slowly infiltrate through the ground or absorbed into the plants. Before they could plant, about two feet of soil was excavated from the garden and replaced with a better draining mixture of bio-soil and sand. Additionally, three river-jack rocked lined swales were installed to guide water into the garden.

This project was made possible by the South River Federation, Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT), and the Watershed Stewards Academy. As a Chesapeake Conservation Corps Volunteer, I had the opportunity to apply for a CBT Mini Grant in the amount of $2,000. Combined with the South River Federation grant of $1,000 and the Watershed Stewards Academy covering the design and plant costs, Master Watershed Steward Ann Jackson, who works at the Lodge, and I knew we able to plan a great project. We created a project that would not only address a stormwater problem on site, but educate the members as well. Before the garden was installed, Ann and I, met with different groups of members, and spoke to them about the importance of rain gardens, and demonstrated the problem of stormwater runoff using a watershed model. Now that the garden is complete, the next step is for the members of Arundel Lodge to design and paint five rain barrels to be placed around the Lodge. Because art therapy is very important at the Lodge, we felt this would be a great opportunity to have the members feel more connected to the overall project and it is a great start to understanding the small things each of us can do at home to start improving the health of our river and Bay.

I would like to thank Arundel Lodge and its members for being so willing to work with the South River Federation on this project. It was great having such enthusiastic partners! I would not have been able to do this project without all the guidance from Master Watershed Steward Ann Jackson and WSA’s Suzanne Etgen who matched us together, and Mel Wilkins who designed the beautiful garden, so a big thank you to all of them!

Columbus Day was a busy day in the South River Watershed!  The Chesapeake Conservation Corps (CCC), a career and leadership training program funded through the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT), held their All Hands on Deck project at Historic London Town and Gardens.   The All Hands on Deck project was a competitive $2,000 CBT mini grant available to CCC volunteers to complete a large scale project and training opportunity for all CCCs to attend.  The South River Federation’s CCC volunteer, Jennifer Carr, joined forces with the Watershed Steward Academy’s CCC volunteer, Megan Wickless, to create a stormwater-themed day of learning and service at Historic London Town and Gardens.  In the end, partnering up paid off and they were selected for the grant!

The day kicked off with educational activities led by the Watershed Stewards Academy aimed to increase the CCC volunteers’ knowledge of stormwater.  The Corps, under the guidance of Master Watershed Stewards, performed a whole-scale site assessment of London Town’s property.  As a result, they were able to give recommendations on how to move forward with other stormwater related projects.

In the afternoon, the Corps volunteers rotated between three different service learning stations.  The first stop was on board the boat, Remedy, with the South RIVERKEEPER, Diana Muller, and Dr. Andrew Muller, a professor at the U.S. Naval Academy.  The Corps soaked in the issues of water quality and stormwater facing the South River and the rest of the Bay.  They were given the opportunity to use equipment such as the Hydrolab to monitor water quality and a secchi disk to measure depth.  Other topics covered included land use, shoreline restoration, and impacts of sewer and septic systems on the river.

The next stop, CCC volunteers got hands-on experience installing rain barrels around London Town’s new museum and archaeology lab.  These beautiful rain barrels from Rain Barrels of Annapolis will catch about two-thirds of the rain events over the course of a year.  The barrels will capture the water allowing the stormwater to cool down and be released slowly into the ground.

The final stop, stressed the importance of maintenance on any restoration project.  The Corps certainly got their hands dirty on this one as they worked hard to clear out a thick layer of silt that had been deposited into a series of step pools.  The step pools serve to slow down stormwater allowing it to infiltrate the ground instead of flowing directly into the river.

The project was a great success thanks to all the organizations and sponsors involved!

The Chesapeake Bay Trust funded the project and most importantly runs the Chesapeake Conservation Corps Program.

The South River Federation and Watershed Stewards Academy (WSA) organized the day’s events.

Historic London Town and Gardens hosted the event and worked very closely with the Federation and WSA.

Rain Barrels of Annapolis provided the beautiful rain barrels at a low cost, making the project possible.

Chipotle and Rita’s of Edgewater donated a delicious lunch for the volunteers and guests.

Got green?  Tell us about it!  This new monthly series by the South River Federation will focus on the efforts made by residents of the South River Watershed to make their homes or yards more environmentally friendly.

 “I can’t tell you how excited he was to do this!” Lara Mulvaney, a certified Master Watershed Steward, said as we walked over to her neighbor, Jerry Klinken’s, house.  Lara had nominated Jerry’s new rain garden for the first South River Federation’s “Got Green Project of the Month.” 

Jerry first got the idea of doing a rain garden from a residential assessment workshop for stormwater hosted by Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy. Then, when Jerry heard that the South River Federation was offering grants to Watershed Stewards, like Lara Mulvaney, for community projects, such as rain gardens, he had the encouragement he needed to start.

He selected an area of his back yard where he was tired of having to cut and edge the ugly grass and where there was an existing storm water runoff problem.  He wanted to “address the drainage issue in an effective way.”  Severn Grove Ecological Design helped design the basic rain garden layout and dug the shallow basin which would eventually capture and infiltrate all the rain from his entire back roof.  Jerry and Lara worked together to pick out the plants best suited for his beautiful garden.  As a “do-it-yourself” worker, Jerry laid out the stones and planted all the plants in his new 1400 square foot rain garden himself.  The plants were purchased from the large selection at Davidsonville Nursery.  A “do it yourself” rain garden typically costs around $4 a square foot while hiring a contractor can cost up to $8 a square foot.

The new rain garden was finished just in time to be put to the test.  Not too long after it was completed, Hurricane Irene came through followed by Tropical Storm Lee.  The garden stood up to Irene like a champ by draining half of the eight inches overnight, but it did overflow during Lee, which was classified as a 100-year storm.  This just highlights the importance of monitoring your rain garden very closely after any storm until you get the feel for how well it performs.  Once the garden becomes well established, occasional weeding and mulching are the only maintenance required to ensure that the garden continues to function properly.

Why did he do it?  Jerry said, that he doesn’t think people understand the problem that erosion and runoff can have on the Chesapeake Bay.  He put in the rain garden because “everyone can do something.”

His advice for other homeowners?  Contact your local Master Watershed Steward for help. Visit www.aawsa.org or contact Lara Mulvaney, lmulvaney@aacps.org, to help find the Steward closest to you.  Do research about rain gardens before starting your project and make sure you understand how well your soil drains, how much storm water the rain garden will need to absorb, and the amount of ongoing maintenance that is required.  Rain gardens not only serve environmental purposes, but also attract birds and butterflies and are a beautiful addition to your yard. 

Jerry has implemented many other eco-friendly practices throughout his property.  Most recently, he completed an energy audit, which is eligible for rebates.  As a result, insulation was added and ducts were sealed reducing leakage by 83%, making his house considerably more energy efficient.  Working in the solar energy business, Jerry also has solar photovoltaic and hot water panels on his roof.  Excess solar hot water is also used to help heat his greenhouse and hot tub.  The house has been heated and cooled by energy efficient geothermal since it was built in 1985. He is also working towards turning his property into a natural habitat.  Other features include a greenhouse, 350 gallon cistern, rain barrels, and an organic garden.

View more pictures, including before and after shots, of the garden on Jerry's website.

Thank you Jerry for making so many aspects of your home eco-friendly!  Got green at your home?  Tell us about it and you could be the next “Got Green Project of the Month!”

Like knights in shining armor, AARP employees and the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), teamed up with the South River Federation to come to the rescue of three rain gardens! These rain gardens, or bio-retention areas, were installed at the MDA on Truman Parkway in 2007 to address stormwater runoff from parts of the parkway and the parking lots of the MDA complex. The three rain gardens, which cover over 4,000 square feet combined, treat 1.4 acres of impervious surface.

Normally, we hope for cool, dry weather during a cleanup. However, with Tropical Storm Lee on its way out of our area, we had anything but a dry day! The rainy weather did not discourage the hard working AARP volunteers or the MDA employees from working for four hours to remove invasives or clean out the rocky swales leading into the gardens. The best part, and perhaps the most important part, is that working in heavy rain allowed us to see how the rain gardens actually worked. The rain also highlighted the importance of continued maintenance of the rain gardens. When it began to rain, we noticed that some of the rain water was not flowing into the gardens because the swales had become filled with sediment or the stones had moved not allowing the water to pass. The volunteers removed the excess sediment and fixed the stones to redirect flow back into the rain gardens.

Our biggest surprise of the day was the middle rain garden, or the lack of the middle rain garden! Damage to a pipe under the storm drain had caused an enormous sink hole to form engulfing the center of the garden. We reported the sink hole to the county and they will be taking care of the repairs.

Thank you again to our courageous knights of AARP and MDA’s Gaye Williams for making this day possible!

What is a rain garden?

How is a rain garden different from any other garden? Rain gardens are bio-retention sites specially designed to handle and treat stormwater. First, the area is excavated to remove existing soils. Once removed, the area is filled with a sand and compost mixture. Storm drains are cut to fit high water levels. You want the storm drains to sit above ground level so that the stormwater stays in the garden and does not go directly down the drain. The stormwater drains only catch the rain during higher water levels. Finally, the garden is planted with native plants that help to absorb stormwater. With all the hard work that went into making this garden, we want to keep up with the maintenance!