2019 Steward and Consortium of the Year

Each year the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy honors volunteer Master Watershed Stewards and the environmental professionals who support their action for clean water.  The Master Watershed Steward of the Year is awarded to a Steward who excels in engaging their community to reduce pollution. The Consortium Member of the Year is awarded to an environmental professional who makes a significant impact on projects for clean water. The Master Watershed Steward and Consortium Member of the Year Awards were presented at WSA’s Annual “Spring into Action” Conference.

Master Watershed Steward of the Year Award
Master Watershed Steward Amy Clements (left) was honored for her dedication to clean water and her leadership with Spa Creek Conservancy. Amy became a Master Watershed Steward in WSA’s first certification course. Since then, she has led Spa Creek Conservancy to install over $10 million in restoration projects. Alongside Mel Wilkins, Amy led Spa Creek to complete hundreds of projects- from treating 98% of the runoff from Heritage Baptist Church to restoring whole streams in projects like the Spa Creek Headwaters Restoration. In addition to restoration, Amy continually engages her community in Annapolis. Amy led residents of Eastport Terrace and Harbor House to plant and mulch 200 trees and shrubs behind the Annapolis Housing Authority and Bates Middle School, then re engaged the community for a Kids on the Creek day to reconnect youth to the water.

WSA Consortium Member of the Year Award
Beth Ginter (right) was awarded Consortium Member of the Year for her work with the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) Certification. Throughout the years, Beth has committed to investing in the education surrounding green infrastructure. The CBLP certification teaches the professional landscape community to properly install and maintain rain gardens and conservation landscapes. In just a few years, Beth has certified over 400 CBLPs, creating a network of sustainable landscaping professionals spanning five states across our watershed.

Congratulations to Amy and Beth!

Latin for Gardeners: February 2019

February’s Native Maryland Plant
Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.
(FAY-gus gran-dih-FOLE-ee-uh)
Common Name: American Beech

Fagus sp. are imposing trees, slow-growing but long-lived. Their naturally long and low, horizontal branches create dense shade where no ground cover or grass is needed. The beech growing in my yard was pruned as a young tree, preventing its lower limbs from reaching cars passing by, thereby allowing me to walk beneath its lovely branches. This hardwood tree has a shallow root system that makes it susceptible to root zone disturbance and drought.  It prefers a loamy, moist, acidic soil and during colonial times its sighting was used as an indicator of fertile soil – many beech forests were cleared to make way for farming. Although it is rated as a full sun tree, Fagus grandifolia is known as one of the most shade “tolerant” northern hardwood species.  Beech nuts are a valuable food source for many mammals and its foliage is host to 125 caterpillar species¹. Rick Darke² has said of this tree, “it is worth watching year-round just for the pageantry of its foliage.”

Fagus sp. spread by seed dispersal and root sprouts and are considerably deer resistant. Due to climate change and Fagus’ adaptability, these trees are having a resurgence and are out competing other important tree species – including in my yard. The next time you’re out walking in one of Maryland’s forests, look for Fagus grandifolia; its distinct bark and buds will help you identify it. With spring just around the corner, I encourage you to ‘think big’ and consider planting a large shade tree.  Shade trees improve air quality and help cool the planet, including the stormwater runoff that is flowing to our rivers and the Bay.

¹ Doug Tallamy, Living Landscapes

² Author – The American Woodland Garden

NOTE: Visit the HoCo State Champion Fagus grandifolia at HCCC. http://www.mdbigtrees.com/view_tree.aspx

~ Alison Milligan – MG/MN 2013
Master Watershed Steward Class 7
aligmilligan@gmail.com

Latin for Gardeners: Test Your Knowledge

December’s Native Maryland Plant: All of them!

Hello Master Gardeners and Watershed Stewards!

Winter is finally here, it’s time to take a rest from gardening, to enjoy the magic of the season and the holidays ahead. It’s also time for the end-of-year, just for fun quiz. The quiz is meant to help you visually recognize the plants featured this year, in their fall or winter dress, and to test your knowledge of their scientific names.

It’s always best to use the Latin name of plants when you recommend them to friends and the public – there’s only one Latin name for a plant so it avoids confusion and ensures people select the right plant when shopping at nurseries. The photos below were all taken in November or December, can you still recognize the plants?  I’ve also shown them in bloom to remind you of their beauty and value throughout the year. Don’t feel bad if you can’t match them all – Latin is not an easy language.  Good luck, or as they say in Latin, “Fortuna!”

Match the letter of each plant to the number of its blooming counterpart below.

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Alison Milligan ~ MG Class of 2013
Mstr. Gardener / Mstr. Naturalist / Mstr. Watershed Steward
Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)
aligmilligan@gmail.com

Celebrating Our History

10 years ago, THIS WEEK, WSA was born. In case you don’t know the full story, here it is… 

               In 2003,  Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center began to partner with the Anne Arundel  County Department of Public Works (DPW) to install ecosystem restoration projects to address stormwater issues. These innovative solutions represented a paradigm shift away from “collect and convey” toward mimicking nature to clean, cool and infiltrate stormwater. As school children and their parents toured these sites, planted native plants and learned about stormwater, they began to understand their role in Bay restoration.  Communities began to ask what more they could do to help restore their creek, river or the Bay.  As Arlington Echo and DPW staff began to work with these communities, they quickly understood that they were outnumbered by people wanting to take action. Each of these communities needed someone to work with them, but there were not enough staff resources at either Arlington Echo or DPW to capitalize on all of the enthusiasm. 

               In 2005, Ron Bowen and Ginger Ellis of DPW began meeting with Stephen Barry and Suzanne Etgen of Arlington Echo to brainstorm ways to turn this growing awareness into action.  Over the next 2 years, and 100s of hours, the Watershed Stewards Academy concept was born.  After pitching the idea to David O’Neil (then of Chesapeake Bay Trust) and Verna Harrison (then of Keith Campbell Foundation), DPW secured three years of funding for program development.  Soon Carrie Decker of the MD Department of Natural Resources approached DPW about funding WSA with a small pot of NOAA Coastal Communities money. In December 2008, a staff person, Suzanne Etgen, was dedicated to work with the program and WSA was born. 

10 years ago this week WSA was born. On December 8, 2008, the WSA founders (Ron Bowen, Ginger Ellis, Stephen Barry and Suzanne Etgen) invited about 40 partners consisting of RiverKeepers, landscape architects, local government leaders and environmental advocates, to help in the formation of key aspects of the program:  Curriculum, Tool Box for Sustaining Action and Consortium of Support Professionals. A kickoff meeting was held in the Great Room at Arlington Echo, committees were established and less than 3 months later, WSA began training our first class of 32 Master Watershed Stewards.    

In spring of 2010, the Chesapeake Bay Program, impressed by the power of citizen stewards engaged through WSA, wrote the replication of WSA into their strategy to address President Obama’s Executive Order for Bay Restoration.  WSA formed a strategic partnership with the University of Maryland Seagrant Extension, to help propagate WSAs. There are now established WSA programs in the National Capital Region (Montgomery and Prince Georges County and DC), Howard, Harford, St. Mary’s and Cecil Counties.  Additionally, WSA has been replicated in Pennsylvania, upstate New York, and Minnesota.

Mission

Our Vision…  Every community in Anne Arundel County is actively engaged to ensure clean waters.

Our Mission… To develop citizen leaders to foster community change for clean waters.