2025 Ann Jackson Steward of the Year

2025 Ann Jackson Steward of the Year: Gary Gakenheimer

HOA President & watershed steward

As both a Watershed Steward and the President of his HOA, Gary serves an important role connecting his community to environmental restoration initiatives.

His steady leadership and dedication have been the driving force behind a massive, multi-phase shoreline restoration project in his community, Chestnut Hill Cove in Pasadena.

Gary first became involved in 2018 when BGE identified his community’s shoreline as the ideal site for a tidal wetland mitigation project to offset the environmental impact of installation towers from the Key Crossing Construction project. The site, which had suffered from severe erosion and slope failures, is now home to over 20,000 square feet of new tidal wetlands with more than 17,000 native plants. Invasive Phragmites have been replaced by native marsh grasses, and the restored area is now thriving with fish and wildlife.

But Gary’s commitment didn’t stop there. As the initial project neared completion, he was approached again—this time by Ken Penysl, who wanted to address a major erosion issue caused by new buildings along Solley Road. The area had eroded 10 feet down, posing a serious threat to the main sewer lines. This led to Phase 2, an emergency project completed between December 2021 and January 2022.

Still, Gary’s work wasn’t done. A severely eroded tributary stream needed restoration to prevent sediment from overwhelming the newly created wetland. Now in the final planning stages, this last phase of the project is set for completion this year.

Despite his remarkable efforts, Gary humbly credits his success to being "in the right place at the right time" and acknowledges WSA’s role in bringing together experts, funders, grants, and community leaders to make these projects possible.

Gary Gakenheimer exemplifies the profound impact a Watershed Steward can have—surpassing even the boldest expectations when WSA first began. Since becoming a Steward just five years ago, his leadership has driven a multi-million-dollar restoration project, funded by partners including CBT, DNR, NFWF, and BGE, significantly improving local waterways while enhancing the beauty and biodiversity of his community.

Beyond this monumental project, Gary serves on the Cox Creek Citizens Oversight Committee, overseeing the implementation of the Cox Creek Dredged Material Containment Facility in Anne Arundel County, MD. He is also a dedicated Steward, always ready to step up when WSA needs a representative in North County or when fellow Stewards seek guidance and support.

Join us at the 15th Annual Conference to celebrate Gary’s achievements and forge your own connections—you never know where they might lead!

2025 Consortium Member of the Year

2025 Consortium Member of the Year Honoree: Matt Pruett

horticulturalist, quiet waters park

WSA is thrilled to honor Matt Pruett, Horticulturalist for Anne Arundel County Rec and Parks, and Class 15 Watershed Steward, as the 2025 Consortium Member of the Year.  

WSA’s Consortium of Support Professionals  expand the impact of WSA programs by providing expertise and guidance to Stewards as they think through and implement projects throughout Anne Arundel County. They contribute their time and knowledge to help set Stewards up for success. 

As the Horticulturalist for Quiet Waters Park, Matt helps reimagine the landscape at one of the county’s most popular parks. Over 1 million people visit Quiet Waters Park each year, and each one of them gets to see the fruits of Matt’s labor through the beautifully redesigned landscaped areas. Once barren plots of turf have been transformed with lush plantings of native plants that not only add vibrant beauty and color to the park but also support wildlife and reduce the parks maintenance costs. Thanks to Matt, slowly but surely, Quiet Waters Park is using more natives to enhance the park for people and nature.

As a member of WSA’s Watershed Steward Class 15, Matt consistently contributed tips and tricks to the field sessions such as teaching how to magically turn one plant into 6 plants through dividing perennials, to helping other Stewards with proper tool use and planting techniques. For his capstone project, Matt led a “Don’t Bug the Bugs” Program to introduce elementary school aged kids to the fascinating world of insects to help them understand and appreciate the important role bugs play in our environment.

In addition, Matt has served as a Steward Mentor for Class 16, helping to guide five capstone project teams through their project at Quiet Waters Park. Projects ranged from native plantings in container gardens that greet and educate park visitors, to a facelift to the entrance of the park, to a floating wetland project. The WSA staff were continually impressed with Matt’s level of professional support, guidance, and enthusiasm for the Steward projects that we knew Matt would make a great addition to WSA’s List of Consortium members. We are excited that Matt has agreed to stay involved as a Steward mentor for Class 17. 

Clearly Matt has had a lasting impact on our Stewards, and that is why they voted him Consortium Member of the year! Congratulations, Matt and Thank you for all you’ve done for WSA and our Stewards!

Latin for Gardeners: February 2025

Latin for Gardeners
February’s Native Maryland Plant

Sanguinaria canadensis L.
(san-gwin-AR-ee-uh ka-na-DEN-sis)
Common Name: Bloodroot, Puccoon, Red Puccoon

During this last month of winter, the winds blow cold. I remain patient and look for any hint of spring – any sign of renewed life. One of the plants I eagerly await is Sanguinaria canadensis, a graceful ephemeral that will be easy to recognize – its pure white petals will stand out against the blackness of the forest where it grows.

I admire the behavior of this plant; early on it appears as if it’s giving itself a warm embrace – slowly releasing its hold as the ground warms. During long winter days, or during challenging times, an embrace can make all the difference.

The Bloodroot flower will bloom for just a few days, bringing light to an otherwise dark woodland. If after a few days the flower is unable to attract a pollinator, the stamen will lean in, reaching to transfer pollen from the anthers to the stigma and will self-pollinate, a process known as autogamy (1). The flower produces pollen, no nectar; it feeds early bees while its toxic sap makes it unpalatable to herbivores.

Bloodroot exhibits another interesting behavior: nyctinasty (2); a type of plant movement whereby the petals close due to nightly changes in light intensity or temperature – times when pollinators are less active. Visiting the flowers early on a cool morning you can observe these movements, which are quite mesmerizing, they can provide a much-needed feeling of hope.

“Where there’s life there’s hope,”

— J.R.R. Tolkien

(1) the process by which a flower’s own pollen fertilizes its own ovules.

(2) the circadian rhythm-based nastic movement of higher plants in response to the onset of darkness.

Alison Milligan – MG/MN 2013
Watershed Steward Class 7/Anne Arundel Tree Trooper
Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)
aligmilligan@gmail.com

Sugg-Jeff-Tion: January 2025

Snow better time than now…

Finally, Anne Arundel County received our first big snowstorm in what seems like forever. It was a treat to see the landscape covered in a white carpet of fresh snow, snow covered branches, and birds enjoying the many seedheads still standing high after the storm. It’s hard to believe spring is right around the corner and if you are like me, you miss being outside each day getting your hands dirty.

There are plenty of things you can do on warm(er) winter days to prepare your landscape and get a jump on the spring tasks. See below for a list of things you can do NOW so you can get a jumpstart on spring!

1. Winter Invasive Plant Control: Winter is a great time to focus on removing invasive species from your garden or project area. Many invasive vines such as English ivy (Hedera helix), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) are easily recognizable and easier to get to in the winter. Other invasives like vinca (Vinca major), wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), and Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolate) are still green and can be pulled this time of year before they take off in the spring. Just remember to get the roots!

2. Sowing Native Seeds: Growing native plants from seed can be a long process but is very rewarding. Many species are easily grown from seed. However, some require cold stratification (preparing the seed for germination). You can purchase native seed online or collect seeds from your own yard. There are many techniques such as the “milk jug method” which has become very popular. To learn more about growing plants from seed using this technique, check out Yale’s Milk Jug Wildflower Propagation Guide or join our RePollinate Anne Arundel team for a Winter Sowing Demonstration Workshop at the USGS Bee Lab on January 18th from 10:00AM- 2:00PM.

3. Prune Broken Branches: Winter is a great time to prune your trees and shrubs as needed to remove dead, diseased, and broken branches. Just remember that pruning certain species now can impact blooms and fruits for this coming year, so feel free to check out my post from last spring to make sure you don’t do more damage than good.

So, take some time this winter to do some of the busy work listed above to get a jumpstart on spring. That way when spring rolls around, you can focus on all the fun things like planting all 100 of your newly germinated native seedlings.

Just a sugg-Jeff-tion!