2026 Ann Jackson Steward of the Year

2026 Ann Jackson Steward of the Year: Paul Rickett

watershed steward

When Paul Rickett moved to South County over 25 years ago, he knew he couldn’t live here, surrounded by water, without taking an active role in caring for the environment. Since then, Paul has led and supported major community projects - from dredging and waterway cleanups to erosion control and shoreline restoration. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Broadwater Creek Coalition, a nonprofit advocating for clean water and shoreline restoration throughout South County. Paul has also been part of WSA since the very beginning, serving on our founding board and as our first Board Treasurer - and he’s continued to inspire us ever since.

Paul maintains the pollinator garden at Tracey’s Landing/Deale Elementary School, which many proudly claim is one of the best in the County. When the school reached out to WSA about a neglected pollinator garden, Paul stepped in and rebuilt it from the ground up. Community members shared milkweed, local gardening groups donated nearly 100 plants, and Paul continues to lovingly maintain the garden - yes, even pulling wire grass by hand.

He also took on a challenging two-year project to remove phragmites and stabilize an eroding shoreline in his community. Today, that once-struggling stretch is a healthy, stable shoreline filled with grasses, shrubs, and marsh mallow.

Paul was a key local contact in the Coastal Resiliency through Beneficial Use Project, a $4 million marsh restoration effort launching in 2026 that will restore 50 acres of marsh into bird sanctuary habitat. This past year, he has also been leading community meetings across the Deale-Shady Side Peninsula following the County’s Flood Risk Reduction Study, helping neighbors understand their options and prioritize projects. He’s worked closely with the Resilience Authority and the County to coordinate funding and resources - turning plans into action.

Paul’s passion shows up everywhere, especially at the Captain Avery Museum, where he serves on the board and helped shape a new strategic plan to grow the museum into a center for environmental education. He led major garden restorations there, planting and caring for hundreds of plants, and oversaw the construction of a new dock - one of the few public water access points in the area.

Paul’s leadership, heart, and tireless commitment have truly made him the go-to person in South County for climate resilience and environmental stewardship.

Replant Anne Arundel

Replant Anne Arundel was born in 2020 following a tree canopy study commissioned by the County to understand and reduce forest loss. The tree canopy study found a loss of 2,500 acres of forest in Anne Arundel County from 2013 to 2017 – the highest rate of loss among the urban counties in Maryland. Replant Anne Arundel is a partnership of Anne Arundel County, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Helena Foundation and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

Led by the Watershed Stewards Academy, Replant Anne Arundel helps local communities restore their lost tree canopy. So far, Replant has installed over 11,000 climate resilient native trees in projects from Linthicum to North Beach and engaged thousands of residents in tree planting and maintenance.

The cornerstone of the Replant Program is a dedicated volunteer corps called Tree Troopers, who are specially trained by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and WSA to design, install and maintain community tree projects. Over 100 active Tree Troopers have developed projects at churches, schools, libraries and residential communities throughout the County. Each tree installed by Tree Troopers comes from WSA’s Resilient Tree Species list, ensuring that it will thrive in the coming decades as our climate shifts. Most importantly, each tree will be monitored and maintained to ensure ongoing growth.

Tree Ambassadors

WSA is proud to partner with Defensores de la Cuenca (Watershed Defenders), a nonprofit dedicated to helping the Latino* community connect with the natural world through knowledge, shared experiences, and opportunities to preserve and defend the Chesapeake Bay watershed for a healthier mind, body and soul.

The partnership is designed to engage the Latino community by forming new connections, not only with residents but also with contractors who make their living working in urban gardens and rural gardens and farms.

Tree Ambassadors, members of Latino community, will be specially trained and equipped to design, install and maintain projects in their own communities. The program, including training and outreach materials, will be offered in Spanish and English.   

*WSA is using the term Latino, rather than Latinex as recommended by Abel Olivo, Executive Director of Defensores de la Cuenca.

DEIJ - Nature as a Healing Space

The environmental community everywhere in the United States has struggled to make protection of the planet the work of all people. WSA is doing just that. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice is more than a series of words for WSA and more than our vision and values statement – it’s baked into what we do.

It began in 2014 with our first Strategic Plan that included outreach and engagement of underserved communities throughout the County – from the urban north to the rural south. Last fall we partnered with the Anne Arundel County Public Library system on an Environmental Justice Panel that featured a distinguished panel and participation from attendees.

This year, WSA hired Terryl Acker-Carter as Community Engagement Specialist to build relationships in underserved communities and establish buy-in for tree planting and other projects. His goal is to bring Nature to all, regardless of background or financial capacity, in the firm belief that Nature heals. Terryl has helped design programs that touch not only on tree planting but also on sensory experiences for kids, helping them to connect with Nature.

"I want to make sure that communities are the center of the work that we do. Community voices should be elevated and at the forefront of the programs that we offer and develop,” he said. “As I work with congregations, schools, and other community hubs across the county, it is imperative to first listen to their environmental and educational needs and then collaboratively build programs and install projects to build more authentic relationships with those communities."

Mindfulness is at the core of the program Terryl has been delivering, especially to the littlest future environmentalists.

“I love working with people of all ages but working with the little kids has been a fun experience,” he said. “It’s amazing when a little one sees a pinecone for the first time or stops to smell the aroma of certain plants. I know we’re reached them when a smile stretches across their faces, and they can't contain their excitement! That one experience can influence their lives in ways they can’t even imagine now.”