RiverWise Congregations
The RiverWise Congregations Program provides technical, faith-based assistance to help Houses of Worship care for God’s Creation. In 2014, through a partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake (IPC), WSA engaged 24 congregations, training 30 Master Watershed Stewards and 70 Congregational Stewards to work with faith communities across Anne Arundel County. Funding from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources made it possible for these congregations to receive projects on their grounds that have helped fight the damaging effects of stormwater runoff.
In 2019, a large grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation made it possible for WSA to continue supporting and growing our RiverWise family through the One Water Partnership. The first iteration of the One Water Partnership ran from 2019 to 2021; by late-2021, funding had been secured for an additional three-year cycle. From 2022 to 2024, we will continue working with Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake and Interfaith Power and Light to engage congregations in Anne Arundel County.
Watershed Stewards at our RiverWise Congregations have created and led environmental ministries to educate their faith communities about ways they can reduce pollution where they live and worship. Through the work of these dedicated leaders, thousands of Anne Arundel County residents, many of whom have not traditionally been engaged to participate in watershed restoration efforts, are now serving as Stewards fpr their congregations, and helping others embrace an ethic of Creation Care.
If your congregation is interested in having a faith-based Watershed Steward, please contact Suzanne Etgen suzanne@aawsa.org or Noelle Chao noelle@aawsa.org.
“When the Empowering Believers Church began partnering with WSA, I shared with them we were new kids on the block. The church continues to get help from WSA to sustain our garden and to help empower and educate our congregation on how we can continue to heal our earth by caring for our environment. ”
“Engaging our congregation in the care of creation has sparked a feeling of excitement in our youth as they cared for the rain gardens placed around our church.”
BEFORE
AFTER
"My WSA journey led me to take action to restore and protect the tree canopy through removal of invasives and planting of native plants…Many trees had been killed by the strangling vines of English ivy and oriental bittersweet, with the remaining trees at risk of death. As I faced wall after wall of invasive species, the project seemed impossible but my WSA experience made it doable. Over 170 volunteers attacked the invasive vegetation, following the buffer management plan prepared by Jodie Shivery and approved for permitting in the Critical Area by the City of Annapolis. After six volunteer work days, a planting day was held on November 7 with 200 native trees and shrubs planted."
– Sandie Kirkland, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church