People prioritize personal maintenance. From haircuts to healthy diets, we take everyday actions to take care of our well-being. People also rely on a healthy environment. To protect these vital natural resources, we also must prioritize the maintenance of restoration and conservation projects that will keep our waters clean, spaces green, and communities healthy.
Thanks to a Chesapeake Bay Trust award funded by the City of Annapolis through the Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay hosted two events at Masjid Al-Ansar, a mosque located in the City, to pilot a new community maintenance program.
The pilot program within the City of Annapolis will provide property owners with one-time financial assistance to perform maintenance on City stormwater projects. In exchange, the property owners attend a training that will equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to sustain their projects moving forward.
At Masjid Al-Ansar, mosque leadership and congregants gathered to learn about maintenance practices for a bioretention garden and rain barrels that treat and capture stormwater on site. In addition to learning practical maintenance skills, the workshop allowed attendees to explore the intersection of faith and environmental stewardship.
Masjid Al-Ansar and the Islamic Society of Annapolis welcomed all attendees and partners with inspiring words about the relationship between Islam and nature, displaying how environmental restoration and protection requires community collaboration.
“To see such a well-attended multi-generational event focused on stormwater practice maintenance was a highly rewarding experience for us at City of Annapolis Public Works,” said Jasmine Wilding, PE, MPH, Stormwater Engineer at the Department of Public Works. “This was a great pilot maintenance project for our partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust through the Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration grant program, which will be featuring a new stormwater maintenance track this year. While environmental features that treat stormwater run-off are required for construction projects, often the property owners are not well-informed about how to maintain them over the long term. The City hopes to foster positive community partnerships like this one to close the knowledge gap.”
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (Alliance) recognizes the need for programs like this that ensure maintenance is a forethought and engages communities to be active partners in this work.
“Maintenance is critical to the functionality and success of stormwater projects, which help keep our local streams and rivers healthy,” shared David Lanier, Green Infrastructure Projects Coordinator with the Alliance. “This new maintenance program will educate and empower Annapolitans to properly maintain their stormwater projects in the long run.”
To accomplish the maintenance and community training, “the Alliance partnered with Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) and the Maryland Reentry Resource Center (MRRC) at Masjid Al-Ansar, where a bioretention practice and several rain barrels were in need of repair and replanting,” David explained. “CCLC coordinated the restoration effort, utilizing MRRC to complete the maintenance work on the bioretention, helping to strengthen the local “green” workforce. CCLC also used their education and training expertise to lead a dual workshop event that included a live demonstration of rain barrel maintenance.”
The training event was well attended by around 20 congregants of all ages. CCLC ensured it was accessible and fun, empowering communities with the education and personal motivation to want to own the maintenance moving forward.
“Explaining the purpose of these stormwater practices in an interactive format really helps foster a sense of purpose and pride for the community members responsible for maintaining them,” explained Jason Swope, CBLP Coordinator with the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Program. “The workshop included time for participants to learn about plants in their bioretention practice, including a fun exercise like ‘Stormwater Bingo’ that helped both children and adults connect with their stormwater practices and understand why they are important. By combining fun learning with informational talks, we are able to foster a partnership between the community and the City. Through the planning process, replanting of the bioretention garden, and the workshop, I learned a lot about the generosity to others and the care that the Muslim community has for the environment and for maintaining stormwater practices like the bioretention garden and rain barrels at the mosque.”
Under direction from CCLC, a crew from the Maryland Reentry Resource Center completed the maintenance work at the mosque.
“At Masjid Al-Ansar, the crew took deep pride in their work. They worked hard to ensure the bioretention cell was back up and running, filtering pollutants out of the stormwater it collects,” shared Devin Landry, a Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps member working with the Maryland Reentry Resource Center. “Throughout the day, we received visitors who became great helpers in our mission to restore this site.”
This pilot program emphasizes the power of collaboration and partnership to protect our environment and communities.
“It is exciting to see multiple organizations come together to support this maintenance effort,” exclaimed Megan Andreasen, Senior Program Officer at the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “Regular maintenance of best management practices (BMPs) optimizes their performance in managing stormwater runoff. The Bay Trust looks forward to expanding maintenance of these City practices in the near future.”
“Stormwater management is the intersection of environmental stewardship and community,” added Devin. “There are so many ways we manage stormwater. Whether we do it through tree plantings or rain gardens, or even large-scale stream restorations. When installed and maintained, each of these projects gives a community a sense of pride and allows us to form deeper connections with each other and the world around us.”
To learn more about the Anne Arundel Watershed Restoration Grant Program, click here: https://cbtrust.org/grants/anne-arundel-county-watershed-restoration/
