[Note: Lisa DeGuire is the 2012-2013 Chesapeake Conservation Corps member for Blue Water Baltimore. She assists with greening projects, environmental education, and the Clean Water Community Initiative.] Today, the Clean Water Act turns 40! Although I wasn’t yet born when the Clean Water Act was enacted, I have been reaping the benefits my entire life….
As a staff member who spends most of her time in front of a computer and out in the field assessing homes for runoff reduction opportunities yesterday was an exciting change of pace and more than a little bit rewarding. I’ve spent the past three years working for Blue Water Baltimore (and the Jones Falls…
This month I had the honor of participating in one of the most inspiring events I’ve experienced since I started my position as Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper: the public hearing on the draft Baltimore City stormwater (aka MS4) permit. You might be wondering what the heck is so inspiring about a pollution permit hearing? I’ll tell…
The past two years, the bands, roadies, and event staff of the Vans Warped Tour have taken a day off from head-banging and face-melting to help Blue Water Baltimore in our efforts to save our streams. It was hard to top 2011’s project, where we converted more than 30,000 square feet of asphalt in Hampden into an outdoor…
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, and in celebration the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper and Blue Water Baltimore are joining the Waterkeeper Alliance in promoting clean, swimmable waters. The Waterkeeper Alliance has designated today, July 26th, as “Swimmable Action Day.” Few cities depend on water more than Baltimore does, and we are committed…
Stewards of streams and rivers in highly developed areas like Baltimore inevitably spend more of their energy on restoration than on conservation. We often feel this dynamic at Blue Water Baltimore. Occasionally, though, a true conservation opportunity arises and recently one has: preserving Dipping Pond Run. Dipping Pond Run is an intact stream system and…
This week, Blue Water Baltimore is celebrating National Pollinator Week. Pollinating animals are critical to a healthy ecosystem as well as to urban gardens and farms, so having an excuse to call attention to these vital critters is a welcome one. Did you know that 75% of all flowering plants rely on animal pollinators? Or…
In the United States we are blessed to have tremendous protections afforded to us by the Clean Water Act and other Federal and state environmental laws. Citizens of other nations lack the most basic legal protection preventing sewage or untreated industrial waste from contaminating their drinking water and natural resources. However, great legal protections do…
In 2012, for the first time ever, Herring Run Nursery was a vendor at the 25th annual Baltimore Herb Festival. We grow and sell native plants primarily for their wildlife value and pollution reduction merits, but it turns out that many native plants are edible or medicinal to humans as well. I’ve posted a short article on…
Note: BWB staff member Brian Dawkins is an Americorps Public Ally who performs site visits, installations, and outreach for our Water Audit program. On Friday, April 27th, Blue Water Baltimore teamed up with Eastwood Elementary Magnet School for their 5th Annual Environmental Fair. As BWB’s representative at the fair, I was asked to speak to…