Eight attempts at a Baltimore plastic bag ban have come and gone since 2006. Today, nine times proved to be the charm. This morning, Mayor Jack Young signed the Comprehensive Bag Reduction Bill into law. The signing drew dozens of advocates, city officials, press, and community members together. In Baltimore, plastic bags are everywhere. They…
I was grateful to see front page coverage of a critical and growing issue in Baltimore — how we effectively deal with urban stormwater (“As Maryland pours millions of dollars into its ailing streams, research shows some projects don’t help clean Chesapeake Bay,” Jan 2). As we enter a new decade, we must think more holistically…
Over the past weekend, thousands of people have taken to Twitter to showcase why #WeAreBaltimore and #WeLoveBaltimore. Residents from all walks of life are sharing positive stories about their lives in Charm City. The outpour of pride and love for Baltimore has taken the world by storm. From world-class seafood to Edgar Allen Poe, there…
Blue Water Baltimore’s Outreach & Education Coordinator, Michel Anderson, accompanied students on a local watershed tour of the Jones Falls. Read about the experience from the perspective of one of the Bridges at Gilman School program leaders, Ned Harris, and one of his students. The Tour On the morning of Thursday, July 21, 2016 more…
The Jones Falls Stream Restoration project is a stream channel realignment project designed to restore natural stream conditions to a degraded section of the Jones Falls. This is Blue Water Baltimore’s first stream restoration project, signifying a new level of restoration and expertise needed to implement large scale projects. As with any large-scale project, this…
Rennie Watson, teacher extraordinaire, shares with us the inspiration and drive to work with Blue Water Baltimore and depave 7,000 square feet of parking in Canton to create a community garden. Rennie Watson has always had her students digging in environmental science. She is not only a science teacher in Baltimore but also an environmental…
Recently our Water Quality Monitoring program teamed up with Dr. Robert Hilderbrand, Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, to look at another dimension of water health in the Jones Falls stream. Here, Dr. Hilderbrand talks about the microscopic organisms that make the Jones Falls unique. Stream Microbiomes Our…
[Note: This guest blog post was written by Liam O’Meara, General Manager at Environmental Quality Resources (EQR). EQR is one of Blue Water Baltimore’s partners in implementing stormwater projects.] We’ve all heard plenty about Maryland’s stormwater program and the ever-present stormwater fee debate. As the rhetoric heats up this legislative season I want to bring a…
Reporting Pollution Can Make a Difference Irene Smith, a mother of three and a constant force for good in Herring Run Park, takes a moment to talk about one of her passions and how she got involved with Blue Water Baltimore. She believes that by reporting pollution you can make a difference to help achieve clean…
[Note: Yuan Hao Wong, author of this guest post, is interning with Blue Water Baltimore this summer. Here is his story.] Hi everyone! I am Yuan Hao Wong an undergraduate majoring in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. I am elated to be interning at Blue Water Baltimore for the next two months with my…