Since 2003 Blue Water Baltimore has enjoyed hosting a team from Baltimore City’s YouthWorks program. In 2013 we trained and employed eight high school students for six weeks, teaching them the skills to maintain Baltimore’s urban forest. The trainees worked with our staff and volunteers to survey 33 sites. After identifying maintenance priorities, them teams…
After a wonderful year and a half as the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper at Blue Water Baltimore, and five years in the Baltimore area, I have decided to move to California in September to “test other waters.” This is a bittersweet farewell for me, as I have grown extremely fond of the Baltimore area, the amazing…
Today Blue Water Baltimore is taking a critical step forward to address the millions of gallons of untreated sewage that flow into Baltimore’s waterways annually by asking the Federal District Court in Baltimore to allow us to intervene in a lawsuit against the City of Baltimore. This lawsuit was settled by a consent decree in…
[Note: guest post from T.J. Mullen, chairman of the board of directors at Blue Water Baltimore] Lately there’s been a lot of buzz about women business leaders, and how we need more of them. At Blue Water Baltimore, we’re fortunate to have one such leader at our helm. On July 10th I was very pleased…
[Note: This week we are joining author Jennifer Chambers, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and the Alice Ferguson Foundation in a blog tour to celebrate children as watershed heroes, which is the subject of her new book aimed at young people.] At Blue Water Baltimore, we know that the health of our communities is inextricably linked…
If you live in Baltimore, hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) in Maryland might seem like someone else’s problem. After all, it’s not very likely that we’ll see fracking in Patterson Park. Yet, Blue Water Baltimore is taking a strong stance that we need a ban on fracking in Maryland. And we think you should too. Why?…
Starting this summer, Baltimore City and the nine largest counties in the state – including Baltimore County – must begin assessing fees on property owners based on the amount of stormwater pollution each property produces. Because stormwater from urban & suburban areas is the fastest growing source of pollution entering local streams, the Harbor, and…
When Blue Water Baltimore formed in 2010, it was through the merger of five watershed groups protecting all four of Baltimore’s watersheds. Jones Falls Watershed Association, Herring Run Watershed Association, Gywnns Falls Watershed Association, Baltimore Harbor Watershed Association, and Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper came together to create the powerful and effective organization we have become. By…
[Note: Amy Dewan is the Americorps Storm Drain Arts Coordinator for Blue Water Baltimore. She is an environmental justice organizer, educator, and artist from Baltimore, MD.] With a mere week left in my AmeriCorps term here at Blue Water Baltimore, I feel as if my three-month term has flown by. We just launched the Storm…
Stormwater is the single greatest source of water pollution in modern cities like Baltimore, and in this year’s Baltimore City election you can do something to remedy it. Voting “Yes” on Referendum Question J to create a new stormwater utility in Baltimore will make it much easier for us work together and clean up our…