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BALTIMORE – More financial support for on the ground environmental restoration programs is on the way to Maryland counties that surround Chesapeake Bay.
The Chesapeake Bay Trust has announced that grants are available.
Jana Davis, the group’s executive director, says the money will go to support water quality restoration, and community engagement projects that aim to increase resident awareness of watershed issues, and to encourage people to get involved in preserving their community's natural resources.
Davis says water quality in the Bay is improving, and there's a need to keep up that momentum.
"We are right at the point where we're starting to see water quality improvement,” she states. “There are a lot of report cards that grade rivers and streams and watersheds, and they're all showing improvements over previous years."
The Chesapeake Bay Trust says grants have been awarded in Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Howard counties. Prince George’s County also is benefiting from the Stormwater Stewardship Grant Program.
Sadie Drescher, the Trust’s director of programs for restoration, says people who live in the communities surrounding the bay can help make sure the water flowing into it is clean for generations to come.
"The nonprofit, like the faith-based organization or the community organization, can come in for a grant to build up their capacity, and to get engaged in designing out a stormwater management practice to improve water quality, and then see the benefit right there on their own property, where maybe they had a problem before," she points out.
Projects being funded include building buffer zones and rain gardens, creating green space in communities, and planting native trees and shrubs.
