May/June 2014
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The Port of Baltimore
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19
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Action Taken to Keep
Communities Clean
A
s part of a Small Watershed Action Plan, residents of
two communities near the Port of Baltimore have joined
with the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) and other
groups to make sure their neighborhoods stay clean.
The overall goal of the plan, which was created when the
National Aquarium in Baltimore was able to secure grant
funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and
Chesapeake Bay Trust, is to help Brooklyn and Curtis Bay
residents identify and assess environmental hazards in their
communities.
State officials hope to recruit even more citizens to help
clean up areas of illegal dumping and trash that filters into
watersheds around the Masonville Cove Nature Area and
into the Patapsco River. Masonville Cove is a $153 million
environmental restoration project that has turned one of the
Baltimore Harbor’s most contaminated sites into an area that
benefits wildlife, local residents and the Port community. The
area includes an 11-acre parcel of land that has been replanted
with native trees, shrubs and wetland plants. It also features
walking trails, fishing from a designated pier and a vantage
point for bird watching.
“Masonville Cove and the Small Watershed Action Plan are
a model for what we can accomplish by working together in
a community-based effort to build a better, more sustainable
future for Maryland,” said Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown,
who helped spearhead the effort. “All of our communities play
a role in protecting our environment, and as we look to the
future, we must strengthen our commitment to environmental
justice for our most vulnerable populations in cities and towns
throughout Maryland.”
A multi-agency, statewide “Smart, Green & Growing” initiative
is helping Maryland achieve a more sustainable future by
linking community revitalization, transportation improvements,
economic development, smart growth and environmental
restoration efforts. The Masonville Cove Environmental Education
Center brings together many of the goals of this key initiative into
one project.
At a Small Watershed Action Plan kick-off event in Brooklyn
and Curtis Bay, experts from the National Aquarium and Center
for Watershed Protection taught community members and
students from Benjamin Franklin High School how to conduct
a thorough neighborhood assessment. They were trained
to identify and document hot spots related to trash, illegal
dumping, illegal discharges and water flow.
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