Chesapeake Bay G3 Green Infrastructure Projects

The Chesapeake Bay Trust, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and Prince George’s County Department of the Environment has announced over $1.3 million in funding for 33 projects across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia as part of the Chesapeake Bay Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) Grant Program.

The awards help communities develop and implement plans that reduce stormwater runoff; increase the number of green spaces in urban areas; improve the health of local rivers, streams, the Chesapeake Bay, and the human populations within the communities; create “green jobs;” reduce energy use; and enhance livability in cities and communities.

The G3 Initiative was started in 2011. Initially led by water experts at the EPA, it has grown exponentially and expanded into the program it is today. Over 300 projects have received funding with over $17.7 million invested into the greening of communities.

Studies have shown the extensive impact of green communities, ranging from financial to health. Benefits for residents with access to green spaces include decreased stress, improved health and well-being, reduced energy costs, and cleaner air and water.

The 33 awards range in size and scope, from community engagement and education to on-the-ground projects to reduce stormwater runoff, build green spaces, improve climate resiliency, address food insecurity, and more. The Chesapeake Bay Trust will manage these awards, delivering resources back to communities with the support and expertise needed to ensure each project achieves its intended goals.

 

Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) Grant Program 2024 Awardees

Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay: Richmond, Virginia – $175,000 – For the construction of green infrastructure practices associated with athletic and recreational improvements in Blackwell Park to improve stormwater footprint. The park will also create wildlife habitat and reduce heat island impacts while improving Blackwell’s climate resiliency. This will be the first project of its kind in the Richmond area and serve as a showcase for how green infrastructure can improve athletic amenities.

EcoLatinos, Inc: Landover Hills, Maryland – $100,616 – For a bioretention system to address stormwater runoff at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church playground. The project will build a comprehensive stormwater best management practice consisting of a bioswale and underdrain system.

St. James Development Corporation: Central Baltimore City, Maryland – $85,800 – For the construction of the Rev. Donald O. Wilson Park to provide a place for respite, relief from the urban heat island effect and airborne particulate matter, and enjoyment for families and individuals.

Anacostia Watershed Society: District of Columbia – $54,957 – For a set of Green Infrastructure Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address community stormwater and flooding at the Historic Congressional Cemetery. The funding will support a community design charrette and engineer the community’s plan into a constructible design.

UPC Westside CDC: Central Baltimore City, Maryland – $50,000 – To refurbish 16 garden plots and create 20 new raised planting beds using environmentally friendly and sustainable design principles at the Upton Gardens of Hope, one of the oldest community gardens in Baltimore City.

Virginia Community Voice: South Richmond, Virginia – $50,000 – For maintenance of the Oak Grove Community gardens and to enhance the space with trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants; provide green jobs to local neighbors; plant and harvest food from the gardens; and start a new composting program. The project will also educate local residents on the benefits of urban agriculture and engage them in the new composting program. This project will build cohesion and neighborhood pride, reduce stormwater runoff to the Chesapeake Bay, and make South Richmond more resilient to climate change.

The Friends of the Grape dba Chesapeake Culinary Center: Eastern Shore, Maryland – $50,000 – For the design and planting at the historic Caroline Schoolhouse building to transform the old school play yard into a community oasis with native and edible plants, tree canopy, and multi-use event space.

Anacostia Watershed Society: Cheverly, Maryland – $49,767 – To gather community voices to design and construct a natural space at an abandoned parcel that reflects the needs of its neighbors. With community and volunteer support, the build will result in a green oasis that fosters ecological, mental, and recreational health.

Intersection Of Change Maryland: Central Baltimore City, Maryland – $49,161 – To plant trees and ground cover to mitigate stormwater runoff and soil erosion on the western edge of the Strength to Love II (S2L2) urban farm that provides workforce development and serves citizens returning to the community from incarceration.

Corporation of Shepherdstown: Shepherdstown, West Virginia – $46,800 – For green infrastructure improvements for two critical project areas, Fairfax Field and North Mill Street. The project will address heavy flooding that has overwhelmed the Corporation of Shepherdstown’s historic and exhausted stormwater infrastructure in recent years.

Antietam Creek Watershed Alliance (ACWA): Western Washington, Maryland – $39,948 – To equip a Hagerstown Community College parking lot to serve as a large educational demonstration project on various conservation planting designs, mulching, and deer protection techniques. Chesapeake Bay Landscaping Professional Crew Training will be offered as a professional development opportunity for local groundskeepers, regional municipal public works crews and others interested in stormwater best management practices.

St Agnes Catholic Church: Shepherdstown, West Virginia – $39,850 – For the design of green infrastructure improvements on the campus of St. Agnes Parish in Shepherdstown, WV. Four projects will be designed: redirection of church roof drains, reconfiguration of the main storm pond outlet, reconfiguration of the upstream detention pond, and reconfiguration of main stormwater pond.

One Annapolis Inc: Annapolis, Maryland – $39,297 – To expand an existing community garden as a native conservation landscape. The project will offer recreational activities that build social capital, offer opportunities to grow healthy food, develop microbusinesses, and develop a sustainable landscape in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay: Richmond, Virginia – $35,000 – For an outdoor, accessible trail at Amelia Street School in Richmond, VA. The project will address stormwater runoff to improve water quality in the James River.

Islamic Society of Baltimore: Baltimore County, Maryland – $35,000 – To mitigate stormwater runoff by using bioswales, cisterns, removal of impervious surfaces, and tree plantings. The project will prepare a Landscaping Plan to provide a harmonious and efficient arrangement of various improvements around the property and reduce untreated stormwater runoff from entering the Gwynns Falls River and Chesapeake Bay.

City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lancaster, Pennsylvania – $35,000 – For the design of a Green Infrastructure best management practice along W Fulton St. The goal is to reduce stormwater runoff and sewer overflow.

Greater Mount Holly Community Development Corporation (GMHCDC): Baltimore City, Maryland – $35,000 – To build an equitable and resilient community by improving two vacant lots in the neighborhood. The transformed lots will promote community capacity while furthering the missions of Greater Mount Holly Community Development Corporation (GMHCDC) and Blue Water Baltimore to restore the quality of Baltimore’s rivers, streams, and harbor to foster a healthy environment, a strong economy, and thriving communities.

Nanticoke Watershed Alliance: Delaware – $35,000 – The Nanticoke Watershed Alliance in partnership with the City of Seaford and Seaford’s Business District will evaluate High Street’s parking and landscaped areas to determine where stormwater best management practices can be incorporated. The project will reduce stormwater runoff pollution, improve pollinator habitat, decrease the heat island affect and improve property values in an underserved community.

Columbia Association: Columbia, Maryland – $35,000 – For a walkable pollinator and rain garden at Lake Elkhorn in Columbia, MD. The garden will allow visitors to meander and appreciate native gardens while also addressing stormwater runoff from the nearby parking lot. The garden will also have educational signage about the garden’s benefits and how to replicate these techniques at home.

Hampshire County Commission: Romney, West Virginia – $35,000 – To replace two paved parking lots and an alleyway with green infrastructure (permeable pavers) to reduce storm water runoff. The project will improve a high traffic and high-impact visibility area.

Canaan Valley Institute: Berkeley County, West Virginia – $31,154 – To engage local bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) communities in a plan to improve water quality and reduce nutrient and sediment loads. The project will identify new potential program partners and engage bilingual resources to assist city and county governments in Bay Restoration outreach and engagement efforts, establish local area planning goals, and support jurisdictional planning efforts.

Claymont Society for Continuous Education: Charles Town, West Virginia – $30,713 – To establish ecological landscaping around entrances and parking lots to help Claymont improve its appearance to visitors and implement stormwater best management practices. The project will also improve walking trails for community access including invasive species removal, native plantings, installing a small footbridge over a stream, and creating two community gathering areas at key points along the trail.

St Agnes Catholic Church: Shepherdstown, West Virginia – $26,390 – For a second project to turn the current landscape into an eco-friendly, community environment by expanding the tree canopy, adding pollinator and native plants, and expanding the community garden. This project will also help alleviate the stormwater runoff.

Land and Cultural Preservation Fund, Inc: Frederick, Maryland – $22,077 – For a native plant installation along Carroll Creek in Baker Park of Downtown Frederick. This project will educate volunteers on native plant material.

ReBUILD Metro, Inc. (f/k/a TRF Development Partners, Inc.): Baltimore, Maryland – $20,000 – To convert a one-mile series of vacant lots, open land, and streets and sidewalks in East Baltimore into a sustainable, productive, and community-stewarded linear park. The project will incorporate and connect existing urban farms and other green community infrastructure with new stormwater management features, green pathways, and other green amenities.

Potomac Valley Audubon Society: Jefferson County, West Virginia – $20,000 – To produce a site-wide concept plan for green infrastructure projects for the visitor services at Cool Spring Preserve. The plan will include an expanded parking area utilizing permeable pavers with a green stormwater system, a solar-powered electric charging station, composting toilets, and stabilization of the trail system. The project will influence further implementation of green infrastructure in the community.

Dreaming Out Loud Inc.: District of Columbia – $20,000 – To renovate an abandoned building into an innovative Food Hub, vibrant Grocery Store, transformative food incubator, and community Cafe. The project will provide multiple entry points for local residents to connect to economic opportunities within the food system while granting access to fresh produce and healthy food. It will simultaneously work to mitigate the effects of the heat island effect and fight climate change which disproportionally affects Ward 8.

Morgan State University: Prince George’s County, Maryland – $19,918 – For a white paper to explore strategies for green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) delivery and maintenance, focusing on the Community Based Public Private Partnership model employed by the Clean Water Partnership in Prince George’s County, MD. The white paper will offer insights into the unique structure and management mechanisms of the model. This project will also foster social and economic co-benefits, particularly in municipalities with minority populations.

ShoreRivers: Rock Hall, Maryland – $19,291 – To support the development for two community parks and Rock Hall Elementary School that identify stormwater projects and green infrastructure opportunities to improve water quality and address flooding associated with stormwater and tidal surge.

Blue Ridge Community and Technical College: West Virginia – $14,995 – To integrate the Chesapeake Bay Landscaping Professional Level 1 Curriculum into a semester-long course offered through the Environmental Science Technician program. “CBLP at BRCTC” will expand job training for existing professionals and green job workforce development students. Participants who complete the course will obtain a CBLP Level 1 Certificate and increase overall knowledge of green infrastructure while acquiring the skills necessary to increase green career opportunities in underserved communities of West Virginia.

Mount Saint Joseph High School: Baltimore, Maryland – $9,571 – For the installation of 2 pollinator gardens along the lower road of the high school to enhance the biodiversity and ecosystem services within the local environment. The project will create a biodiverse ecosystem that not only supports wildlife but also serves as an educational and inspirational resource for the campus community.

City of Crisfield: Eastern Shore, Maryland – For technical assistance only – To plan a Watermen’s Park near the heart of town by the City Dock. This area is currently a parking lot in poor condition which is frequently used for outdoor events and gatherings. The planning will convert the parking lot to pervious or green surface and will include other aspects of green infrastructure to be identified during planning.

Town of Brentwood: Brentwood, Maryland – For technical assistance only – To support a town charrette to facilitate community ideation for green infrastructure practices that will protect the watershed and help increase social capital, climate resilience, equity in access to green space, health and safety, and native habitat improvement.

source: Chesapeake Bay Trust