Gunpowder Valley Conservancy

THAT DAM JAM! October 2nd 10am -2pm - BE THERE OR BE DAMMED!

Baltimore City and County announce Dam Jam 2011!
 
Baltimore City and County remind everyone that Dam Jam 2011, a festival celebrating the region’s shared drinking water reservoirs, is shaping up to be the family fun event of the fall.
Dam Jam 2011 will be a chance for residents across the region to learn about and enjoy our shared park and water reservoir lands.

The event will be held outdoors on Sunday, October 2 at the Willow Grove Nature Center at Cromwell Valley Park in Towson. The park is located at 2175 Cromwell Bridge Road. The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will include live music, artists, historical re-enactors and displays, wildlife exhibits, photo workshops, and food vendors including the Charcoal Deli. The event also offers a unique opportunity to tour the Loch Raven Dam and see its inner workings. County Executive Kamenetz and Mayor Rawlings-Blake will speak at 10:30 a.m.

“In the Baltimore region, we are fortunate to have one of the best-protected drinking water supplies in the nation because we work together to ensure that reservoir lands are protected,” said County Executive Kamenetz. “Dam Jam is a great opportunity to explore this valuable resource.”

And, Mayor Rawlings-Blake encouraged families to "Enjoy a day of family activities in beautiful Cromwell Valley Park. It is so easy to turn on the faucets in our homes dozens of time everyday and take the convenience of safe, running water for granted. Dam Jam is an opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty of our parks and reservoir lands and learn more about the source of Baltimore’s high quality drinking water.
Families are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets, and food baskets and enjoy a day of entertainment -- even the well-behaved and leashed family dog is welcome.

Make a day of it and learn more about why the Baltimore region has some of the best water in the country! Join us on facebook and invite your friends to attend – Dam Jam 2011 (Free Admission).

Download the DAM JAM 2011 Flyer for all the details!

 

For more information call: 410-545-6541 or contact celeste.amato@baltimorecity.gov
Contact:
Celeste Amato Kurt L. Kocher Telephone: 410-545-6541 Telephone: 410-396-3500
email: Celeste.Amato@baltimorecity.gov email: Kurt.Kocher@baltimorecity.gov

Evening in the Park ~ September 17, 2011 ~ 5-8pm

Evening in the Park
at the Cromwell Valley Park to benefit the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy
 Saturday, September 17, 2011, 5-8pm

The perfect evening to welcome the Fall with wine from Maryland, beers from local breweries, tasty lite fare, a silent auction, and live music on the beautiful grounds of Cromwell Valley Park. The evening will honor conservation heroes and end with dessert under the evening’s full moon.

 View pictures from last year's Evening in the Forest by clicking here

Tickets: $50 for GVC and CVP members $65 non-members when purchased on or before September 1.
 After September 1, all tickets are $75.

We will have will-call at the door and a list of ticket purchasers if you purchase your ticket(s) this week and don't receive it in the mail.

Proceeds benefit GVC’s conservation and educational programs.

$75.00 - 1 Ticket - Evening in the Park $125.00 - 2 Tickets - Evening in the Park $225 - 3 Tickets - Evening in the Park $300.00 - 4 Tickets - Evening in the Park

 
 Interested in purchasing a membership? Click here to complete the membership form

All but $25 of your ticket is tax-deductible. Gifts to the GVC qualify as charitable contributions to an IRC Section 501(c)(3) public charity for federal income, estate and gift tax purposes.  According to Internal Revenue Service regulations, the value of your contribution must be reduced by the value of goods or services you receive. 

 catering provided by:

Interested in a sponsoship? Click here to be taken to the Sponsorship page.

Blue Grass Music will be provided by Late for Supper.

Late for Supper brings you old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes, bluegrass, gospel, and originals sung in three part harmony. They're an eclectic group, playing a variety of music on guitar, fiddle and banjo -- old country songs and ballads, to bluegrass standards, to old-time gospel. Hard-driving old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes are sure to get your feet tapping. Creative arrangements of bluegrass, gospel, folk tunes sung in three part harmony leave audiences wanting more.

A sample of items from our Silent Auction along with those who donated them!

Click here to see the list.

Sponsors Include:

Lafarge has defined 2 objectives with regard to the preservation of natural resources: reducing consumption and finding alternative solutions.

 

Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra is a leading Maryland accounting firm with offices in Lutherville, Bel Air, and Elkton. WC&S' niche practice areas include forensic & investigative accounting, business valuation, dental accounting, family owned businesses, non-profit organizations, business consulting, real estate, and construction to name a few. Visit us at www.wcscpa.com.

 

 

 

 

Silent Auction Items provided by:

REI, Basignani Wines, EarthTreks Climbing Centers,

The Growing Home Campaign

Plant a Family Tree in Your Yard

Save $10 on Every Tree with the Growing Home Tree Coupon

Visit www.growinghome.info   

Get the family together and pick out your family tree - perhaps a beautiful flowering tree like a dogwood or redbud, or a shady oak or elm, or maybe a nice evergreen like a holly or pine to add beauty to your yard.  More information on selecting your tree is available at the Growing Home website.

Take advantage of a $10 savings on your tree purchase from your local nursery or garden center with the Growing Home tree coupon.

Then spend some quality family time together planting your tree. Planting instructions are available in the Growing Home brochure.  Add water and watch it grow!

Trees help improve our neighborhoods, save on energy costs, and clean the air we breathe and the streams that lead to the Chesapeake Bay!

Learn more about selecting the best trees for our area and how to plant and care for your trees through the Growing Home Campaign.  Tree information and the $10 Growing Home tree coupon are available online and in Growing Home brochures that are available at all libraries, recreation and parks facilities and senior centers throughout Baltimore County and the City of Baltimore.  More than four-dozen area retail nurseries and garden centers are accepting the $10 coupon on each qualifying tree with at least a $25 retail price. 

The Growing Home Campaign is a public-private partnership between Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Harford County, area retail nurseries and garden centers, and homeowners.  By offering comprehensive information on selecting and planting trees and a $10 coupon savings, the Campaign encourages homeowners to plant trees to help increase tree canopy on residential property in our region.

The Growing Home Campaign is coordinated by Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection & Sustainability and is made possible in part with support from a Chesapeake Bay Program Small Watershed Grant administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

For more information visit the Growing Home website www.growinghome.info where the $10 Tree Coupon and Growing Home Brochure are available to print.  Or contact the Growing Home coordinator at 410-887-4488 Ext 287.

Greening Begins in Your Own Backyard. Make a Difference, Plant a Tree.

Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection & Sustainability
Diana Cohen, Coordinator, Growing Home Campaign
Phone: 410-887-4488 ext. 287
Fax Number: 410-887-3510
E-mail Address: dcohen@baltimorecountymd.gov

Press Release - Project Clean Stream Exceeds Goals and sets Records!

Project Clean Stream 2011 Hits Goals & Sets Records
 
Volunteers remove trash and debris from streams
throughout the Chesapeake Bay

Local streams and woodlands received a clean start to Earth Month as thousands of volunteers came out on the first Saturday in April for Project Clean Stream, one of the largest cleanup events in the Chesapeake Bay region. Perdue proudly presented Project Clean Stream 2011 as the event’s first lead sponsor and allowed for some serious results. Though all results are not in, the cleanup has easily cleared previous years and our 2011 goals; so far, on April 2nd Project Clean Stream brought in nearly 300,000 lbs of trash with 4,900 volunteers at an impressive 217 cleanup sites! In addition, sites were asked to track the number of plastic or glass containers removed; the preliminary data show a remarkable 120,000 containers. Even larger numbers are on their way; 20 sites are still on target to submit results.

Results and efforts seen from Project Clean Stream are a true testament to collaboration and partnerships. Over 90 different watershed groups and businesses helped to organize cleanup sites for 2011. Perdue alone boasted over 50 cleanup sites throughout Maryland and Delaware and even states outside of the Bay watershed including states as south as Georgia and as west as Kentucky and Indiana. The Alliance was successful in securing sites in Pennsylvania and Virginia as well as introducing invasive species pulls and tree plantings to the event. On a more local level, watershed organizations, such as Blue Water Baltimore and Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, dramatically expanded the number of sites and community involvement within their watersheds.

Lou Etgen, Associate Director for the Alliance states, “Project Clean Stream is a multidimensional program. It makes our streams and woodlands safer and cleaner, encourages people to get outside and investigate their local streams, and connects volunteers with their local watershed groups. Most importantly, it brings community members together and educates volunteers on the importance of environmental stewardship and inspires them to make a difference!”

Of course ideas for next year are already under way and even larger goals are coming into focus. “I’d love to see cleanup sites in every state in the Chesapeake Bay watershed”, says Dan Ellis, the coordinator for Project Clean Stream 2011, “The power of this sort of event is that everyone lives near a stream of some kind; we can get the message across that actions from hundreds of miles away still influence the Chesapeake Bay.” Ellis also hopes for an incorporation of more tree plantings and invasive species pulls in the future. “Maybe a theme for PCS2012 could urge that cleaning a stream isn’t just removing trash, it’s restoring it to a more historic past.”

    

Under the coordination from the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, with the help of Perdue, the Chesapeake Bay Trust and partnering watershed groups, cleanup sites were significantly increased in quantity and distribution. The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay applauds the efforts of our volunteers, contributors, and partners in this important out-reach initiative, and understands that Project Clean Stream would not be possible without the assistance of the many individuals that work towards making this annual clean up a success.

If you’d like more information about Project Clean Stream or to schedule an interview with Dan Ellis, please visit www.allianceforthebay.org/pcs, call (443) 949-0575 or e-mail dellis@allianceforthebay.org.

Spring 2011 GVC Newsletter

>Download GVC Spring Newsletter here<

Finally, we can see at the end of the tunnel, the coming of spring – bursting with colors and sounds that have a wonderful calming effect on all creatures, including US! With the beginning of the second year of the Jennifer Branch Project, the Spring Into Green educational open house in Carney, at Linden Heights United Methodist Church on March 19, 2011 was the launching pad for education and restoration activities not only in the Jennifer Branch Watershed, but in all areas of the Gunpowder Watershed – tree plantings, Project Clean Stream, Stream Watch and education and outreach to all residents to take into consid-eration actions they can take to improve and preserve wa-ter quality.

The GVC has also taken on another important role in the watershed, one that supports Baltimore County’s Small Watershed Action Plans. These are the preliminary efforts in the development of the strategies to implement the Environmental Protection Agency’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) practices. Refer to the article in this newsletter that details what are TMDLs.

Currently, the GVC is working in two small watersheds, Beaver Run in Hunt Valley and Middle River.

What does all this mean to the GVC and its members?

All of the measureable out-comes of the efforts of our committed volunteers and staff, from land preserva-tion, tree planting and edu-cation contribute to the pro-gress for achieving the goals outlined in the TMDLs. The more that we can accomplish working in partnership with communities in the implementation of restoration activities, the greater the assurance that we will be successful in achieving a cleaner, healthier Bay, not to mention improved local streams and drinking water reservoirs. One accomplishment that we hope will be a positive consequence of the work that we do to restore the Bay is to build a community, residents, businesses and churches, that work together for the common good for our children and all future generations.

The GVC is committed to working with all to make this a reality.

By Charlie Conklin, GVC President

Cromwell Valley Park - News Release

NEWS RELEASE
CROMWELL VALLEY PARK
April 11, 2011
Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks
Cromwell Valley Park Council
2002 Cromwell Bridge Road, Baltimore, MD 21234
HABITAT RESTORATION TEAM

The team meets the second Saturday of each month at the Sherwood House to remove non-native, invasive species from the Park as well as plant native, non-invasive plants. The team will meet on May14 and June 11 from 9 AM until 12 PM at the Sherwood House parking area. The work day will be cancelled if it rains heavily, BUT if the rain forces cancellation, the rain date is always the next day! If you have questions or would like to RSVP, contact Carl Koprowicz by E-mail at birders1@netzero.com. Snacks, drinks & tools will be provided, but if you can, bring gloves and water. Sherwood House Parking Lot

SATURDAY MORNING BIRD WALKS
Join a park volunteer from 8 AM – 10 AM for bird walks on April 16th, & 30th, May 14th & 28th, and June 11th.

NEW THIS SPRING -Join us at 7:45 AM on the dates listed above for a short workshop on using binoculars, locating birds, birding by ear, etc. Willow Grove Parking Lot Saturdays, Starting April16 at 9:30 AM to 12 PM

Children’s Garden Club Begins! - Meets twice monthly for ages 5 to 13. Play in the dirt, sip mint tea in the sunflower house, grow and pop your own popcorn, search for tadpoles and toads in the pond, take bouquets home for Mom and make zucchini muffins. Join us to play, learn, craft and eat tasty foods that you grow yourself. Reservations required. $25 members/$35 non-members. Willow Grove Children’s Garden

Saturday, April16 at 1:30 PM to 3 PM
Flowers, Frogs and Fiddleheads - Discover the new spring arrivals on this naturalist-lead hike. Dress for the weather and muddy trails. Ages 5+. Reservations required. $2 members/$4 non-members. Willow Grove Nature Education Center

Saturday, April 16 at 10 AM to 1 PM
Adopt—A–Tree Planting - The CVP Council and the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy invite you to a tree planting. Come and plant a tree or two, decorate the tree shelter and receive an adoption certificate for your tree. Beverages provided. All ages. Reservations required.
FREE! Sherwood House parking lot area.

Saturday, April 23 at 10 AM to 12 PM
EASTER EGG HUNT - FREE! No reservations required. NO ADULTS ALLOWED IN THE EGG HUNT AREAS. Hunt times: Ages 2-4 10:30 AM, Ages 5-6 10:45 AM, Ages 7-8 11 AM, Ages 9-10 11:15 AM. Make an Easter Bonnet/Hat, Visit with the Easter Bunny, Jelly Bean & M&M’s counting contest, Family games and Natural Egg Dying. SHERWOOD LAWN at the Sherwood Farm

Saturday, April 30 at 10 AM to 11:30 AM
Bird Nest Program – Read the story Birdsongs by Betsy Franco and Steve Jenkins and go on a hike to look for nests in trees around the WGNEC. After the hike, create a paper Mache’ bird nest with a mother bird and her eggs. Ages 5 - 7. $2 members/$4 non-members. Reservations required. Willow Grove Nature Education Center

Saturday, May 7 at 8 AM to 10 AM
Finding Orioles at CVP – Did you know that Cromwell Valley Park is one of the best places to see Baltimore Orioles? We will listen to their calls and then take a walk to look for them. If you have binoculars please bring them, we have a few to loan. Ages 10+. Reservations NOT required. FREE! Willow Grove Gravel Parking Lot

Saturday, May 7 at 9 AM to 3 PM and Sunday, May 8 at 11 AM to 3 PM
Annual Plant Sale! – This Mother’s Day weekend both the CSA and TALMAR Gardens will host their annual plant sale. A diverse selection of fun and exciting organic heirloom vegetable seedlings, a rainbow of annual flowers and perennial plants and fascinating herb varieties, such as chocolate basil, will be for sale. Stop by the sale for all your spring needs and support our local organic growers! Sherwood Farm Barn

Saturday, May 7 at 10 AM to 12 PM
Trail Day – Groups & individuals are invited to work with the CVP Trail Club to maintain & improve trails in the Park. Help clear trails & prevent erosion to keep our trails in tip top condition. Ages 13+. Reservations NOT required. Sherwood Farm

PLEASE CONTACT 410-887-2503 TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR ALL PROGRAMS

These programs are designed to provide a healthy and enjoyable experience for your child. They are not designed to provide childcare. Therefore, parents are encouraged to discuss attendance expectations with their children. Department staff cannot detain youth wishing to leave at any time. Children under 13 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Should you require special attention (i.e. sign language interpreter, large print, etc.), please give us as much notice as possible by calling the Park Office and/or Therapeutic office at 410-887-5370 or 410-887-5319 (TT/Deaf)

Cromwell Valley Park
2002 Cromwell Bridge Road, Baltimore MD 21234
Phone (410) 887-2503/2504, Fax (410) 823-5857
Website: www.cromwellvalleypark.org
Email: info@cromwellvalleypark.org

Spring into Green

The Jennifer Branch Preservation Project is now in its second year of success!!  This Spring we want to start with a bang by holding a SPRING INTO GREEN open house educational event.  It will be held on March 19th, 2011, from 10-2 pm at the Linden Heights United Methodist Church in Carney. 

 

All Jennifer Branch Watershed (Carney/Cub Hill/Parkville ) residents are invited to attend!

 

The Event will feature free educational and training seminars regarding:

• Rain Garden installations
• Rain Barrel installations
• (Gutter) Downspout Disconnections
• and more!

The Maryland Master Gardners will also be on hand to provide educational information to residents.

All sessions are subject to change and more information will be posted as we secure time slots and speakers.

There will be some activities geared towards kids such as a Worm Farm and more.

Keep checking back to this page for updates as they develop.

Download Spring Into Green Flyer

 

We would also like to thank our supporting local sponsors for their contributions:

Conklyns Florist (formerly Beverly Hochstedt Florist)

502 Harford Rd Baltimore, Md 21234 410-668-2995

And

Toscano's Deli

2010 Community Leadership Awards

2009-2011 Jennifer Branch Preservation Project

Community Leadership Award Requirements

 

1. Took some action to preserve Jennifer Branch (helped to promote JBPP project; hosted JBPP event; volunteered to assist at JBPP event; adopted and cleaned Jennifer Branch or tributary; implemented green solution in own yard-(rain barrel, disconnect downspout, rain garden, permaculture garden, planted trees, baywise actions)

 

1. Became an example to their community (allowed community workshop in yard; demonstrated own green solution for others to see;  spread the word about JBPP/GVC green solutions to others)   ________________________________________________________________________

2010 Award Recipients

 

1. Mike and Noel Phelps Carney, MD
   • Attended Kick off event Feb. 20^th, 2010
   • Hosted June 12^th, 2010 Greening Block Party
   • Installed Rain Garden while allowing rain garden workshop
   • Installed rain barrel while allowing rain barrel workshop
   • Provided food and drinks for neighborhood participants
   • Became Baywise certified
   • Willing to be ongoing demonstration site as example to community
   • Became GVC member

 

1. Steve Hobbs  Carney, MD
   • Attended Greening Block Party
   • Disconnected 3 downspouts
   • Installed 1 rain barrel
   • Installed rain garden while allowing rain garden workshop
   • Provided food and drinks for participants
   • Became Baywise certified
   • Willing to be ongoing demonstration site as example to community
   • Became GVC member

 

1. Jim and Nancy Murray  Carney, MD
   
   • Attended Kick off event Feb. 20^th, 2010
   • Installed 1 rain barrel in addition to 5 prior
   • Attended Greening Block Party
   • Installed 1 permaculture garden while allowing PC workshop
   • Willing to be a green solution demonstration site
   • Installed a rain garden on own prior to PC workshop
   • Provided food and drinks for participants
   • Jim advertised the workshop with Patty’s flyer, they paid for 50 flyers and hand delivered in neighborhood on their own
   • Baywise certified March 19, 2010

Remember To Recycle Your Christmas Tree!

Tis the season to be celebrating, giving...and recycling!

Baltimore County will engage in a Christmas tree recycling program again this holiday season. Pass the following information on to other members of your Baltimore County community.

To conserve fuel this winter, curbside collection of Christmas trees will involve two collections over a one-week period. Christmas tree recycling collection from Baltimore County single-family homes and town homes will begin Monday, January 10, 2011.  To ensure collection, residents must place their tree at the front curb/street by Saturday, January 15, 2011.

Baltimore County residents who live in an apartment or a condominium should follow their property manager’s instructions for Christmas tree collection.

Follow These Rules

Residents must follow a few simple rules when placing Christmas trees out to be recycled:

• Set out bare trees only; (no decorations, bags, tree stands, etc.)
• Set out trees only at the front curb/street; trees will not be collected from alleys.

Baltimore County collectors will pick up Christmas trees in standard trash/recycling trucks, and deliver them to County facilities to be chipped and later used as mulch.

Collectors

Baltimore County collectors will pick up Christmas trees in standard trash/recycling trucks, and deliver them to County facilities to be chipped and later used as mulch. Baltimore County residents who live in an apartment or condominium should follow their concierge's or property manager's rules when recycling their Christmas trees. Residents who want to drop off Christmas trees themselves may do so starting Monday, December 27, 2010.

Drop Off Your Tree

Residents may drop off their Christmas trees (no decorations, bags, tree stands, etc.) at one of the following County drop-off locations:

• Eastern Sanitary Landfill Solid Waste Management Facility, off of the 11400 block of Pulaski Highway in White Marsh. Monday–Saturday, 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
• Western Acceptance Facility, off of the 4500 block of Hollins Ferry Road in Halethorpe. Monday–Saturday, 7 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Baltimore County Resource Recovery Facility, on Drop-off Drive, off Warren Road in Cockeysville. Monday–Saturday, 7 a.m.–4 p.m.

Drop-Off Facilities Locations and Information

Directions

For directions to the County's three drop-off centers, Baltimore County residents may log onto www.baltimorecountymd.gov/recycling or call the Bureau of Solid Waste Management at 410-887-2000.

http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/News/holiday_winter/treecollection.html

Revised December 29, 2010

Fall for a Tree!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:

Diana Cohen
Growing Home Campaign Coordinator
Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection & Resource Management
Phone: 410-887-4488 ext. 287
Email: dcohen@baltimorecountymd.gov
Website URL: www.growinghome.info


September 2010

Fall for a Tree!
Homeowners given discounts for planting trees this fall

Fall is an ideal time to plant a tree; in fact many people think it’s the best time for tree planting!  Homeowners can get $10 for every tree planted in their yards this fall through the Growing Home program.  The $10 Growing Home Tree coupon and information about selecting, planting and caring for trees is available at www.growinghome.info and in Growing Home brochures which are available at all libraries, recreation and parks facilities, and senior centers.  More than four-dozen area garden centers and nurseries are accepting the $10 coupon on trees with at least a $25 price tag.
Why plant a tree in the fall?  Since the weather is cooler, it is more enjoyable working outdoors and a tree planted in the fall benefits because the soil is able to retain moisture better than during the hot days of summer.  Compared to spring, warmer soil temperatures in the fall stimulate new root growth on newly planted trees and trees aren't busy making new leaves in the fall, so more energy goes right to the roots.  Fall tree planting should be done usually by the end of October to mid November.  Allow enough time before the ground freezes for your tree to grow some new roots to take up moisture.
The Growing Home Campaign is an innovative public-private partnership to increase the tree canopy in our region by offering homeowners comprehensive education about planting trees and a cash incentive.  Growing Home partners include Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Harford County, local retail nurseries and garden centers, Honeywell Corporation, and the Chesapeake Bay Trust.  For more information call Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection & Resource Management at 410-887-4488.