The Alliance is committed to working with diverse communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to ensure all voices are represented in Chesapeake restoration work. This Black History Month, we are excited to highlight our partnership with Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church, located in Annapolis, MD. The success of this collaborative project is built on the trans-disciplinary effort that was driven by the Church, and includes community members, watershed organizations, engineers, landscape architects, archaeologists, and more.

In partnership with the Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church, as well as, the Anne Arundel County Watershed Protection and Restoration Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Stormwater Maintenance and Consulting, the Alliance is facilitating the installation of a new stormwater improvement project alongside and through the church’s historical African-American cemetery, which dates back to the pre-Civil War era. Previously, stormwater surges through the cemetery were flooding and uprooting grave sites, causing great damage. The new project will not only protect the grave sites but also improve our waterways, increase healthy habitat, and create native gardens. This project drains right into Whitehall Creek, which flows into Whitehall Bay at the mouth of the Severn River near Annapolis. You can learn more in the press release we wrote about this project.

The project is scheduled to be completed by summer. More stormwater projects are planned in this watershed to further reduce stormwater impacts to local communities, habitats, and waterways. We look forward to keeping you posted as this and other projects in the area continue!