This month marks the half way point in my year long internship with the Chesapeake Conservation Corps (CCC), which is a great time for reflection on my work so far and a cause for celebration looking forward to my end of the year project. The CCC program was formed to help young adults pursue a career in the environmental work field. The goal is to create the next generation of environmental stewards through hands on leadership and environmental training. As part of the program, each member is required to complete a capstone project. I am excited to announce that for my capstone project, I will be working with the Alliance to host a Native Plant Social!

The Native Plant Social will take place at our headquarters in Annapolis, MD on Saturday, April 6th from 9am to 12pm. There will be free local refreshments and native plants! The Alliance staff will be present to help handout the native plants (one per person and while supplies last), to provide information about the plants, and of course to answer any questions the public might have about the Alliance and the work that we do.

I started working at the Alliance about six months ago and in that time my favorite parts of the job have been the community tree planting events, helping with blog posts, newsletters, and social media, as well as event planning when the Alliance hosted their first ever Wild & Scenic Film Festival in all four of our locations. The Native Plant Social is a chance for me to the incorporate all of these skills I’ve gained from working at the Alliance. 

The objective of the Native Plant Social is to foster environmental stewards and to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay through educating the public about native plants and their benefits to local rivers, creeks, streams, and the Bay. By hosting this event and creating educational handouts that give details about each plant, their benefits, and maintenance, people will be informed about the importance of native plants and ultimately consider themselves native plant stewards. The secondary goal of this project is to form a relationship with the local community.

Another part of my experience at the Alliance has been working with volunteers, coordinating,  and implementing Project Clean Stream events. Project Clean Stream is an ongoing project where organizations and PCS coordinators select sites in their neighborhoods and organize community clean-up days. The Alliance provides the trash bags, gloves, and first aid kits. In collaboration with the Native Plant Social, we are also going to have a station at the office for volunteers to pick-up their Project Clean Stream supplies. 

I am excited to use my capstone project as a chance to combine all my favorite parts of working at the Alliance into a fun, community building event. Join us on April 6th at our headquarters office (501 Sixth Street, Annapolis, MD) between 9:00 am and noon to get your free native plant and learn more about the Alliance and our work!