As green summer foliage transforms to blazing ambers and yellows of autumn, we are reminded of nature’s graceful rhythm of change, adaptability, and endurance. For us at the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, this season isn’t just about beautiful foliage: we have trees to plant, communities to clean up, and farmers to support.

Did you know that 75% of the 18 million people who call our watershed home rely on it for drinking water? We believe that everyone has a right to clean lands and water. That’s what drives us to carry out our mission with passion and an understanding that everything we do will make a difference today, tomorrow, and 100 years from now. In our 54th year, our team of passionate experts made tree-mendous progress across the watershed. I’d like to share a few highlights.

Founded in 2015, our Healthy Forests Healthy Waters program provides Maryland landowners with free, turnkey tree plantings on an acre or more of open land. I’m thrilled to report that Healthy Forests Healthy Waters has reached another milestone for Chesapeake forests, planting its 2,000th acre!

Since 1985 the Alliance and our volunteers have collected monthly water quality samples, monitoring temperature, water clarity, pH and dissolved oxygen. This year, we celebrated 40 years of water quality monitoring through RiverTrends and the over 800 dedicated volunteers who have participated in collecting water quality data over the years!

In Virginia, the Alliance and our partners completed a green street in Richmond’s Greater Fulton, bringing the community’s vision of a vibrant, safer, and green business district to life. This project’s green infrastructure installations not only reduce pollution entering the nearby James River, but also beautify the neighborhood, increase pedestrian safety, and create a vibrant community gathering space for residents.

On an organic dairy farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, our team completed a farm-wide transformation including a 2.9 acres of riparian forest buffer, expansion of manure storage, a barnyard stabilization, cattle walkways, fencing and more. Now, after the completion of the project, the farm is preventing many tons of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from running to the water.

As you can see, we have been busy. In a year that’s been anything but normal, we have remained laser-focused on our critical work. Emerging threats have only reinforced the importance of unified action as we restore our lands and waters of the Chesapeake Bay, together. While the Alliance continues to make incredible strides to overcome the Bay’s challenges, there is still so much work to be done.

This year, we have a goal to raise $100K to expand our work across the watershed! I invite you to make a lasting impact and invest in proven solutions to the Chesapeake Bay’s most pressing challenges. Your generosity accelerates the pace of conservation by expanding on-the-ground work across the watershed.

Thank you for helping us grow our team of passionate experts to bring new solutions to the Bay’s problems and engage more of the people who live, work, and play in our Chesapeake communities.

Learn more about our impact below!

The crisp fall air outside is a powerful and tangible reminder that we are all part of a larger natural system. Just as we share a home watershed, we must share in protecting it for future generations. Please, support our mission today with a gift.

  • $75 – Help a farmer plant cover crops on 1 acre of pasture
  • $125 – Plant 2 native trees
  • $200 – Grow 5 native tree seedlings
  • $500 – Keep 1000 lbs of sediment out of a stream
  • $1000 – Install 40 square feet of permeable pavers
  • $1,500 – Install one urban rain garden
  • $4,000 – Install and maintain 1 acre of riparian forest buffer

Many thanks, and cheers to a cleaner Chesapeake!

Support the Alliance’s Efforts