Staff Blog

Buckets of freshly cut live stakes are stored in the back of a car.

Live Staking: A Trusty Technique for Planting Trees and Shrubs on the Cheap

Live staking (or propagation by cutting) almost seems too good to be true. Cut a stem from certain species of trees and shrubs and drive it into the ground, and a new plant will grow there! This method, if executed correctly, has a high success rate, and can be a very affordable if not free …

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What’s That Conifer? (Part 2 of 2)

Last month, in What’s That Conifer? (Part 1 of 2), we detailed the genera of the Cupressaceae family found in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Still pining for conifer identification knowledge? Read on to learn about the Pinaceae family, which contains firs, spruces, hemlocks, and of course, pines. Pinaceae is one of the most important tree …

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Project Highlight: Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church

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 …

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Winter Watershed Activities to Get You Through the Cold Months

Don’t let the cold weather get you down! The Chesapeake Bay watershed has plenty of activities and beauty to experience even when it seems impossible to leave the house. Check out a few ways to break your cabin fever. 1. Visit a Maritime Museum: There are plenty of Maritime Museums within the watershed that are …

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An Inspired Night with the Alliance at our first Wild and Scenic Film Festival!

Thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit is my favorite temperature to go hiking. It’s brisk, it’s invigorating, and your heart rate goes up just enough to make you nice and warm under all your layers. Over the weekend, I went for a hike at one of my favorite local spots near Annapolis, MD with my best hiking buddies, …

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The Alliance Needs Your Help!

Dear Friend of the Alliance, As a hub for local and regional action, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay empowers the growing constituency of people who care about restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay region. We envision a future where the Bay and its watershed experience improved water quality and habitat through the committed environmental …

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Coal Ash Debated Among 8th Graders as part of the Alliance’s RiverWise Schools Program

At the end of the summer, following the installation of the permeable pavement and rainwater harvesting sculpture at Binford Middle School in Richmond, Virginia, 8th grade science teacher, Brendan Trache approached Meredeth Dash about an idea for a project and asked if she would be willing to collaborate. Meredeth Dash, the Alliance’s Program Coordinator for …

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What’s That Conifer? (Part 1 of 2)

Conifers are important members of our forests year-round, but visually are most prominent during the winter when their evergreen leaves stand out in a sea of dormant deciduous limbs. To the untrained eye these trees may all look the same, but there is a vast amount of diversity among this ancient group of plants. Conifers …

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Four Simple Ways to Greenify your Office in 2020

It is easy during the hustle and bustle of your everyday life at the office to not think twice before throwing away something that could have been recycled. While it may seem like a hassle to make your office “green,” here are four simple steps your office can take to help improve your carbon footprint …

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Six Alternatives to Plastic Straws

Within the past year there has been an active push to remove plastic straws and other single-use plastics from our everyday lives. This is because, not surprisingly, plastic is bad for the environment. Plastic does not biodegrade, which means it can be around forever. Where does this plastic end up? Plastic ends up in our …

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