ACWA Awarded a 2024 CBT G3 Grant
Grant will fund a Large-Scale Bioswale Replanting Project at HCC & to Provide CBLP-Crews Training
CBT G3 Awardees at the 2024 Announcement event held on June 26th at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
ACWA was awarded nearly $40k to complete a large-scale replanting of 11 microbiorention swales in a 4-acre parking lot at HCC. The swales are designed as “Best Management Practices” (BMPs) to slow down and cool stormwater, while also reducing pollution entering local streams. The specialized plantings in BMPs play a key role in capturing and absorbing nutrients from the parking lot runoff. Volunteers will replant the swales with a wide variety of native plants, shrubs, and grasses and will be designed to demonstrate several sustainable planting techniques. The grant project will also fund a one-day Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) - Stormwater BMP Crews training for local public works staff, HCC grounds crew, and contractors who are responsible for maintaining stormwater BMPs.
Last week, ACWA’s Board President, Susan Simonson gathered with other G3 awardees at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C. for the official grant announcement and to share the HCC project plans. “The bioswale replanting will be an ideal demonstration of stormwater green infrastructure in Washington County (MD), and it will serve as an educational classroom for local professionals.”, said Simonson. “This will be the first time the CBLP-Crews training will be offered in Western Maryland, making it a great professional development opportunity for region.” Read the full CBT G3 Grant Press Release at: https://cbtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/G3-2024-Press-Release-6.26-1.pdf
Volunteer planting events will be scheduled throughout September and October in 2024. To find out how you can help during future events, visit ACWA’s website at www.acwamaryland.org or follow us on Facebook/Instagram.
The Antietam-Conococheague Watershed Alliance (ACWA) is pleased to announce that along with our partners, the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) and Hagerstown Community College (HCC), have been chosen as one of 33 organizations to receive funds from the Chesapeake Bay Trust's (CBT) Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) Grant program. The G3 Grant program is a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III, WV Department of Environmental Protection, and Prince George's County Department of the Environment, providing over $1.3 million in funding for projects across MD, PA, VA, WV, DE, and DC. The goal of the G3 grant program is to help communities develop and implement plans that reduce stormwater runoff, increase the number and amount of green spaces in urban areas, improve the health of local waters and the Chesapeake Bay, and enhance quality of life and community livability.
Hagerstown Community College Parking Lot O where 11 Microbioretention swales will be replanted by volunteers under the CBT G3 grant.
ACWA Board President, Susan Simonson at the CBT Grant Announcement event in Washington D.C., June 2024