Anne Arundel County Students Help Improve Local Waterways

Annapolis, Maryland (March 23, 2015) – Participating in the Anne Arundel County School Planting Program, Broadneck High School students will support the County’s Buena Vista Stormwater Outfall Project in Arnold by planting native vegetation on March 25, 2015.  The Watershed Protection and Restoration Program (WPRP) and the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center manage the program to provide environmental learning opportunities to hundreds of local elementary, middle, and high school students each year.

“This program is important not only to the health of our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay, but also to encourage our younger generation to be involved in protecting our natural resources,”  said County Executive Steve Schuh.

The planting of native vegetation at the restoration sites will improve water quality by allowing pollutants to be absorbed into the plants and shrubs that are planted.  In addition, the trees and their root systems help prevent erosion by stabilizing the stream banks, and their shade improves the area for wildlife.

Local middle school students will also be participating in several other plantings this week throughout the County. Plantings include the Denington Lane and Olde Severna Park (Birch Court) Stormwater in Severna Park.

The WPRP, a division of the Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering, is responsible for implementation of the county’s stormwater restoration project strategies that meet mandated federal and state water quality requirements. For more information about the WPRP, go to www.aarivers.org.