The Choptank Tributary Team meets monthly and rotates their meeting locations throughout the watershed to encourage local attendance. Environmental Concern hosted Trib Team meetings in February and in June at our Wetland Learning Campus.

Visit the Choptank Trib Team website

EC & the Choptank Trib Team

Environmental Concern wa a conference sponsor. Members of our Education Department were available to answer questions and provide discussion on our educational display.

MAEOE Website

EC & MAEOE

Environmental Concern attended the dedication cerimony for the Living Shoreline at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

The Living Shoreline was designed and built by Environmental Concern with funding for the project provided by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation among others. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum dedicated its living shoreline to Kennedy Fitzgerald, a local youth who died in a fire in 2007. Kennedy was employed by Environmental Concern in 2006.

Star Democrat Article

11th Annual - 04/24/2009 attended the event and donated prize package for silent auction.

Treasure the Chesapeake Celebration - Chesapeake Bay Trust

In May Environmental Concern hosted the LEAD Maryland Foundation Board meeting on our campus. EC President Suzanne Pittenger-Slear gave a presentation and tour to the group as well as an overview of EC's mission.

Rad Pad stands for River Appreciation Day. It included a trash clean-up via canoe or kayak of the banks of the upper Tred Avon River, canoe and kayak races, and water quality themed environmental education displays by many local environmental organizations.

Along with representatives of other local environmental groups, schools, and dedicated citizens, EC staff participated in event planning. We also contributed maps and signs for the event, and set up an educational display on Rain Gardens featuring some of the native plants grown in EC's nursery.

Read more about it on the Choptank Trib Team Website

Suzanne Pittenger-Slear, President of EC joined the speakers from the Children's & Nature Network and the Earth Conservation Corps in an EPA Watershed Academy webcast focused on the importance of establishing connections between children and their natural environment.

EPA Watershed Academy Archive of Webcast

The Wetland Wise Award is presented by Environmental Concern to businesses and private landowners in appreciation of their contribution to the future health of the bay by creating a Living Shoreline to control erosion and improve water quality.

It gave these concerned citizens an opportunity to meet each other and also allowed them to meet the EC staff who take great pride in the work they do every day. Environmental Concern's Restoration division has restored more than 30 miles of shoreline, creating many acres of new salt marsh in the Chesapeake Bay.

Semi-annual event where visitors are able to purchase native plants from our nursery, discuss native gardening questions with staff, participate in educational activities, tour the nursery facility and campus wetlands, and have a picnic lunch.

Each year members of the Choptank Trib Team and local elected officials wade in to a river in the Choptank watershed to asses water clarity and as a way to publicize and document water quality conditions in the watershed. This year's Wade In was held at San Domingo Park in St Michaels on Saturday, June 13. More than 20 people participated in the Wade In while others watched from the shore. The official depth this year was 24 inches. This was the first year the Wade In was held in the San Domingo Creek. Everyone is hopeful that future years will bring improvements in water quality and water clarity.

The Wade In was held in conjunction with Environmental Concern's Open House and Native Plant Sale. Environmental Concern has been participating in Trib Team efforts for several years and was pleased to host this year's event.

Local elected officials; Mr. Eric Schwaab-Deputy Secretary of DNR, Jeff Ghrist-Caroline County Commissioner, Addie Eckardt-District 37B Delegate, Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio-District 37B Delegate, and Mr. Howard Freedlander-Deputy Treasurer for External Affairs, State Treasurer's Office, joined Trib Team members for the 2009 Choptank Watershed Wade In.

Bill Wolinski (Talbot County) and Gene Slear (Environmental Concern) announced an expanded program to grow oysters in La Trappe and San Domingo Creeks. The program will provide wire cages with oyster spat (young oysters) to pier owners in these creeks. When the young oysters are grown they will be relocated to sanctuaries nearby. Oysters are filter feeders and it is hoped that expanding oyster populations will result in clearer water.

Choptank Trib Team Website

The Shore Land Stewrdship Council sponsored the "First Stop For The Bay" symposium to introduce property owners in the Critical Area to the concepts of natural landscaping and stormwater management. The symposium was held at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St Michaels.

Environmental Concern is a partner in the Shore and Stewardship Council and participated in the symposium with a talk presented by EC Educators on Rain Gardens and tours of the recently completed Living Shoreline at the Maritime Museum.

EC & the Land Stewardship Council

Read the Star Democrat Article

Each year Environmental Concern attends the Society for Wetland Scientists Annual Meeting. This year our booth featured EC publications for sale, information on all of our programs and departments, Nursery catalogs, and photo examples of recent restoration projects.

EC President Suzanne Pittenger-Slear attended the conference representing both EC and as Chair of the US National of the Ramsar COmmitte of the Convention on Wetlands. The event is always well attended by wetland scientists from around the world. This year's conference was held in Madison Wisconsin.

Ramsar Website

EC & Ramsar

SWS Annual Meetings

EC & SWS

EC’s Oyster Restoration program on La Trappe and San Domingo Creek was a huge success due to the overwhelming response from waterfront property homeowners.  On September 12th, 367 cages were distributed to 48 piers , including EC’s piers, the St Michaels Town Pier at the end of West Chew, and the new pier at Easton Village.

Learn more about our oyster restoration program

Read the Oyster Growers Newsletter for Fall 2009

Read the Star Democrat Article

Semi-annual event where visitors are able to purchase native plants from our nursery, discuss native gardening questions with staff, participate in educational activities, tour the nursery facility and campus wetlands, and have a picnic lunch.

Environmental Concern's entry in the educational category at this year's flower show won first place in the Director's Choice Awards. The display depicted marsh habitat from the shallow waters where oyster beds may be found, through inter-tidal cordgrass habitat, and into nontidal wetlands dominated by salt marsh hay and wetland shrubs. It featured live plants from EC's nursery.

EC President Suzanne Pittenger-Slear made a presentation on the importance of wetlands for habitat and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region to the Dorchester County Master Gardeners as part of their training program.

The Talbot County Chamber of Commerce and the Chesapeake Center worked together to plan an e-cycling day on Wednesday October 21st. Employees from the Center, and volunteers from the Chamber of Commerce set up a “drive through” e-cycling center where a steady stream of cars entered and popped their trunks. There were 39 computer towers, dozens of monitors, telephones, radios, keyboards, and televisions dropped off. EC's President Suzanne Pittenger-Slear is Chair of the Chamber's Environmental Committee and was instrumental in making the event a success.

EC & Talbot Chamber of Commerce

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In spite of drizzle 10,000 salt marsh plants were planted by volunteers on Monday November 30. The Restoration crew from Environmental Concern assisted the volunteers by digging planting holes with mechanical augers. The new marsh replaces more than 200 feet of bulkhead.

Read the Star Democrat Article