Cleaning day in Admiral Heights

Two cleanup events kept Admiral Heights residents and their supporters busy on the morning of May 15: the annual swimming pool cleanup and a GreenScape event.

One group emptied the pool equipment room of chairs, tables, umbrellas, swimming team competition stuff, lane markers, electrical supplies, and a power washer. The other group worked on the GreenScape project adjacent to the pool parking lot.

This marked the second GreenScape event to be held in Admiral Heights this year. The first was held in April at Dewey Dock. GreenScape is a citywide volunteer effort to beautify Annapolis neighborhoods.

Almost 20 residents opted to clean and sort through the contents of the equipment room. They washed tables, chairs, decks and pool tiles and discarded damaged items.

Another 12 residents and their supporters were executing the plans of Nina Fisher, a certified master watershed steward, and Steve McKerrow, who is currently attending the Watershed Stewards Academy.

Fisher had begun clearing one area for a landscape garden and McKerrow had chosen another area for his capstone project from the academy. With the encouragement of McKerrow’s academy mentor, the two joined forces and expanded their landscape garden ideas to include both areas.

On this particular Saturday the two received support from both Admiral Heights neighbors and from the Watershed Stewards Academy Maintenance Action Group which helps students and master watershed stewards perform the “never ending maintenance on their projects.”

They removed ivy and other invasive plants and replaced them with trees, shrubs and perennials provided by GreenScape and neighbors like Margaret Drake who donated the mayapples.

While working, the master watershed stewards discussed other environmental projects that were in the works, made plans for more cleanups and plantings, considered applying for grants, updated everyone about recent successes, and occasionally pointed out that “what was growing in this area was a textbook example of what not to grow in your garden.”

If you are interested in volunteering to help beautify Admiral Heights, watch out for emails and Facebook postings.