$999K Grant Will Help Triple Tree Planting Numbers In HoCo

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A nearly $1 million grant has been awarded to Howard County's office of community sustainability and the department of recreation and parks to support conservation efforts that benefit people and wildlife throughout the Chesapeake Bay’s 64,000-square-mile watershed.

The 2020 Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant worth $999,202, has been awarded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the larger Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund. The grant will help with the regional “Planting the Future” initiative by funding a full-time restoration coordinator for a 30-month period in Howard County.

The grant also will allow HCRP to ramp up its existing programs, such as its Stream ReLeaf and Turf to Trees programs, increasing the number of trees planted per year through these programs from 2,500 to at least 7,500.

“Through this grant, the county can truly increase environmental restoration and green job opportunities within central Maryland,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball in a statement. “This funding will also allow Howard County, in partnership with the Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition, to build on existing workforce training programs to establish a more comprehensive, regional, green workforce training program with our neighboring jurisdictions. We’re grateful to our congressional delegation for supporting this opportunity to build on our initiatives and work towards a cleaner and more sustainable environment.”

Organized by the Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition, the “Planting the Future” initiative is designed to triple tree planting numbers in three years in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County. The initiative also assists the Coalition with increasing its capacity to serve as a primary resource and impact multiplier in the effort to create a robust green infrastructure network across Central Maryland.