St. Paul’s rain garden bed will feature native plants that capture and filter rain water draining from their property before it flows to the Corsica River.
In March 2021, ShoreRivers and congregants of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Centreville began taking action to reduce stormwater runoff—rain water that flows from roofs, driveways, and other hard surfaces—that carries pollution into storm drains, ditches, and ultimately to our rivers.
This effort is part of a larger movement of “Creation care” in Queen Anne’s County, in which members of the faith community increase land and water stewardship through a program called Stewards for Streams. Funded by Chesapeake Bay Trust, Stewards for Streams is a partnership between ShoreRivers, a nonprofit that protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways, and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, a nonprofit that has engaged over 300 congregations across Maryland in caring for their local watersheds.
ShoreRivers installed a 350-square foot rain garden at St. Paul’s, designed and constructed by Blessing’s Environmental Concepts. When planted with native species, the depressed garden bed will not only collect and filter stormwater runoff, it will attract birds and pollinators. At a sold-out workshop at the church this spring, participants will receive a rain barrel to collect stormwater at their homes. Water in rain barrels can be released slowly and used purposefully, to water gardens and lawns or wash cars.
Stewards for Streams will offer additional public events to congregations in spring 2021:
Thursday, April 22 at 7 pm - Join us for a virtual film screening of “Earth Water Woman” followed by a panel discussion and celebration of congregations’ stewardship efforts. “Earth Water Woman” is a film that spotlights a community reforestation project in Trinidad and Tobago and its charismatic leader, Akilah Jaramogi. A micro-solution for the macro problem of climate change, this documentary urges viewers everywhere to examine their relationship to their watershed.
Sunday, May 2 at 2 pm - ShoreRivers and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake will lead a socially distant Interfaith Nature Walk at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center in Grasonville. This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the connection between faith, our local environment, and the call to care for Creation.
Thursdays, June 10, 17 & 24 at 7 pm - For congregations ready to respond to the call to action, a virtual Faithful Green Leaders Training begins June 10 and continues June 17 and June 24. During this three-part series, participants will receive guidance on selecting environmental actions for their congregation, such as film nights, book readings, community cleanups, and river-friendly landscaping. The trainings will be facilitated by Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake. Funding, free project planning support, and technical assistance for Queen Anne’s County congregations committed to installing stewardship practices on their grounds will be provided by ShoreRivers.
To learn more about Stewards for Streams, or to RSVP to any of the events mentioned, contact Suzanne Sullivan at ssullivan@shorerivers.org or call 443-358-0511 ext. 214. Visit ShoreRivers.org and InterfaithChesapeake.org to see more examples of faith-based collaborations to improve our local watersheds.