Improving the Annapolis Edge

When the staff of the Annapolis Maritime Museum noticed water lapping against their building’s foundation, they knew it was time to make some changes. Located at the mouth of Back Creek and the Chesapeake Bay, the museum’s shore is vulnerable to the effect of powerful storms and sea-level rise.

Through a partnership with Maryland Department of Natural Resources, its Maryland Conservation Corps, the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the museum launched a living shorelines project to halt the erosion. The $90,000 project was announced at an event held on Monday, Nov. 16, which included representatives from the partner organizations as well as Annapolis City Mayor Mike Pantelides.

The department and Chesapeake Bay Trust provided technical and funding support for the new shore, which will include about 2,000 plants, 300 tons of sand and 500 tons of rock. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation donated 145,000 oyster spat on shell, which have already been placed at the site.

Alice Estrada, executive director of the museum, said that the project will help both the museum and the bay as it provides a habitat for crabs and other wildlife, and guards against erosion. The project will also provide hands-on learning for 6,000 area students who participate in the museum’s environmental education program every year.

Estrada thanked the department for all of their help in making the living shorelines project a reality.

“The department has been extraordinary in planning, implementing and constructing this important undertaking, even working on Veterans Day—their day off.,” Estrada said. “They will certainly deliver an outstanding project.”

Right now, the shoreline is mostly sand and rocks but after its transformation, which will be complete in spring 2016, it will turn green as the marsh grass grows.

To view more photos of the project, click here.

For more information on the department’s Living Shorelines program, click here.