{"id":3342,"date":"2020-12-16T14:26:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T19:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/?p=3342"},"modified":"2021-01-11T12:17:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T17:17:51","slug":"3342","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/2020\/12\/16\/3342\/","title":{"rendered":"eMDE: An Eastern Shore Home to Environmental Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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THE LATEST FROM THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Eastern Shore Home to Environmental Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When University of Maryland Anthropology Research Professor Barbara Paca looks at the tiny, Talbot County waterfront town of Oxford, she sees the Eastern Shore\u2019s most prominent nexus between environmental justice and climate change — two issues of paramount concern to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

More than a decade ago, Paca, an internationally recognized expert on landscape design, and her husband were looking for an ideal place for a second home to complement their careers in New York City. Friends recommended Oxford, once a bustling port for Eastern Shore trade.

Paca quickly fell in love with its culture of African Americans, watermen, and intellectuals from other places wanting to get away from it all.
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The couple bought two adjoining properties on Mill Street, relocated a historic home atop raised earth and started renovating a building that had been a former jazz club. Using local workers left unemployed after the recession of 2008 and 2009, the building was transformed into a LEED gold structure with a green roof, solar panels, rainwater capture ducts and extensive use of reclaimed materials. The rainwater capture was part of Oxford\u2019s effort to reduce polluted stormwater runoff into Town Creek, the Tred Avon River and the Chesapeake Bay.

The building also has a number of interesting historical items like tile stoves, doors from as far back as the 18th Century, and part of the floor removed from Read\u2019s Drug Store in Baltimore City, the site of the nation\u2019s first lunch counter sit-in strike in the early days of the civil rights movement.

After Paca realized her desire of also building a greenhouse and walkway at the site, it became known as the Oxford Think Tank and Preservation Green Design and Horticultural Research Center.

Now, Paca is on to bigger dreams. She says she wants to devote the 10 rooms and a conference room in the center for free use to researchers, artists, scientists and others involved in environmental justice and climate change issues and the culture of the Eastern Shore.

\u201cIf you need a space, we have it for you in a very creative setting,\u201d Paca said. \u201cI want to help the work being done by the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Department of Natural Resources and federal agencies like NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

\u201cI also want it to be used by those involved in African American research, art and equity issues. Another issue of major importance is making the Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad trail a world heritage site because it is disappearing along with so many other things in this region due to climate change and rising sea levels,\u201d Paca said.

The National Association of Secretaries of State honored Paca in October with an award for her work internationally and in Maryland in preserving the history and culture of communities of color. She also had an acclaimed art show recently at Morgan State University and St. Mary\u2019s College that celebrated the work of artists from Antigua and Barbuda involved in environmental justice themes.



\u2022 Air, Land, Water – Did You Know?<\/strong>
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Maryland launches Sewer Sentinel Initiative<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Governor Larry Hogan has announced a statewide initiative to sample wastewater as an early warning system of a COVID-19 outbreak in vulnerable Maryland communities.

As part of Maryland\u2019s COVID-19 Sewer Sentinel Initiative, Governor Hogan has approved funding of $1 million to sample wastewater for the virus that causes COVID-19 in congregate living settings. The Maryland Department of the Environment, in close coordination with the Maryland Department of Health, will lead the testing effort.

\u201cOur COVID-19 Sewer Sentinel Initiative can provide early detection, which can save lives. Wastewater can tell a lot about the health and well being of communities and watersheds,\u201d said Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles. \u201cAssistant Secretary Suzanne Dorsey is leading the effort for MDE and making our state a shining example for the nation on cutting-edge science and partnership building for protecting public health.\u201d

This next phase of the Sewer Sentinel Initiative builds upon information obtained during a pilot project that began this summer. The pilot project showed that wastewater sampling provided advanced notice of an outbreak before they were seen through traditional testing. Under the Sewer Sentinel Initiative, sampling results that show an increase of infections in congregant living settings will support an active state and local response to limit the spread of the disease.

More information on Maryland\u2019s response to the COVID-19 emergency is available at coronavirus.maryland.gov<\/a>.



Recycling as art <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Two students from Linganore High School in Frederick \u2014 Peyton Johnson and Tatum Hart\u2014 were online voters\u2019 choices to win this year\u2019s virtual \u201cRethink Recycling\u201d student art show. Rethink Recycling challenges Maryland high school students to use recycled materials to create artistic and innovative sculptures.

The annual competition, which is normally held in person with judges at Montgomery Park Auditorium in Baltimore City, was conducted online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Student artists around the state took photographs of the art they assembled from various recycled components and submitted them online to a virtual gallery<\/a>. Winners were selected by online voting. Seventy artists participated and 350 votes were cast

Johnson\u2019s entry, titled \u201cSalvarnos\u201d (Spanish for \u201csave us\u201d), depicts a blue throated macaw and was crafted from discarded cans, PVC pipe, and chicken wire frame previously used in old projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere are many species of macaws that are critically endangered,\u201d Johnson wrote in his entry. \u201cI love these birds and never want them to go extinct.\u201d


Hart\u2019s entry, called \u201cWhere Some Sea Waste\u2026,\u201d is the figure of a crab crafted from an old set of camping utensils used by her family on trips and which she found in the bottom of a recycling container scheduled for pickup.
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\u201cAs I have gotten older, I have become more aware of polluted waters and dying animals. I hope to inspire others to recycle and be mindful of their environmental impact,\u201d Hart wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n



Make your holidays green
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Make sustainable holiday choices when you are shopping, sending cards, decorating, and choosing gifts. When you save energy and resources, you protect the environment and safeguard public health both now and for the future.

Here are some easy ways to make your holiday celebrations more sustainable:

Decorate with energy-efficient items. Consider using fewer or maybe even eliminating lights in your holiday decorations, or use more energy-efficient LED strings. Plug your decorative lights into a timer to save electricity. Decorate creatively and inexpensively with natural materials from your yard or with items you already own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Contact the Maryland Christmas Tree Association to find out about trees grown in your area or trees grown in ways that keep forests healthy and safe. Have you considered a living tree you can plant outside or keep as a houseplant after the holidays? Don’t forget about tree disposal. Many areas offer special tree collections or drop offs that result in mulch for citizens.
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Take your own bags on shopping trips. Keep them in the car so they\u2019re always available. Consolidate those trips.
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Give gifts that are durable, energy-efficient, recyclable or made of natural products.
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Support your local economy by buying from local merchants, craft shows, or antique shops. Buy locally made or grown gifts.
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Make your own gifts. Knit, sew, bake, build, or create art.
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When wrapping gifts, be creative and reuse materials such as scarves, fabric, handkerchiefs, old maps, sheet music or comic pages. Deliver gifts in reusable tins or other home or garden items.
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And for holiday meals, research sustainable food choices in your area, and buy locally whenever possible. Check out marylandsbest.maryland.gov<\/a> to find local farmers and seafood providers near you.


\u2022 Have an Idea?<\/strong>

\"Contact
Email the editor<\/strong>
We’re always looking for ideas to make eMDE even better. Here’s a chance to tell us what you think. Have some thoughts on what we can do better or things you’d like to see more of? An idea for a specific story? We want to hear from you. Contact us<\/a>!


MDE’s MISSION<\/strong>
To protect and restore the environment for the health and well-being of all Marylanders.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE<\/a>


Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230

Maryland Department of the Environment
Copyright \u00a9 2020. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n





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