Participants at UMB stenciled storm drains, watched a documentary on world resources, planted fruit trees, and volunteered at an urban farm. Here are the details:

Storm Drain Stenciling

University students, faculty, and staff, in partnership with Blue Water Baltimore, stenciled storm drains around the Southern Management Corporation Campus Center on April 25. Located on Penn Street between Lombard and Pratt streets, the painted storm drains help to educate the University community about where litter ends up. With messages such as “A Healthy Harbor Starts Here” and “Storm Drains Are Only for Rain,” passersby learn that the trash they drop is pushed by stormwater runoff directly into the Chesapeake Bay. 

"I think integrating environmental awareness into our lives is extremely important, and being able to promote that idea by painting sea creatures on campus storm drains was a fantastic experience,” says volunteer and coordinator Kathryn Turner of the Office of Campus Life. “Blue Water Baltimore, our partner in this project, explained the connections between litter, clean water, and how our actions directly impact the well-being of our University and other Baltimore communities.”

“When I first heard about the opportunity to engage in a community beautification project and work alongside students within different disciplines, I was ecstatic!” says volunteer Nisah Abdul-Sabur, a School of Social Work student, about wanting to help with the project. “Educating the Baltimore community on the importance of minimizing pollution through adorning drainage covers in bold messaging was a phenomenal way of engagement. My hope is that our efforts sparked interest amongst students, faculty, and within the surrounding communities so that in the future we are able to expand our efforts and solidify the ‘Go Green’ movement on campus and beyond.”

Documentary Screening, Home

Students, faculty, and staff attended a film screening of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s 2009 award-winning documentary, Home, on Earth Day, April 22. The film shows a visually stunning perspective of the world we live in and what is at stake if we continue consuming as we do. A sustainably sourced dinner also was provided. After the film, attendees discussed how much the world has changed in the past 50 years, as opposed to the past 1,000 years, and how they can preserve resources by recycling, eating locally, and conserving energy.

Real Food Farm Workday

University students and staff volunteered with Real Food Farm on April 26. Volunteers created an erosion-protected swale to drain fields without polluting the Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater runoff will be limited/filtered by rocks, burlap, fescue, plants, and an erosion blanket. 

“I volunteered at Real Food Farm because I believe that locally grown food produced by responsible and sustainable means is a vital part of a community,” says volunteer Andrew LePine, a School of Dentistry student. “It makes its people and environment much more healthy. Volunteering is important for the University because it gives its members a chance to connect and help out people and the environment through ways beyond the scope of our individual schools. Also, supporting this farm gives people the opportunity to get fresh fruits and vegetables that they otherwise would not have access to.”

Plant a Tree

Members of UM Go Green and first-grade students at Southwest Baltimore Charter School (SBCS), located in West Baltimore, planted apple and peach trees in the school’s front yard. SBCS partners with the CLUB UMB Mentoring and Youth Leadership Program, an initiative of the University’s President’s Outreach Council. 

“I think the fruit tree planting was the perfect complement to other campus health and wellness initiatives in place at these schools that include bringing kids to the University Farmers Market, CLUB UMB’s President’s Fitness Challenge, and the FOODPLAY theatrical performance, brought to Southwest Baltimore Charter on the very morning of the planting via a partnership between the Hippodrome Foundation and UMB,” says Brian Sturdivant, MSW, director of community partnerships and strategic initiatives in the Office of Government and Community Affairs.

For more photos, click here. 

For future volunteer opportunities and additional resources, visit UM Go Green (Facebook and Twitter) or email gogreen@umaryland.edu. 

Story by Tracy Gnadinger

April 22 Documentary Screening, Home

Students, faculty, and staff attended the film screening of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s 2009 award-winning documentary, Home, on Earth Day, April 22. The film shows a visually stunning perspective of the world we live in and what is at stake if we continue consuming as we do. A sustainably sourced dinner also was provided. 

April 23 UM shuttle Focus Groups

The UM shuttle has served more than 50,000 students, faculty, and staff since its inaugural run in August 2012. Fellow riders contributed ideas about routes, accessibility, and safety during the UM shuttle Focus Groups in the Southern Management Corporation (SMC) Campus Center Elm Ballrooms. 

April 25 Storm Drain Stenciling

Photo by Michelle Baffuto

University students, faculty, and staff, in partnership with Blue Water Baltimore, painted storm drain stencils around the SMC Campus Center on April 25. The stencils, located on Penn Street between Lombard and Pratt streets, educate the campus community that trash thrown into storm drains flows directly into the Chesapeake Bay with messages like “A Healthy Harbor Starts Here” and “Storm Drains Are Only for Rain.” 

Pictured from left to right: School of Medicine student Ratnakar Potla; Kathryn Turner, Office of Campus Life; and Terry Morse, Sustainability Steering Committee. 

April 26 Real Food Farm Workday

Photo by Tyler Brown

University students and staff volunteered with Real Food Farm on April 26. Volunteers created an erosion-protected swale to drain fields without polluting the Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater runoff will be limited/filtered by rocks, burlap, fescue, plants, and an erosion blanket.

Pictured from left to right: Nicole Derr and Abigail Ratcliff, School of Pharmacy; Pamela Crowe and Mary Alice Hohing, Sustainability Steering Committee; School of Medicine student Leah Couture; Clare Banks (with her daughter), Patricia Fanning and Tracy Gnadinger, Office of Communications and Public Affairs; and School of Dentistry student Andrew LePine. 

May 2 Plant a Tree

Photo by Tracy Gnadinger

Members of UM Go Green and first-grade students at Southwest Baltimore Charter School (SBCS), located in West Baltimore, planted apple and peach trees (provided by the Baltimore Orchard Project and TreeBaltimore) in the school’s front yard. Southwest Baltimore Charter partners with the CLUB UMB Mentoring and Youth Leadership Program, an initiative of the University’s President’s Outreach Council.

Pictured: Brian Sturdivant, MSW, director of community partnerships and strategic initiatives in the Office of Government and Community Affairs, and SBCS first-graders talk tree care and maintenance.

For more photos, click here. 

• EnergyReady
• Energy Star
• Maryland Energy Administration
• Pfister Energy of Baltimore
• Seven Seas Energy
• Solar City
• The Nature Conservancy's Carbon Calculator

Food

• Community Food Security Coalition
• Community Supported Agriculture
• Composting in Baltimore City
• FoodRoutes
• Green Kitchen Stories: Healthy Vegetarian Recipes
• Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
• Maryland Food System Map
• National Family Farm Coalition
• Project Jump Start
• Real Food Farm
• Sustainable Table

General Resources

• African American Environmental Association
• American Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
• Baltidome: Green Guide and Insider Events
• Baltimore Green Map
• Baltimore Green Works
• Baltimore Office of Sustainability
• Baltimore Sustainability Plan
• B'More Green
• Buy Local Baltimore
• Caelus Green Room
• Green Events Newsletter (Baltimore)
• Green Education Foundation
• Hopkins Sustainability
• Maryland Department of the Environment
• Maryland Green Registry
• Practically Green
• U.S. Green Building Council

Health

• EnviRN Knowledge Network
• Health Care Without Harm
• Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
• Practice Greenhealth
• University of Maryland Medical Center Goes Green

Parks & Gardens

• Baltimore Green Space
• Baltimore Tree Trust
• City Blossoms
• Cylburn Arboretum
• Irvine Nature Center
• Living Classrooms
• Maryland Environmental Trust
• Parks & People Foundation
• TreeBaltimore
• University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center

 Recycling

• Baltimore Single Stream Recycling
• Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake
• Howard County: What Should I Do With ... ?
• Second Chance
• TerraCycle

Transportation

Water

• Blue Water Baltimore
• Chesapeake Bay Action Plan
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• Chesapeake Bay Program
• Chesapeake Bay Trust
• Hopkins Global Water Program
• Sustainable Water

Ginny Rosenkranz, of the University of Maryland Extension, said at a UM Go Green-sponsored sustainability workshop on April 4, “They’re important for plants and flowers. Their quality of life benefits our quality of life.”

According to the Pollinator Partnership, “Worldwide, roughly 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines need to be pollinated by animals in order to produce the goods on which we depend. Foods and beverages produced with the help of pollinators include apples, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, vanilla, and almonds.”

In the United States, pollination by honey bees, native bees, and other insects produces $40 billion worth of products annually (Pollinator Partnership).

To attract pollinators and help them to thrive, there are a many plants you can cultivate in your garden.

For those interested in planting a garden to attract local pollinators, Rosenkranz recommends:

• Planting in groups of three
• Protecting the garden from wind, especially in the city
• Having food sources, such as dill, parsley, and fennel, for catepillars so they can turn into butterfly/moth pollinators
• Maintaining a water source such as a birdbath

Some plants good for pollination include moss pinks, butterfly weed, black-eyed Susans, and perennial sunflowers. For a full list of pollinator plants and their needs, see below.

“Whether you have a shade or sun garden, you still can have pollinators and beautiful flowers,” said Rosenkranz.

Story by Tracy Gnadinger

Thursday, May 2. 1 p.m. Sign up gogreen@umaryland.edu. 

Tyler Brown of Real Food Farm talks about the benefits of growing sustainably.

“Real Food Farm, an urban farm in Baltimore City, works toward a just and sustainable food system,” said Tyler Brown, farm manager at Civic Works’ Real Food Farm, at a UM Go Green-sponsored sustainability workshop on April 10. 

In addition to supporting community markets, Real Food Farm also delivers fresh produce to senior centers, schools, community events and fairs, and provides home delivery within a one-mile range of the farm.

Real Food Farm is located in northeast Baltimore (2701 St. Lo Drive). They also offer a community supported agriculture (CSA) program and educational programs for local students.

“The biggest barriers to eating healthy in the city are affordability and easy access,” says Brown. “Urban agriculture is a way to provide fresh produce to residents of the city.”

With 12 or so urban farms in Baltimore, Real Food Farm isn’t the only one offering sustainable, organic practices (which are good for the environment, too), says Brown. These practices include reducing storm water runoff, a farm’s overall carbon footprint, the use of herbicides and pesticides, and building healthy soils, all of which leads to healthy plants and a healthier Bay, says Brown.

In addition to farming sustainably, Real Food Farm also employs the use of cover crops as weed suppressants and high tunnels to conserve water and prevent soil erosion.

In fact, University students and staff volunteered with Real Food Farm during Earth Week on April 26. Volunteers created an erosion-protected swale to drain fields without polluting the Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater runoff will be limited/filtered by rocks, burlap, fescue, plants, and an erosion blanket. For photos, click here.

For more information on urban farms in the area or resources for starting your own urban farm, Brown recommends visiting the Farm Alliance of Baltimore City. For those interested in volunteering with Real Food Farm, click here.

“The great thing about agriculture and food is that they are very tangible,” says Brown. “You can go out and see results.”

Story by Tracy Gnadinger

Adam Clark gives tips on biking in Baltimore City to students, faculty, and staff in the Green Room.

“This isn’t a terrible city to bike in,” says Justin Taylor, vice president of the University Student Government Association and Graduate School student. Taylor and Adam Clark (also a student in the Graduate School) gave tips on urban biking at a UM Go Green-sponsored sustainability workshop on March 26.

After all, biking to and from school/work is another way to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and stay active.

With more shared roads popping up, Clark says the city is a decent area to bike in, but you need good puncture resistant tires (hard shell or hard case types), to avoid getting flats. You also should be aware of your surroundings, says Taylor.

“Assume cars will do the dumbest thing possible, anticipate what could go wrong, and err on the side of caution,” Taylor adds.

He gave attendees some tips for avoiding trouble and staying safe.

• Get in the middle of the lane and force cars to go around you
• Don’t hug parked cars—drivers may open doors unexpectedly
• Always look ahead
• Don’t lock your arms—keep elbows bent with a firm grip

Justin Taylor demonstrates how to change a flat tire on a bike.

In addition to discussing bike safety, Taylor demonstrated how to change a flat tire. It depends on the bike, he says, but here are some basic steps.

1. Remove your wheel—loosen the brakes, pop off the tire, and pull the tube out
2. Check for damage—find out what caused the flat, and if possible, remove
3. Replace the tube—you can patch the tube for an emergency repair, but it's quicker to replace the tube while on-the-go, says Taylor
4. Reinstall the wheel—make sure the tube is not pinched between the tire and rim, and then inflate the tire (Don’t forget to reconnect your brakes!)

“You can do it yourself,” says Taylor. “It’s easier than a car.”

Taylor also recommends carrying a kit with you. Available at most bike shops, kits usually include a hand pump, tire levers, a patch kit, an extra tube, and tools to tighten bolts.

For a good bike shop, Clark recommends Baltimore Bicycle Works. To learn more about bike maintenance, Velocipede Bike Project (a nonprofit co-op) is a good resource.

And what type of bike should you use in the city? It depends on personal preference, says Clark. He uses a fixed speed bike, whereas Taylor uses a mountain bike.

“With a fixed speed bike, I tend to be more careful,” says Clark. “There are no hand brakes or gears, you have to pedal more, but it is much simpler and requires little maintenance.”

For those interested in starting a bike club on campus and/or those who have repair questions, contact Taylor at jtayl009@umaryland.edu.

“Remember, always wear a helmet,” says Taylor.

For additional resources, check out the following local bike organizations:

• Bikemore
• Baltimore Bike Party

Story by Tracy Gnadinger

For more Earth Week events, click here. 

For more Earth Week events, click here.