On the Quest for Healthty Makeup Products

Ruthzaly Weich, Contributor

May 3, 2013

Gaithersburg, Md

By: Ruthzaly Weich

As women we are always on the quest to make ourselves look good.  Makeup is one of those things that can be very useful, sometimes indispensible. I have always loved makeup. Not just for the way it seems to improve the way I look but also for the fun of it.

A friend of mine mentioned once that she was avoiding makeup for the duration of her pregnancy and resorting to natural alternatives that did not include harmful ingredients for her baby.  Honestly, it was the first time I ever considered this.  My friend mentioned that several ingredients in makeup products had been linked to birth defects. So, when it was my turn, I brought up the conversation again. She told me what ingredients and products to be aware of. I went home to look through my makeup drawer and found that I didn’t keep the boxes that list the ingredients.  I had no idea what my makeup had or didn’t have.  So, I avoided most makeup while pregnant with my first child.

I’m once again pregnant and I don’t feel as radiant as I used to. I miss makeup but, I’m not willing to jeopardize my baby’s health over it. So, I went on a quest to find the perfect makeup and I was not prepared for what I learned. I could write volumes on this topic yet, rather than restating what is already out there I thought I will connect you to the experts who have done the research.

Recommended Readings:

The Green Beauty Guide Book by Julie Gabriel

No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O’Connoer & Alexandra Spunt

Tools for Identifying Harmful Ingredients in Makeup Products:

http://thegreenbeautyguide.com/100-ingredients-to-avoid-download/

 http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ - A 79,000 product database of everything out there that rates the ingredient concerns.

Chemical Maze – App for Android and iphone – is a great tool for identifying harmful ingredients in almost everything and most importantly it explains what it does to your body…

Make Up Expires 

Another great piece of information I gathered specifically from reading the Green Beauty Guide book by Julie Gabriel was about the importance of checking the expiration date of the makeup products I use.  I was aware of the need to discard mascara after 6 month. Still, I learned that most moisturizes, foundations and even lipsticks have a don’t-use-past-this-date note. Products can ferment, oxidate or simply become harmful. The fact is that makeup typically includes active ingredients whose reactive life span is limited and there is very little known or research available on the topic to risk it.

Commercial vs. Homemade

My most exciting discovery through this learning process was that I can make the best facial care and makeup at home! It seemed like an impossible undertaking yet, I learned that keeping it simple is best. While discussing my readings with a friend, she told me that she has been using raw honey as a face wash and moisturizer. I have begun to use it and it is as simple as it sounds. I apply the raw honey evenly on my skin and wash it off. It has drastically improved the texture and moisture of my skin. I love that kind of solutions. Nevertheless, in this process I also learned that the foundation that I use is actually free of all unwanted ingredients. So, I have decided to do my facial skin care homemade and use safe commercial products for makeup. I may one day embark on the 100% homemade. I am not there yet, time and ability to test around what works best for me will tell. The fact is that there are great companies out there that keep the line.

Useful Links:

Commercial Products Recommendations:

 http://thegreenbeautyguide.com/how-to-choose-mineral-foundation-best-brands-tips/

Homemade Guides:

http://wellnessmama.com/4948/homemade-makeup-recipes/

http://www.sheknows.com/beauty-and-style/articles/849631/homemade-beauty-recipes

http://www.naturalskincarerecipesresourcecenter.com

http://www.brambleberry.com - highly recommended site for ordering all unheard-of ingredients.

Today is Earth Day

April 22, 2013

Gaithersburg, Md

Editorial by: Alex Stavitsky Zeineddin

Happy Earth Day!

It is always interesting to go back and learn how and why annual events started.

Earth Day was the idea of Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson who joined forces with a Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey. Senator Nelson was moved by the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Ca. This bi-partisan team helped build a movement that got 20 million Americans on April 22, 1970, to protest about the environmental issues of the day.

According to Earth Day Network, these students and people demonstrated against oil spills, polluting factories, power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife.

Today, Earth Day 2013, we still have many of the same issues that concern us here and in other countries.

Thank you to all who work to improve our future generation’s eco systems. From water quality, to buildings that use less energy, to the development and use of electric cars, recycling, these changes we have made since 1970 are important.

There is still so much that needs to be done, from minimizing the use of pesticides, to taking care that we do not pollute our waterways, to reducing our national, state and personal carbon footprint.

Courtesy of Prism Energy Services prismenergyservices.com

We can make changes in our daily lives that will, and do, improve our environment, not just for us but for future generations.

Have a good day,
Alex Stavitsky-Zeineddin
Founder, Green Gaithersburg.com

A.I.R. Lawn Care- A Local, Sustainable Lawn Care Company

A.I.R. Lawn Care Solar
Charging Unit

Gaithersburg, Md

April 9, 2013

Intro by: Alex Stavitsky Zeineddin

A.I.R. Lawn Care is one of the first local, environmentally conscious businesses that is advertising on Green Gaithersburg.com. I thought it is interesting and informative for readers to know who the people are behind new and environmentally conscious businesses.

Zack Kline, a recent college graduate recently started A.I.R. (Atmosphere Improvement and Renewal)Lawn Care company in Montgomery County, Md.  This lawn care company uses electric powered blowers and is based in Montgomery County, Md. Check out A.I.R. Lawn Care’s website.  Also, Zack is getting certified as an organic practice lawn care specialist. Contact Zack at: zkline@airlawncare.com

Read below:

How did you decide to start your lawn care business?
I have always enjoyed cutting the grass since I starting doing it for my family while I was in 5th grade. As I grew older I worked for a mid-sized landscaping company while I was in high school and in college. While there I noticed the opportunity to be able to run the business better in regards to operations and sustainability. After graduating college I decided to start A.I.R. Lawn Care with those goals in mind.

How to Prepare Soil for Planting and How to Compost

Dayle McCarthy
Contributor

Rockville, Md

April 5, 2013

By: Dayle McCarthy

Intro by: Alex Stavitsky-Zeineddin

Dayle McCarthy is a new contributor to Green Gaithersburg.com. Dayle is our March/April Environmentalist of the Month. She is a leader in her community, having established a community garden in King Farm in Rockville.  Dayle works with school age children throughout the year to teach them about planting and harvesting in an organic garden. Her story will be up in the next few days, Meanwhile, learn from the master how to prepare soil for planting and all about composting!

______________________________________________________________________

Well, we’re at the beginning of  April and spring is still a bit elusive. Some gardeners have gotten English peas or lettuce in by now; others may have just begun to prepare the soil. Some of you may never have considered enhancing your soil. Well, I’m here to dish the dirt.

I’ll be explaining how easy it is to create your own soil amendment, or what we gardeners refer to as “black gold” with very little time and hardly any money. One important thing to note is that while creating healthy soil, you’ll also be eliminating the need to ship your kitchen waste off to a landfill. Besides growing beautiful healthy plants to enjoy or eat, another primary goal is to grow healthy plants without adding chemical fertilizers to lawns and gardens that may be harmful to our wonderful Chesapeake Bay.

Whether you are growing vegetables, fruits or flowers, the best way to improve the soil quality is to determine what kind of soil you’re dealing with. There are some inexpensive soil kits that you can find in local garden shops; however, the best way to determine your soil content is by sending a sample away to a soil lab.

To take a soil sample, follow these simple guidelines:

1. 1. Take separate samples from different areas – front or back yard, or specific garden area.
2. 2. Use a spade or trowel to take 10 or 12 small samples from the given area
3. 3. Samples should be taken from a depth that will contain plant roots – 3” for turf; 6-8” for garden or landscape beds.
4. 4. Mix together all samples in a clean bucket (no rocks or other debris)
5. 5. Send a minimum of 1cup or maximum of 2 cups of the soil in a zip lock baggie to your chosen lab.

Following is a list of labs that perform soil tests*

A&L Eastern Agriculture Laboratories, Inc. in Richmond, VA

http://www.aleastern.com

AgroLab, Inc. Milford, DE

http://www.agrolab.us

University of Delaware Soil Testing Program in Newark, DE

http://www.ag.udel.edu/dstp/aboutus.html

If you send your contact information to the lab -with a relatively small fee- usually $10 to $15- they will send you a graph representing the amount of nutrients in your soil.

*Taken from University of MD Extension  “Regional Soil Test Labs For Home Gardeners”

If you are working with virgin soil, you’ll find most plots in the D.C. area have an abundance of clay.  In order to improve the drainage and aeration, what you’ll need to provide is organic material. This is especially important as we experience more drought-like conditions during the summer months. You’ll need to water much less frequently if your soil is rich in organic material.

I encourage all gardeners to keep a compost pail beside their kitchen sinks. You can make one yourself using a large covered tin with a few air holes, or buy one any number of places. These come with filters to eliminate any odors. I often keep a week’s worth of fruit and vegetable scraps in the pail before transferring to my compost bin.

You can compost even if you live in an apartment with a balcony. One way to accomplish this is to compost with worms, or vermiculture, an easy and fun project to do with children.

Basically, you need a worm bin, which can be a plastic container with a top. Make sure to put small air holes (you can cover these with gauze) so the worms get air. You’ll need to control how much kitchen waste to add to the bin at a time.

Before adding your worms, you’ll need to provide them with some bedding – shredded black and white newspaper strips work great and, again, you’ll be repurposing your trash. Just spray them until moist, mix in a little soil and you’re good to go. One pound of worms to start would be good. One place I’ve ordered worms is: “Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm.” He’s not my uncle, so feel free to purchase from any source listed on various websites. I’d start off with about a pound of worms.

You can add all kinds of fruit and veggie scraps, coffee & tea grounds, egg shells, but avoid meat, dairy, and oils. Bury the scraps in the soil so they don’t smell. The worms will do the rest. If they’re leaving uneaten scraps, feed them a bit less at a time. In 3 to 6 months you should be ready to harvest your compost – primarily worm castings. To do this you’ll need to gently push the compost to one side of the bin, and add new bedding to the other side along with some veggie scraps. In a few weeks the worms will make their way to the other side and you can use the compost from their newly vacated area.

You can sprinkle this “black gold” on your houseplants or any other plants, such as tomatoes or peppers that you’re growing on your balcony. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, place these valuable castings (they’re fairly expensive to purchase at garden shops) around your crops.

Composting in a regular compost bin is not much different. You’ll need to either build or obtain a bin (some types can be obtained free from Montgomery County) or purchase one. There are six important things to remember when using a compost bin:

Brown

Green

Chopped (ideally smaller than 6”)

Water (just enough so that the mix feels like a damp sponge)

Air

Sun

Remember:

Brown materials provide the carbon (fuel)

Green materials provide the nitrogen (fire)

I’m including this handy chart for you to see which kinds of ingredients to add

It’s also important to keep your compost bin in the sun as much as possible so that it heats up and the components decay much faster. Turn your compost regularly with a handle to mix thoroughly and you’ll have another way of creating that “black gold.” If you follow these directions, you should have great organic compost to add to your flower or vegetable beds in approximately six weeks. You’ll want to stop adding to this particular bed a few weeks prior to using so that any new materials can decompose. In the meantime, you could freeze your kitchen waste until your new compost bed is ready to re-start the process.

You can use this compost when first planting or as a “side dressing” around your plants during the growing season. Your plants will hold water much better in organic soil than soil that hasn’t been fed a yummy dose of black gold.

I encourage you to keep your good “rotten” stuff out of the trash and begin feeding it to your happy, healthy plants.

Best of luck.

Dayle McCarthy

Help Name a Chesapeake Bay Icon

Press Release from the Chesapeake Bay Trust announces

“Name our Bird” contest to promote awareness for the Bay and the

Treasure the Chesapeake license plate.

Contact: Kristin Foringer

410.974.2941, Ext. 113

(Annapolis, MD) April 1, 2012 – Want a chance to win Southwest airline tickets, a gift card to your favorite store, and other prizes while you name a Chesapeake Bay icon? Then enter the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s first ever “Name our Bird” competition. The Trust, a non-profit grant making organization dedicated to helping restore the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers, is looking for creative names to give an identity to the iconic blue heron used on the organization’s official logo and Treasure the Chesapeake license plates.

“You see the blue heron throughout much of the Chesapeake Bay watershed;  flying across the sky, fishing in a stream, and even on the back of cars in the form of Treasure the Chesapeake license plates,” said Molly Alton Mullins, director of communications at the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “The blue heron is an emblematic icon of the Bay and our beloved natural resources which is why we chosen to have it represented on our logo and on our license plate for more than 27 years.”

The contest launches April 1 and name submissions can be made through the Trust’s Bay Plate website. The naming submission period will end on April 15.  Three names will be chosen as finalists and voted upon by the public from April 19 until April 26. The official winner will be named on April 29 and there are multiple chances to win prizes. There will be two grand prize winners; one for whose name is chosen to represent the blue heron and the other a randomly selected voter who chose the winning name. These winners will receive prizes including Southwest airline tickets, a free Bay Plate, tickets to the Trust’s Treasure the Chesapeake Celebration gala and other events. There are also fantastic giveaways for the runner-ups and randomly chosen participants daily throughout the contest. Visit www.bayplate.org to see the official rules and prizes.

“The Chesapeake Bay Trust wants Marylanders to connect the Bay Plate with the great work being done to preserve our waterways and improve our local communities,” continued Mullins. “Many people are unaware that when they purchase a Treasure the Chesapeake license plate they are supporting environmental education and restoration programs right here in Maryland. We hope this contest helps bring the Bay plate into more Maryland homes that care about the blue heron, and our treasured Chesapeake Bay.”

For more information on the Chesapeake Bay Trust and how you can support Bay restoration, visit www.cbtrust.org. To enter the contest and for its official rules, visit www.bayplate.org.

About the Chesapeake Bay Trust: 

The Chesapeake Bay Trust is a nonprofit grant-making organization dedicated to improving the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers through environmental education, community outreach, and local watershed restoration. Since its inception in 1985, the Trust has awarded $50 million in grants and engaged hundreds of thousands of citizen stewards in projects that have a measurable impact on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The Trust is supported by the sale of the Maryland Treasure the Chesapeake license plate, donations to the Chesapeake Bay and Endangered Species Fund on the Maryland State income tax form, donations from individuals and corporations, and partnerships with private foundations and federal and state agencies. Almost 90 percent of the Trust’s expenditures are directed to its Chesapeake Bay restoration and education programs

Meatless Monday Recipe- Shitake Mushroom Soup

Another recipe from Claire Furman, Kentlands Whole Foods.

The inspiration for this soup was the shiitake mushroom.

The flavor components of the aromatic roots and  the sweetness of the mirin complement the earthiness of the shiitake mushroom.

I served this to our customers at Whole Foods Market in Gaithersburg a couple of Friday’s ago, but it is perfect for Meatless Monday.

SHIITAKE MUSHROOM SOUP

serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 quart 365 low sodium vegetable broth *

1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger

1 Tbsp. freshly grated garlic

2 Tbsp. finely chopped shallots

4 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps

1/4 cup mirin (rice wine)

1 Tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

2 cups packed spinach leaves, washed, dried and coarsely chopped

3/4 – 1 cup diced daikon radish

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions (green parts only)

Place ginger, garlic, shallots and 1 cup of the vegetable broth in a 3-4 qt. stock pot.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.

Add the mushrooms, mirin, remainder of stock and Bragg’s Aminos and simmer for about 8 minutes.

Add the chopped spinach and diced daikon radish and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with the sliced scallion greens.

*You may want to add an additional 1-2 cups water.

This soup is delicious as a first course.  Add cooked soba noodles to make a heartier dish.

Water Conservationists Take on Watts Branch Stream

Annita Seckinger, Watts Branch founder

March 22, 2013

Gaithersburg, Md

Intro by: Alex Stavitsky-Zeineddin

By: Annita Seckinger, founder of Watts Branch watershed group

This continues the series introducing the different watershed groups in Montgomery County, Md that are working on improving the quality of the local waterways.

“Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime
and our children’s lifetime.   The health of our waters is
the principal measure of how we live on the land.”
                                                                 ~  Luna Leopold

I have been in love with the water every since I was a kid. According to my mom, it was impossible for me to walk by so much as a puddle without jumping in.

Last year I attended a water conference in Silver Spring, Md.  I found out that Watts Branch, the watershed in which I live, had no champion. All the watersheds around had organizations to look out for them, but not poor Watts.  So, with a lot of help from Paul Hlavinka of the Muddy Branch Alliance, Watts Branch Watershed Alliance was born.

The Watts Branch watershed is a 22 square mile area located in southern Montgomery County, Md that originates in Rockville, It is roughly bounded by Travilah Road, River Road and Falls Road down to the Potomac. Its waters flow from its headwaters in the City of Rockville to the Potomac River, and from there, the Chesapeake Bay.

Watts Branch Watershed Alliance is a brand new organization (our web-site will be launching soon), created to clean, protect and care for this wonderful watershed. It should be noted however, that Watts Branch was not always an uncared-for little stream. From 1953 to 1999, Luna Leopold, a leading U.S. geomorphologist and hydrologist, and the son of Aldo Leopold, maintained a continuous record of its physical changes. He chose this river and its small basin because it had been the spot where, years earlier, he had taken his children on picnics. Leopold wrote that over time, suburban growth resulted in a basin filled with “muddy trash heaps” and “the little stream … littered with bricks, concrete, trash, plastic bottles, and old tires.”

Fortunately over the last few years, Watts Branch water quality has improved some due to the attention of concerned individuals, but it still has a very long way to go.

Help keep this stream and it surrounding areas clean and safe. Not only would it be great for children to be able to play in the streams that run though our parks and back yards again (remember?), but because, as mentioned above, all these smaller waterways flow to the Potomac and then eventually in to the Bay. Find your watershed. Volunteer. Help your friends and family protect your watershed. In doing so, you help save the Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay as a source of clean food and recreation for generations to come.

Annita Seckinger

President, Watts Branch Watershed Alliance

https://www.facebook.com/WattsBranchWatershedAlliance

http://www.muddybranch.org/

Why a Watershed Leader Became Active in Water Quality Issues

Paul Hlavinka, Muddy Branch Alliance

March 16, 2013

Gaithersburg, Md

Intro: Alex Stavitsky-Zeineddin

By: Paul Hlavinka

This is the second post in a series about the local Montgomery County Md. watershed groups that highlights those who are active participants in improving water quality in this county.

I became interested in the natural world as a young child.  I really don’t remember when.  I think it was always an intense interest.  I was fortunate to be able to enjoy days along the Goose River, in North Dakota, where we could bike on paths, find frogs, watch birds, and just generally explore and enjoy this world.  Moving to Maryland and raising a family here brought back these memories.

I wanted my family to also value nature.  There is no better way to connect with nature than through connections to local waters.  My girls both enjoyed hiking and exploring along the Muddy Branch.  They also felt a natural connection with this world.  We really have valued the park areas that have been left along the stream.

My curiousity about the health of this stream increased over the last 10 years.  We sail on the Chesapeake Bay and are aware of the environmental issues this area has experienced.  We observed first hand the large dead zones that are found there.  I realized that in order to try make a difference for the Bay, we need to act locally.  We started the Muddy Branch Alliance in 2010 with a number of other folks who were also interested in doing something about water quality.

I have since learned a lot about the stream and about the people who live near it.  I am inspired when I hear from friends and neighbors about their concerns and their willingness to do something about it.

Ultimately we all are part of the problem, and therefore can all be part of the solution.  Consider what you do in your own back yard and how it impacts runoff. Consider what you can do to reduce these impacts.  Help pickup trash when you see it so that it won’t wash down and end up in the stream.  There are many common sense things like this we all can do to make a difference.

I hope you feel this connection with your local stream and do what you can to make a difference.

Maryland Senate Committee Votes Down Fracking Moratorium

Sebastian Rowland
Contributor

March 9, 2013

Annapolis, Md

By: Sebastian Rowland

The Maryland State Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs committee voted 6-5 this past Thursday to not advance the “Maryland Hydraulic Fracturing Moratorium and Right to know act of 2013.”  This vote means that the moratorium will not become a law.

In June 2011, Governor Martin O’Malley issued an executive order requiring the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDEP) and the Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources to study the impacts of fracking and placed a moratorium on the practice until the studies were completed. The order anticipated that the studies would be finished by August 2014.

The de facto moratorium forbids MDEP and Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources from approving permits for hydraulic fracturing before completing a suite of studies, and added a public health risk assessment to the required studies.

After completion of the studies, MDEP would also have to implement regulations to protect the environment and public health before issuing fracturing permits.

Although the moratorium will not become state law, the committee’s decision will not diminish the requirements of the Executive Order.  O’Malley’s Executive Order will remain in place until August 2014.

Hydraulic fracturing is a fossil fuel extraction technique in which deep holes are drilled vertically and then into horizontal branches. These branches are flooded with chemicals to fracture rocks containing oil and natural gas.

Environmentalists decry the practice because it contributes to climate change, can contaminate ground water, and consumes large quantities of fresh water.

At this stage, no fracking permits have been issued in Maryland. Some oil and gas companies, including Samson Resources, have bought leases for mineral rights in Western Maryland, but have allowed these leases to expire.

The industry has shown interest in developing wells in Garrett and Allegany counties in Maryland, which overlay the Marcellus shale, which is responsible for Pennsylvania’s fracking boon.

Representatives from local environmental and health groups are for the moratorium. These groups include Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), Trout Unlimited, Maryland Nurses Association, League of Women Voters, Maryland Environmental Health Network, as well as Marylanders from Western Maryland.

These groups are concerned that without the moratorium, the state of Maryland could face lawsuits from the industry.  They are also think that the the moratorium may end in 2014 without a complete report on the possible health impacts.

Mike Tidwell, director of CCAN, citing a previous lawsuit by Dominion Energy company, said  that, “Unless you have  a statute in place, not an executive order, then we’re not really sure what the outcome could be in court.” He, as well other environmentalists, are concerned that the moratorium may end preemptively if the studies are not completed by August 2014.

Representatives from the Maryland Farm Bureau, Chevron, and the American Natural Gas Association, as well as some Garret County farmers, argued that legalizing the moratorium was unnecessary.

A spokesman for the Maryland Petroleum Council, Drew Cobb, explained that industry interest in Maryland was too low to merit a moratorium. “The bill sends the wrong message to the business community,” argued Garrett County Commissioner James Raley. “If anyone can do it right, Maryland can do it right,” he concluded.

78% of Marylander voters showed support for the health and safety impact studies in a February 2013 survey conducted by Annapolis-based Opinionworks. The survey was commissioned by  CCAN, which has been organizing the Maryland community to support the moratorium and studies.

CCAN is holding a rally March 13 in Annapolis, Md to protest the decision to halt the moratorium on fracking.

Maryland is not the only state to face this issue- New York state is also considering whether to continue its moratorium on fracking. The NY state senate recently approved a bill to extend the moratorium until 2015.

The Executive Order will remain in place until August 2014 and the Senate anticipates facing the bill next year. Also, the health and environmental impact studies are underway, with $1.5 million in funding from Governor O’Malley.

A River Keeper Says,“To Know the Water is to be on the Water.”

Ann Smith, President of Seneca Creek Watershed Partners

Friday, March 1, 2013

Montgomery County, Md

By: Ann Smith

Part of a Series on Montgomery County, Md’s Watershed Groups.

It is a reasonable request to preserve watersheds.  A watershed  controls water flow from its source to its final destination.  It is a drainage slope.   From The Eastern part of the United States, water drains down towards sea level, the Atlantic Ocean.  In Maryland, water meets the Chesapeake Bay before it reaches the ocean.  The Chesapeake Bay receives fresh water from land, and salt water from the ocean.   The water is brackish, and creates an estuary with high levels of nutrients in the water.  http://www.chesapeakebay.net is a good site for finding current issues with the Chesapeake Bay.

I love to be by the water near my house. I take my cat Sebastian and my dog Cosita with me every week.  The water near my house is a creek in the woods.  It is a small tributary that connects to Middle Seneca Creek.

The trees have their bark removed around the edges, and the pipes from the neighborhood have created these excavation tunnels leading to the creek.  There is little undergrowth, and there are lots of fallen trees with no smaller trees growing to replace them.

I don’t know what a maintained creek should look like, but I know this one needs help.  I felt the need to learn more, so I contacted the Montgomery County DEP. Ana Arriaza is a watershed coordinator for Great Seneca Creek.  She sent me a study that was done in 1999 called Great Seneca Creek Watershed Study May 25, 2999 by Keith Van Ness. http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dectmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/water/sub_greatseneca.asp 

I was invited to a stakeholders meeting for the Seneca Creek Watershed Partners by Meo Curtis.  The group is forming as the Western Watershed Alliance in Montgomery County. The creek consists of five large geographic areas: Upper Great Seneca Creek in Damascus, Middle Great Seneca Creek in Gaithersburg and Germantown, Little Seneca Creek and Ten Mile Creek in Clarksburg, Lower Seneca Creek in Western Potomac at Dawsonville, and Dry Seneca Creek in Poolesville.

Until recently, most of this part of the county was agricultural.  Ten Mile Creek is the cleanest water system within Seneca Creek.

Timing is important. Now is a good time to improve the watershed.  At the end of the last century, research showed that Maryland has done a great job moving the water out of neighborhoods and into the creeks.  I guess you could call them flood zones.  Currently everything flows into the flood zones.   We have a lot of impervious ground that adds to the flooding.  The water does move!  It takes everything with it; trash, nutrients, fish, rocks etc.., and now we have lots of fresh water creeks that bring the “stuff” down to the bay at a faster rate than ever before.

The new objective is to slow the runoff down, and let the water soak into the soil, where plant roots can take up the nutrients and take out pollutants.   As we connect to people within our watershed by practicing methods that slow the runoff, we are creating a culture around a template that already exists.  It is not political, or wealth driven, or driven by cars. We have been given instructions on how to revive the Chesapeake Bay via preserving our local water.  The movement is like a ripple on water.

At first, clean-ups emphasized the watersheds on the eastern shore, and then the Anacostia and Patuxent watersheds.  Great Seneca Creek is part of the Potomac Watershed.  The ripple has moved out and we now have to improve our watershed.

All the people in Maryland are working together to preserve water.   We use it every day!

As educators, accountants, scientists, kayakers, stream stewards and fisherman, we advocate for preserving Great Seneca Creek for future generations. Find your watershed on a county map, and sign up for the alliance near you.  Jack Cochran from the Isaac Walton League and Paul Hlavinka from Muddy Branch Alliance have started a shared calendar for Great Seneca Creek, Muddy Branch, and Watts Branch.  We share a similar logo with Little Falls Watershed.   Local events are posted on Calendars weekly.     Take a look.

http://senecacreekwatershedpartners.wildapricot.org 

http://www.muddybranchalliance.org  

www.lfwa.org

Ann Smith, President of Seneca Creek Watershed Partners