Final Floating Classroom of 2024 with the Annapolis Police Department

For me, fall is always a time to look back and reflect before embarking on new things and to practice gratitude. Maybe it’s because fall brings a new academic year, or maybe it's part of the nature of the Jewish High Holidays that occur in September or October (depending on the lunar calendar), or maybe it’s just the turning of the leaves. In any case, please join me in reflecting on our restoration work and in contemplating what the next two months will hold.

Last year, I wrote “Engaging with the community is at the heart of our restoration work.” This remains as true as ever. Since June of this year, I had at least one conversation about opportunities for restoration in 23 communities in our watershed. Criss-crossing the river from Admiral Heights to West Severna Park (alphabetically, if not geographically), I’ve had the opportunity to see substantial erosion and stormwater runoff, and to hear concerns about water quality from many of you. I’ve also had the pleasure of discussing opportunities for restoration and am encouraged by the enthusiasm of so many. Connections like these are at the heart of SRA’s restoration efforts. I look forward to building even more relationships as we begin working with the Center for Watershed Protection on a restoration action plan for Picture Spring Branch, which was recently funded by a $116k grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and their funding partners the U.S. EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Program.

We thank every community and every partner already working with us! Please continue helping us spread the word throughout the entire Severn River Watershed. We hope you will encourage others to also get involved so that together, we can connect the people who live, work, and play on the Severn River to restore and protect it for all of our communities.

Ben Fertig, Ph.D.

Restoration Manager

Ben@severnriver.org

We are delighted to announce that SRA's tidal monitoring program is now a Tier 3 accredited program within the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative. This accreditation recognizes SRA's water quality data is appropriate for basing regulatory and resource management decisions on because of rigorous quality control and assurance procedures. We are so grateful for the sustained support of the Delaplaine Foundation for getting us to this point, and for our partners at the Chesapeake Bay Program and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science for your guidance through the process.

It's a great time to volunteer now that the temperatures are dropping. Monitoring events happen Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays until the end of October. If you'd like to volunteer, please contact our Program Officer, Tom Guay.

We’re thrilled to announce a $116K grant award from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and funding partners US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Chesapeake Bay Program to develop a Watershed Action Plan for the Picture Spring Branch subwatershed of the Severn River, in collaboration with Center for Watershed Protection. Picture Spring Branch is an under-appreciated, non-tidal, freshwater tributary near Odenton that flows into the headwaters of the Severn River.

The project will include desktop and field research to identify and prioritize ...

Water Quality Monitoring

Help SRA conduct our weekly data gathering on the Severn River to monitor the water quality. Volunteers go out on a boat to measure oxygen, pH, salinity, temperature, and clarity.



Weekly tours April-October Training is "on-the-job"

Kids on the Creek

SRA taught children about the Severn River watershed through hands-on experiments and boat tours along Spa Creek. These kinds of events are important to SRA as we connect the people in our watershed to eachother and the river while helping them understand their role in the river's health.

Our important work is only possible due to the generous support of people like you. If you are a current donor - THANK YOU! We welcome your support any time of the year. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining the movement today. Any size donation makes you a member.

HELP RESTORE AND PROTECT THE SEVERN RIVER