At D.C. Environmental Conference, Watershed Realizations

By Joel M. Lerner
Saturday, October 21, 2006

The Chesapeake Bay remains in trouble -- the latest Chesapeake Bay Foundation "State of the Bay" report gives the nation's largest estuary a grade of D, or 27 points out of 100 (100 being the pristine condition it was in when Capt. John Smith first laid eyes upon it, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation).

While some of the dozen or so factors the report measures show improvement, others are down or barely holding steady. Oysters and shad are more plentiful, but rockfish continue to decline. Water clarity is unchanged, but levels of the polluting nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus are up. Underwater grasses are recovering, but wetlands and forest buffers are static.

But what can you do about it? How can one person improve conditions in a body of water that covers more than 4,000 square miles, from Havre de Grace, Md., to Virginia Beach?

There are numerous steps each of us can take. If you don't know what they are or can't summon the energy to get involved, you might be able to gather some inspiration at a conference being held this weekend in Washington.

The 2006 D.C. Environmental Conference: Stewardship for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed began yesterday and runs through tomorrow on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia.

The idea for the program originated with Greg Drury, executive director of Wholeness for Humanity, a local group that espouses holistic health care and related topics. The conference is a joint effort between his group and the federal Environmental Protection Agency; it includes other non-governmental groups that have an interest in the health of the bay and its watershed.

Conference speakers include government representatives, university professors, landscape professionals, golf-course managers, business owners, medical professionals, members of faith-based groups and representatives of environmental organizations.

"The idea is to bring together a wide range of communities and groups that share the same concerns but in the normal course of events wouldn't have the opportunity to talk to each other," said Ed Brandt, of the Environmental Stewardship Branch of the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs. "Or, if they did communicate, it was informal, with no structure to build future action."

Those who attend the conference will learn to teach others about environmental stewardship, he said. The thinking is that the more individuals care for the environment, the better the chance they will encourage others to care. This conference is the beginning of centralizing efforts "to lead by example," Brandt said, in showing people that it is our ethical responsibility to care for all elements that are necessary to our existence.

Brandt's hope is that getting intergenerational teams involved in projects will lead to continued mentoring and sharing.

"One of the real goals is to network," Brandt said, meaning not just among those in the audience, but also among the speakers.

According to Brandt, there are two major areas where individuals can have a personal impact on the environment: landscaping and transportation. The conference includes three sessions on landscaping and at least two on bicycling and "clean" transportation.

While aiming to motivate and inspire people to change their own lives and educate others to change, the conference will also serve as the planning ground for the U.S. Watershed Eco Tour, a five-stage, 640-mile, traveling seminar next year on environmental stewardship, clean transportation and recreational water use.

The route is from Cooperstown, N.Y., to Virginia Beach and will use clean transportation (mostly bicycles) to visit schools, churches, and garden and community centers, promoting "green" lifestyles.

At a session tomorrow afternoon, Brandt will offer information about previous EPA eco tours, and work with session participants to deal with logistical challenges for 2007 and develop ways to expand the number of participants.

In the meantime, I offer you a few of my precepts for green living that you can follow in your own home and garden to help the Chesapeake Bay watershed:

· Collect rainwater in a barrel and use it to water lawns and gardens.

· Reduce water runoff. Cut back on lawn areas that require fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation. Plant rain gardens, or swales, where rainwater can collect and be absorbed into the soil.

· Reduce steep slopes that encourage runoff and erosion; create terraces instead.

· Install native species and eradicate non-native invasive plants wherever possible. Using native plants is important because animals depend on plants they evolved with.

· Create a compost pile and use mulch to reduce evaporation and help slow runoff.

· Improve habitats to create biodiversity and secure landscape survival. Wildlife is losing ground every day to development. Replace as much as you can with plants that attract birds, butterflies, toads, turtles and others.

· Plant windbreaks and use deciduous canopies to use less heat and air-conditioning.

· Decrease energy use.

· Reduce travel to lower air pollution. Buy staples in bulk to save trips to the store. Cycle or ride for small trips. Carpool to work.

· Recycle paper, bottles and cans.

· Don't waste water. What's on the planet is what we have, and much of it is too polluted to consume without chemical treatment.

· Keep current on what's happening with the environment. If you find reports on global warming and sea-level changes disturbing, that's all the more reason to get involved. Maybe one person can't change the world, but many individuals changing their habits can make a difference and influence others.

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The 2006 D.C. Environmental Conference: Stewardship for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed runs through tomorrow at the University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Building 46e (Auditorium). The cost is $66 for the full conference, $15 for students and seniors or $25 a day for adults. You can buy food, and there will be a number of social events. For more information or to register, see http://www.wholenessforhumanity.com/ or contact Greg Drury, 202-686-9813, or Ed Brandt, 703-308-8699.

Joel M. Lerner is president of Environmental Design in Capitol View Park, Md. E-mail or contact him through his Web site,www.gardenlerner.com.