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A Year of Impact: Your Severn River Association
As we reflect on 2024, we’re filled with gratitude for the incredible work our team and volunteers have accomplished with the support of our fantastic donors. Together we’ve made significant strides for the Severn River this year, and bigger and better things are on the way in 2025.
Connect:
- Inspired Future Generations: We provided on-the-water experiences for 54 students, fostering a love for the environment and inspiring future stewards.
- Empowered Volunteers: 63 volunteers helped with water quality monitoring and over 180 volunteers dedicated their time to removing invasive species and cleaning up litter, saving 187 trees and removing over 7,500 pounds of garbage.
- Strengthened Our Support: We welcomed 129 new private donors, whose generosity fuels our progress.
- Engaged our Community: We reached over 1,100 new followers on social media, providing updates, educational content, and inspiring stories.
- Educated Our Community: We hosted the John Wright Speaker Series, educating 331 attendees about critical environmental issues. Additionally, we presented to 498 community members on specific concerns related to the Severn River.
Restore:
- Oyster Restoration: We planted 12.5 million oysters on our Traces Hollow 2a sanctuary reef and over 1 million one-year-old oysters grown by our 304 volunteer oyster growers.
- Innovative Solutions: We developed a groundbreaking mechanism for directly setting oyster larvae on a reef, a more efficient and effective method for restoration than spat-on-shell.
- Secured Funding: We secured $764,304 in grant funding to support restoration projects and watershed planning.
- Building Partnerships: We formed a powerful coalition to advocate for the Severn River's inclusion in the Whole Watershed Act, which could bring significant funding and resources to our river.
- Addressing Pollution: We engaged an expert consultant to develop a strategy for addressing septic system pollution using permeable reactive barriers.
Protect:
- Championing Environmental Legislation: We successfully advocated for a new state law banning the sale of invasive plant species, protecting our forests and waterways.
- Advocating for Watershed Protection: We continued our advocacy for the Whole Watershed Act, which will provide critical funding for restoration and conservation efforts.
- Empowering Community Members: We assisted residents in the County’s comprehensive rezoning process to safeguard environmentally sensitive lands.
Your support has been instrumental in achieving these milestones. Together we will continue to make a positive impact on the Severn River and in its surrounding communities.
Thank you for being a part of our journey.
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