Gorgeous Severn River Sunrise. Photo Credit: Ted Delaplaine

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2026. The short days and cold temperatures are no impediment to our commitment to protect and restore the Severn River and connect with the residents of its watershed. In a few days shovels will go into the ground on the first of several restoration projects that are readied for action this coming year. [Read more about our current restoration work in Ben’s message below.]

We also want to step up our engagement with folks in the watershed, whose amazing generosity makes all of our work possible. Listening to feedback, and embracing modern communication channels, we will be launching a series of Severnside Chats starting next month. We envision these will be interactive, during which Jesse and the team will present a particular topic to guide a conversation, as well as provide updates on our progress and respond to your key questions. We love to participate in community outreach events and to hear feedback on what we are doing right, but also on where we can improve.

We accomplished much last year, but there is much more to do and we are looking forward to a fruitful year. Through additional engagement, several stormwater restoration projects, and increased oyster planting, we aim to be efficient stewards of this beautiful river we all love so much.

For the Severn,

John Cryan

SRA Board President

The Maryland General Assembly begins on Wednesday, January 14th. Stay tuned to our updates on Facebook and Instagram about the latest bills impacting our watershed.

Satellite and Drone Remote-Sensing of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay

Greg Silsbe, UMCES

Tuesday, January 27th
Severna Park Library - In person or virtual

Presentation Summary: This presentation seeks to provide an accessible window into the current state-of-the-art into research at the intersection of remote sensing, from satellites, unoccupied aerial vehicles, and artificial intelligence. 

Speaker Bio: Greg Silsbe is an associate professor at University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences (UMCES). He holds a Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada where he studied phytoplankton (algae) dynamics in the African and Laurentian Great Lakes. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Netherlands and Oregon State University before joining UMCES in 2016. Currently, he focuses on understanding changes in phytoplankton and water quality at local to global scales using satellites, drones, and AI machine learning. 

Giant on Bay Ridge Rd: SRA’s contractor, Environmental Quality Resources (EQR), will be breaking ground on Monday, January 12th to construct two stormwater bioretention cells at the shopping center. These will help reduce flooding and also provide space for increased pollinator habitat with native plants.

EQR (pointing) and BayLand Consultants and Designers, Inc (in hi-vis vest) discuss a construction detail, looked on by City of Annapolis (left) and SRA’s Erin Hamner during the pre-construction meeting for the stormwater project at Giant. 

Pictured is an area of the Wardour community where the stormwater treatment BMP will be constructed.

Jamil Mott (background), founder of YieldCamp, looks up at invasive English Ivy killing poplar trees with a community resident at a site visit. Invasive species in the area will be removed by YieldCamp during the design phase of the project. 

NEW! Severnside Chats

Save the Date - 2026 Lifeline 100

October 4th, 2026

Kinder Farm Park

Race Lengths: 15, 30, 60, 100 miles

When considering a 100 mile bike race, it's never too early to start training. Mark your calendar now for the 2026 Lifeline 100 and register today to secure your spot.

Racing is even more fun as a team! Gather your friends together and sign up as a group.

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