N e w s l e t t er

April 2024

EFC FACULTY RECEIVE UMD

DO GOOD INNOVATOR AWARDS

The Do Good Institute, in partnership with the Office of the Provost, recognized 57 outstanding UMD staff and faculty with the Provost’s Do Good Innovator Award. Two EFCers were honored among the campus community members who create, nurture, expand, and amplify social impact through education, programs and research, in and outside the classroom. 

EFC's Brandy Espinola and Affiliate Research Faculty Marccus Hendricks were recognized for their meaningful work. The award reflects their impressive commitment to our Do Good Campus core values: Experiential Learning; Social Impact; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging; Service to Humanity; Collaboration; and Innovation. These dedicated Terps were nominated by their colleagues who recognized the broad and meaningful impact they create. Over the past academic year, members from the Do Good Campus Strategic Leadership Council reviewed nominations and selected their awardees.

Click here for more information about the awardees. Congratulations, Brandy and Marccus!

SALT WATCH: ENHANCED WINTER MAINTENANCE TRAINING PILOT PROGRAM

In response to detecting unhealthy amounts of chloride pollution in Maryland’s waterbodies, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) implements several strategies to decrease pollution. Efforts such as the “Snow College,” a mandatory training program for State Highway Administration salt applicators, has reduced the quantity of chlorides applied to state highways by 50% over the past 10 years. However, a 2017 study found that a large portion of chloride pollution comes from unregulated sources such as parking lots, sidewalks, and driveways. Since salts are nearly impossible to remove once they enter the environment, salt pollution must be curbed at its source.

To reach a new audience of private contractors applying salts at commercial/private properties, MDE partnered with EFC and the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council to develop and carry out the Smart Salting Enhanced Winter Maintenance Training Program. Through interactive online modules, peer-to-peer discussion forums, and a hands-on, in-person training session, the program certified 20 industry professionals in its pilot year. The training focused on teaching winter maintenance professionals how to adapt to specific storm conditions and use the most appropriate tools and materials for the situation. Trainees learned how to complete site plans, use application rate charts, negotiate Smart Salt contracts, practice adaptive management, and calibrate different types of application equipment.

Learn more here.

HELPING CRAFT BREWERIES BREW GREENER

Craft brewers around the country are implementing practices to reduce the environmental footprint of their operations, while also saving costs, boosting brand recognition, and brewing great beer. EFC's Sustainable Breweries project connects brewers in our region to these practices. Through free technical assistance and efficiency benchmarking, the program helps brewers identify opportunities to reduce water and energy use, mitigate wastewater impacts, choose safer cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, and improve worker safety. To learn more, visit go.umd.edu/breweries.

SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND

2024 ANNUAL REPORT

Check out the 2023 Sustainable Maryland Annual Report, which provides an overview of the annual SM certification awards, events, program updates, grant opportunities, and more.



LEADERSHIP TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS CLIMATE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Attendees at last month's Sustainable Maryland Leadership Training, held at the University of Maryland's Stamp Student Union, learned about a wide range of funding and technical assistance opportunities currently and soon to be available to local governments. Representatives from the Maryland Energy Administration, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Clean Energy Center, City of Frostburg, Howard County, Environmental Protection Network, UMD-Build America Center, Green Mechanics, Civic Operations Group, and Apex Adams Transportation and Clean Energy, Inc. were on hand to speak about their programs and chat with attendees in breakout sessions.

Click here for more information and presentations.

Paul Pinsky, Director, Maryland Energy Administration

Breakout session

You can follow EFC and some of our programs on social media: EFC is on Twitter @EFCUMD, Sustainable Maryland is on Facebook, and the Municipal Online Stormwater Center (MOST) is on Twitter @TheMOSTCenter

Jennifer Cotting, Director

jcotting@umd.edu

Mike Hunninghake, Editor

mikeh75@umd.edu

Consider.

 "We’re putting an unprecedented $20 billion to work in communities that for too long have been shut out of resources to lower costs and benefit from clean technology solutions."

-Michael S. Regan, EPA Administrator, on the agency's plans to award grants to eight nonprofits that will in turn offer loans to businesses, homeowners and others to spur clean energy across the country, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.