New Carrollton Kicks Off New Green Team / Climate Training Available to SM Communities /
SM Continues Stormwater Outreach Work in MoCo/
Wanted! SM New Action Authors
Our monthly sampling of news, resources, events and other items of interest from across the sustainability spectrum in Maryland.
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New Carrollton Green Team
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FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES
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Montgomery County Green Bank
More info
Montgomery County Energy Efficiency Program
More info
Prince George's County Sustainable Energy grants
More info
Prince George's County Green Energy Loan program
More info
Maryland Urban & Community Forestry Grants
(Maryland DNR)
Deadline: semi-annual
More info
Charles County Forestry Grant Program
(Chesapeake Bay Trust)
Deadline: Rolling
More info
Community Engagement & Restoration Mini-grants
(Chesapeake Bay Trust)
Deadline: Rolling
More info
Prince Georges County Weatherization Program
Deadline: Rolling
Prince Georges County Raincheck Rebate
(Chesapeake Bay Trust)
Deadline: Rolling
More info
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EVENTS CALENDAR
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Growing Our Future Harvest
Dates: Jan. 17-19
Location: College Park
Link
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Date: Jan. 24
Locations: Annapolis, DC
NOFA Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care
Dates: Jan. 28-31
Location: Greenbelt
Looking Ahead
Annual MD Environmental Legislative Summit
Date: Feb. 6
Location: Annapolis
Climate Leadership Conference
Dates: March 20-22
Location: Baltimore
MAEOE Conference: Full STEAM Ahead: Expanding the Potential of Environmental Education
Dates: Feb. 7-10
Location: Towson
Bike Maryland Symposium
Date: February 19
Location: Annapolis
Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition Annual Meeting
Date: March 6
Location: DC
National Bike Summit
Dates: March 9-12
Location: Wash., DC
Montgomery County GreenFest
Date: April 28
Location: Wheaton
Green Neighbor Festival
Date: May 4
Location: Frederick
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SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND COMMUNITIES IN THE NEWS
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Town of Thurmont releases economic development video
Greenbelt's Beltway Plaza to be Redeveloped
More
Middletown approves ordinance to allow microbreweries
Metro to allow bicycles on trains during rush hour
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NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND CERTIFICATION IN 2019!
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Happy new year from the SM staff! We're looking forward to several new initiatives this year and working with new communities across Maryland. Stay tuned for more...
And, it's not too early to start thinking about getting your community Sustainable Maryland Certified this year! How? First, if your community is not registered yet,
pass the resolution to enroll in the program. If you are registered and have a Green Team, start identifying which Actions have been completed, and others from your Action Plan that can be completed in the next 6 months. Feel free to contact Mike Hunninghake at 301-405-7956 or
mikeh75@umd.edu to schedule a phone call or visit to assess where your community stands currently, and to receive guidance and technical assistance in achieving certification or re-certification in 2019!
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NEW CARROLLTON KICKS OFF NEW GREEN TEAM
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 SM staff were in the
City of New Carrollton (Prince George's County) this month to help kick off their new Green Team. Attendance at this inaugural meeting was impressive, with attendees including the Mayor, a council person, town administrator, town clerk, a local pastor, four teachers, two apartment complex managers, and several local activists. The City has already been moving forward on sustainability projects in some areas, including Tree City USA designation, two community gardens, and several energy efficiency retrofits. More efforts are planned for the coming year, including electric vehicles, LED streetlights, and native plant meadow. We look forward to assisting the City and its new Green Team on these and other projects in 2019!
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GREEN TEAM CLIMATE ACTION TRAINING
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Dr. Sara Via at recent Maryland Climate Leadership Academy training
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Scientists agree that climate change is real and that climate impacts like increases in severe weather, flooding and heatwaves are already affecting Maryland communities. In order to help our communities understand and respond to the localized effects of climate change, Sustainable Maryland will be offering
Green Team Climate Action Training as the first of a set of new actions related to climate change. The two-hour training will give Green Teams the information they need to understand climate impacts and convey them to local government and community members. This understanding is a first step to increasing climate resilience. The Green Team training and guidance for implementing additional climate actions will be provided by Dr. Sara Via, Professor and Climate Extension Specialist at the University of Maryland. The first trainings will be in February and March of 2019. Interested Green Teams should contact Dr. Via directly (
svia@umd.edu
) to receive details of the Green Team Climate Action Training and to work out a date and time for the training.
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CBT GRANT CONTINUES SM STORMWATER WORK IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN 2019
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SM has received a grant to continue our work on stormwater outreach and education in Montgomery County. The
Chesapeake Bay Trust grant, funded by the Montgomery County
Water Quality Protection Charge, will allow SM staff to work with two homeowners associations on educating their residents about incentive programs like
RainScapes, as well as developing a basic stormwater action plan. One of the communities will be
Parkside HOA in Bethesda, which reached out to SM last year about forming a Green Team. Built in the 1950s and 60s, this community has 950 apartments in 102 buildings located on 69 acres of land. SM staff look forward to working with their new Green Team on stormwater education and other projects, and perhaps using this experience as a model for creating Green Teams in other homeowners and civic associations.
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SUSTAINABLE MARYLAND ACTION UPDATES!
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Are you an expert in a specific sustainability action? Do you know of a sustainability strategy that you think Maryland communities should be adopting? If so, we would like to hear from you.
Sustainable Maryland is looking for subject matter experts to provide technical assistance in brainstorming and developing new SM Actions for certification. We are interested in best practices for communities on everything from environmental justice and health to stormwater management best practices and energy efficiency programs.
Bring us your creative ideas, your tested programs, and your community case studies and we will work to incorporate them into our evolving certification program.
If you have a new idea for a new Sustainable Maryland Action, please let us know by filling out this form
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QUOTE
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"
The Green New Deal we are proposing will be similar in scale to the mobilization efforts seen in World War II or the Marshall Plan. We must again invest in the development, manufacturing, deployment, and distribution of energy, but this time green energy."
-- Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative of New York
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Sustainable Maryland is an initiative of the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland. It is a free and voluntary program designed to help Maryland communities choose a direction for their sustainability efforts, improve access to resources needed to implement action, and recognize their accomplishments. Our sponsors include the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Maryland Municipal League. For more information about how your municipality can register in the Sustainable Maryland program, plus customized Green Team training and access to student resources that are available to provide consultancy services for municipal planning, please contact 301-405-7956 or mikeh75@umd.edu
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Mike Hunninghake
Program Manager
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