Recent Event
Role of Montgomery Parks in Monitoring and Protecting the NWB
The program covered biological monitoring background and long-term monitoring results; stream restoration project updates, especially focused on the Glenallan Tributary to the NWB; other stormwater mitigation & water quality enhancement efforts; and volunteer services updates. A video of the presentation, now on Youtube, is linked here.
Recent Event
The Forest in Winter: What to watch for
On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Maryland Master Naturalist and science educator Paula Wang treated us to a virtual look around the winter forest, and my oh my, what we've been missing! Winter has its own interesting natural phenomena--among the trees, on the forest floor, and birds you can actually see now that the leaves are gone. Paula captured it all in pictures. If you missed the program, or would like to review, you can find a video of the complete presentation, courtesy of NNWB member Ed Murtagh, here, Many thanks to Ed for recording! I was hoping to post the slides as well, but the file size exceeds the website allowance. You can always pause the video to examine a given slide. Enjoy your winter walks with new powers of observation!
Recent: Water Quality Monitoring, Anacostia River System
Did you miss it? --you have another chance!
Olivia Anderson, Project Coordinator and Development Lead at the Anacostia Riverkeeper, gave an overview of the Anacostia Riverkeeper water quality monitoring program and results from May through August 2020 for e-coli bacteria, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and some other measures. Monitoring sites include ones on the Northwest Branch and Sligo Creek. Robbie O'Donnell, Watershed Programs Manager, joined Olivia for an extensive Q & A. Four NNWB members have been part of this program.
You'll find a link to the recorded presentation and Q & A here. Use Passcode: 4WH$#UDM.
And if you'd like to zero in on a particular slide, you can download a pdf of the Power Point presentation from the button below. You can also view the most current e-coli results from our water quality monitoring below that. Anacostia Riverkeeper's current water quality monitoring schedule ended with this sampling.
Recent Event: Microplastic Pollution
At our Feb. 4 meeting, Dr. Kathleen Michels described the toxic effects of microplastic pollution on aquatic life and seabirds. Dr. Michels stressed that plastic pollution includes the broken bits and dissolved toxins from artificial turf. She displayed samples of the rug of plastic grass and the pulverized used tire crumbs that most often serve as infill for cushioning and to hold the blades up. Soccer fields contain roughly 675,000 square yards, or 40,000 pounds, of carpet with 400,000 pounds of infill. By the time the turf is too worn to use, a lot of the "grass" blades and much of the infill has already left the field and entered our waterways. But disposal of the rest is a serious problem, since it is not currently recyclable in the U.S. Other microplastics are the result of the breakdown of larger plastic objects such as our ubiquitous plastic bags.
Unfortunately, none of the bills that would have reduced plastic pollution managed to pass the shortened session of the Maryland Legislature, even the balloon release ban, which had seemed very promising. However, a similar balloon release ban is still awaiting action in the Montgomery County Council. Please let your state and county legislators know you support reducing killer plastic pollution, and we'll try again next year.
Find your legislators at MDelect.net. Use your right to be heard!
The absurdity of wasting scarce education money on these fields has been captured by the comic strip Big Nate. In case you missed it, here's the URL. https://www.gocomics.com/bignate/2020/05/08.
Rolls of syn turf taken from a Bethesda E.S. awaiting disposal...somewhere. Photo by Amanda Farber.
Recent Event: 10/1/19 Program: Mechanized Bikes/Scooters
Our October 1 program featured Mr. Charles Kines, AICP, CPRP, Park Planning Coordinator, who explained the Montgomery County pilot program allowing mechanized bikes and scooters on paved park trails. If you missed the program, you can find information about it on the MoCo Parks website at: Montgomery County's pilot program to allow mechanized bikes and scooters on paved park trails. You can also find the slides from Mr. Kines' presentation linked below. (Photo by Laura Turbe of a scooter abandoned beside Pine Lake in Wheaton Regional Park.)
Recent Event: Impact of Plastics on the Northwest Branch
Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 7:30 - 8:45 p.m.: Impact of Plastics on the Northwest Branch
FEATURED SPEAKER Tiffany Boone-Hines, a Montgomery Blair High School student, spoke about her participation in One Montgomery Green's Clean Headwaters Program and what she has learned about the impact of plastics waste in marine environments through her hands-on study of the Northwest Branch and its tributaries.
Overall, plastic micro- and macro-pollution in waterways is a huge problem, and the Northwest Branch has its share of plastic waste. The team, using a sieve to isolate particles which they then viewed under a microscope, found tiny bits of plastic foam and synthetic fibers. Rather than rely on recycling plastics, we must reduce our use in the first place. It appears that our removal of all those plastic bottles and cups from the NWB has been beneficial, however, as the amount of particles in the water was not overwhelming. The slides from Tiffany's presentation can be viewed below.
One Montgomery Green is a local nonprofit fostering partnerships to support environmental sustainability and promote the development of a green economy.