Everybody knows that
Baltimore Harbor is polluted, but did you know that there’s a movement
underway to make it safe for swimming and fishing by the year 2020? The
Healthy Harbor movement was started by the Waterfront Partnership of
Baltimore, and is supported by Baltimore City as well as area businesses
and nonprofit organizations.
To see an example of what
the Healthy Harbor movement has accomplished so far, you need only take
a stroll down to the Inner Harbor to see the two thousand square feet
of floating wetlands that have been installed next to the World Trade
Center. These islands float on plastic bottles that were
recovered from the Harbor and use natural processes to remove pollutants
from the water while providing native habitat for birds, fish, crabs,
and other marine life.
Waterfront Partnership,
in collaboration with Blue Water Baltimore, is also working with
neighborhoods upstream of the Harbor to help them become Clean Water
Communities. Neighborhoods are spreading the word and
making a difference by cleaning up vacant lots, installing rain barrels,
and painting storm drains. Storm drain art engages
neighborhood youth and helps neighborhoods keep their streets clean by
reminding people that anything going down a storm drain ends up in the
Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay. Neighborhood storm drain
murals often depict fish and crabs and include catch phrases like “trash
in the street pollutes what we eat,” others remind residents of long
buried urban streams that still flow beneath City streets with phrases
like “Harris Creek is under our feet.”
To learn more about how to get yourself, your community or your business involved in the Healthy Harbor movement visit
HealthyHarborBaltimore.org, follow Healthy Harbor on
Facebook or contact Adam Lindquist at Adam@WaterfrontPartnership.
org.
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