|
MPA Releases First Sustainability Report
In July, the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) released its first Sustainability Report, summarizing the sustainability programs, projects, and initiatives that the MPA has implemented through 2023. Additionally, MPA recently established and filled a sustainability manager position to focus on the Port’s long term sustainability strategy with partners and tenants.
“From sound environmental practices and the use of clean-diesel equipment to enhancing wildlife habitat and bolstering community well being, MPA is actively pursuing its commitment to a thriving and sustainable port and has been building momentum towards a unified, long term sustainability strategy,” said MPA Executive Director Jonathan Daniels.
Read the report to learn more about the MPA’s focus on sustainability in six key areas: economic vitality, infrastructure, health, safety and security, environmental stewardship, climate and energy, and community building.
|
|
|
DMMP Releases Mid Year Report
The MPA’s Dredged Material Management Program (DMMP), which is responsible for finding adequate long term placement capacity for sediment dredged from the Port’s shipping channels, recently released its 2024 Mid Year Report.
 |
|
2024 has been a successful year for many DMMP projects. Examples include the Mid-Bay Island Project, a beneficial use project using dredged material to restore two eroding Chesapeake Bay islands, the dike raising at the Masonville Dredged Material Containment Facility (DMCF), and a new federal grant awarded to study constructing vegetative berms made from dredged material for flood protection.
The report also highlights the DMMP team’s efforts to increase public access to nature, including progress on the new Masonville Cove Connector, a shared-use path providing safe and equitable access to Masonville Cove, and the Swan Creek Nature Trail adjacent to the Cox Creek DMCF, an approximate two mile loop through the forest.
|
Visit the “Resources” section of the DMMP website to read about these projects and many others, and learn how the DMMP continues to adapt and innovate while carrying out its mission during this challenging time.
|
|
Bird Banding
Several MPA properties provide critical habitat for Baltimore’s native and migrating birds, making them the perfect places for bird banding. Bird banding is a process where small, individually numbered metal or plastic tags are attached to birds for identification and tracking purposes. Bird banding is conducted during spring and fall migration at Masonville Cove, and research scientists also band certain species on Poplar Island, including bald eagles.
For the second year, wildlife conservationists have welcomed the public to observe bird banding at Masonville Cove, the nation’s first Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership. Among the species banded at MPA sites in 2024 are a Baltimore Oriole at Masonville Cove and Barn Owl Nestlings on Poplar Island. In 2019, eaglets at Masonville Cove were also banded.
Data collected during the banding process, such as the species type, sex, weight, wing length, tail length, fat level, and approximate age, is entered into a national database where scientists can learn about health and migration patterns.
According to Maryland Environmental Service (MES) Environmental Specialist Clara Liddell, banders examine a bird’s plumage to measure its approximate age, noting the color, density, and quality. Fat levels can be an indication of where the birds are in their migration process and reproductive life stages.
Photo (above): Masonville Cove visitors observe a Baltimore oriole during the bird banding process.
Photo by Matias Orrego/MES
 Photo (above left): Baltimore Oriole - Photo by Mike Hudson/Birds of Urban Baltimore
Photo (above right): Barn Owl Nestling on Poplar Island - Photo by Tim Carney/MES
|
|
Thinking Outside the Box for Dredged Material
Dredging keeps the shipping channels open for the Port of Baltimore which helps our economy thrive. But where does that dredged material wind up? MPA and partners continue to explore ways to recycle and reuse dredged material, also known as innovative reuse (IR).
In 2018, MPA advertised a Research and Development contract for IR projects. One of the projects being executed by CSI Environmental began in March 2023. The project is using dredged material from the Cox Creek DMCF to fill berms made from geotextile tubes. Today, these berms host thriving native plants at the BGE Spring Garden facility and help with flood protection and environmental enhancement. A new Research and Development project with Northgate Environmental will study the feasibility of dredged material to be used as cement clinker and as a supplemental cementitious material.
MPA also provided dredged material for a local IR project to revegetate a wetland at a former manufacturing site in South Baltimore and to the Stoney Beach Condominium community in northern Anne Arundel County for a beach restoration project.
 Photo (above): Vegetated berm - before image. Photo by CSI Environmental
 |
|
Photo (left): Vegetated berm - after
After an initial planting in 2023 was bolstered with some replanting in 2024, MPA continues to monitor and manage vegetation planted on berms made out of geotextile tubes at the BGE Spring Garden facility.
Photos by CSI Environmental
|
|
|
American White Pelican: First of Its Kind at Masonville
Masonville recently welcomed an unexpected visitor: an American White Pelican! Spotted on June 10th by MES team members Christy Morrow and Christina Hahner in the Dredged Material Containment Facility (DMCF), this rare bird has remained at the site ever since. This marks the first recorded sighting of an American White Pelican at Masonville.
 |
|
The American White Pelican is a striking bird, easily recognized by its large size, white plumage with black flight feathers, and vibrant orange bill. Known for their graceful flight, these pelicans are either residents or migrants, with breeding populations in Texas, Mexico, the Midwest, and Canada. They typically winter in southern California, the Gulf States, Mexico, and Central America. Their diet includes fish, crustaceans, and amphibians, likely feeding on minnows, shrimp, and the 30+ fish species in Masonville's waters. |
Photo: To spot the bird, walk about a mile along the Upland Trail and view the DMCF from behind the fence. Photo by Tim Carney MPA/MES
|
|
BPA Helps a Community and Its Garden Thrive
Community gardens provide a place of fellowship and nourishment. Volunteers from the Baltimore Port Alliance (BPA) Environmental Committee and the Caring Active Restoring Efforts (CARE) Community Association, Inc. of East Baltimore turned out on a hot and humid June day to support CARE’s Madeira Street Garden, which provides a safe space to grow fruit and vegetables which are made available to neighbors at no cost.
The BPA’s relationship with CARE began in 2017 through a connection made by the Baltimore City Environmental Control Board as the BPA sought to expand its connections with communities beyond those that are nearby to Port facilities. A key mission of the BPA’s Environmental Committee is to communicate to external stakeholders about the Port’s role in environmental stewardship. Creating such relationships helps to expand that message to a wider audience and maintaining those relationships is important. Through the years, the BPA has continued to support CARE by providing donated items such as a container for storage of garden equipment, wood used to build raised garden beds, picnic tables, and wharf logs to prevent illegal parking in community green spaces. Members of the community have also participated in tours of the Port. As CARE is looking to expand the green space next to the garden, the BPA recruited volunteers to help clear the space this past June by performing weeding and light tree trimming. The Fraley Corporation kindly donated the use of a 30’ dumpster for the debris.
John Walker is CARE’s manager for the garden and other green spaces in the community. He performs this work in addition to having a full time job. John is grateful for the partnership formed with the BPA and appreciates the assistance to support their mission.
According to MPA’s Environmental Manager Cindy Hudson, the BPA is planning another Community Partnership event in the fall.
 Photos: A group of hardy volunteers turned out to support the Madeira Street Garden despite the heat and humidity. Photo by Dan Spack/Ecologix Group, Inc.
|
|
Mid-Bay Community Conversations
The City of Cambridge’s Juneteenth Celebration at Cornish Park provided an opportunity for MPA and partners to connect with nearly 200 community members through an outreach effort called “Mid-Bay Community Conversations.”
Event participants learned more about the Mid-Bay Island Project, where dredged material will be used to restore two eroding Chesapeake Bay islands located in Dorchester County. KLT Group Director of Outreach and Engagement Brandi McCoy, a consultant providing outreach and engagement support to the MES and MPA on the project, noted this event provided the Mid-Bay Outreach Team an opportunity to connect with additional local community members and hear directly from them.
 |
|
“The City of Cambridge’s Juneteenth celebration provided an opportunity to engage and connect with people who may not be reached through typical outreach channels such as public hearings,” said McCoy. “We made a lot of new connections in the community and learned from them as well.”
The Mid-Bay Outreach Team will continue to attend similar events within Dorchester County, including but not limited to cultural, community, and special interest group events.
Photo: The picture features Brian Barrett, Maryland Environmental Service, engaging with a vibrant young group in environmental education activities.
Photo by Brandi McCoy/KLT Group
|
|
|
Youth Birding Week Aims to Inspire Lifelong Love of Nature
For the third year, MPA and partners were able to share the enduring love of nature with area youth through Port of Baltimore Youth Birding Week, two weeks of free summer birding camps for two age groups. From June 24th-28th, children aged 8-10 years old and from July 8th-12th, youth aged 10-13 years old began their camp days at Masonville Cove. From there, their adventures expanded to other MPA restored habitats, such as Cox Creek DMCF and boat rides to Poplar Island and Hart-Miller Island. Campers in the June session were thrilled to see dolphins on their way to Poplar Island. |
|
 |
As one camper exclaimed, the experience was pivotal. “Bird camp is the best week of my life!”
“[MPA Program Manager, Education & Stakeholder Engagement] Katrina Jones was the inspiration behind Youth Birding Week. She envisioned giving kids in Baltimore the opportunity to learn about the Port of Baltimore’s restoration projects while learning to identify birds in their backyard, but also our birds and the relationship between the habitat reconstruction and the native bird species,” said MES Senior Environmental Specialist Emily Sperling. The program is facilitated by the Port’s environmental education team at MES.
 |
|
MPA extends its gratitude to partners for their support in making these camp weeks possible and bringing smiles to campers such as the two pictured here. Partners and sponsors include Michael Hudson of Birds Urban Baltimore, local artist Laura Wolf, Chesapeake Bay Trust, Maryland Ornithological Society, and Baltimore Bird Club.
Each child received a birding toolkit with a birding field guide and binoculars, which they could keep for their future adventures.
|
Photos: taken by Emily Sperling/MES
|
|
The Masonville Cove Links WildSTEM: Not Your Average Internship Experience
For the second year, the Masonville Cove Partnership is proud to host the Masonville Cove Links WildSTEM summer internship. Participants included four college interns from local historically black colleges and universities, including Bowie State University, Coppin State University, and Morgan State University. The interns learned about various conservation careers available in multiple disciplines, practical hands-on skills, and soft skills like networking, public speaking, and etiquette.
The students successfully built their networks while receiving valuable consultations on how they can see themselves in the conservation space, sometimes shaping the program in real time.
For this program, the Masonville Cove Partnership collaborates with The Links, Incorporated WildSTEM program, enhancing the program’s impact.
“This summer I had the opportunity to intern at Masonville Cove. Thanks to their four partners, Maryland Port Administration, National Aquarium, Living Classrooms Foundation, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). I explored conservation, environmental, state, and federal spaces. A special thanks to The Links, Incorporated and Brown Advisory for their investment in youths such as myself in achieving our dreams,” said Irvin Bonsu. “Some of my personal highlights included the Jonestown tour, the National Aquarium’s fabrication lab, Patuxent Research Refuge Visitor Center, and the warming environmental campus at Masonville Cove. This experience has been a very enriching and powerful statement on the need for more environmental awareness, integration in life and justice.”
Participants also provided important support for community events at Masonville Cove and considered the opportunity to join the growing Friends of Masonville Cove group, finding a home at Masonville Cove for years to come.
 The 2024 Masonville Cove Links WildSTEM summer interns are college students majoring in architecture, education, biology, and management information systems.
Photo by MPA
|
|
|
These committee meetings are open to the public. Some meetings may be virtual or in-person. Please visit maryland-dmmp.com for details and access information for each meeting.
DMMP Innovative Reuse Committee Meeting - August 27th at 5:30PM
Hybrid - Cox Creek Operations and Maintenance Complex
1000 Kembo Rd., Baltimore, MD, United States
For more information, visit maryland-dmmp.com
For questions, please contact ecoport@marylandports.com.
DMMP Masonville Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting - September 3rd at 5:30PM
Hybrid -Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center
1000 Frankfurst Ave, Baltimore, United States
For more information, visit maryland-dmmp.com
For questions, please contact ecoport@marylandports.com.
Bay Enhancement Working Group - CAD Subcommittee - September 12th at 3:00PM
Cox Creek Operations and Maintenance Complex
1000 Kembo Rd., Baltimore, MD, United States
For more information, visit maryland-dmmp.com
For questions, please contact ecoport@marylandports.com.
Urban Wildlife Conservation Day - September 14th at 9:00AM
Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center
1000 Frankfurst Ave, Baltimore, United States
For questions, please contact ecoport@marylandports.com.
DMMP Management Committee Meeting - September 18th at 10:00AM
Hybrid - World Trade Center Stanton Room
401 E Pratt St. - 20th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
For more information, visit maryland-dmmp.com
For questions, please contact ecoport@marylandports.com.
DMMP Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting - September 25th at 5:30PM
Hybrid -Location TBD
For more information, visit maryland-dmmp.com
For questions, please contact ecoport@marylandports.com.
Port of Baltimore Open House - October 19th at 10:00AM
Cox Creek Operations and Maintenance Complex
1000 Kembo Rd., Baltimore, MD, United States
For more information, visit maryland-dmmp.com
For questions, please contact ecoport@marylandports.com.
|
|
ECO Port Newsletter is the Maryland Port Administration’s bi-monthly update of projects and programs that help the agency contribute to a thriving economy, environmental stewardship, and community partnerships. As always, we thank the many private sector businesses, government leaders, communities, and individual citizens who have helped make these achievements a reality. |
|
|
Jonathan Daniels, Executive Director
Maryland Port Administration
The World Trade Center
401 East Pratt Street, Baltimore MD 21202
1-800-638-7519 / www.marylandports.com
|
|
|
|
|
