Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection to Join in Celebration of Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week from June 6-14 

For Immediate Release: Friday, June 5, 2020

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will join in the region-wide celebration of Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week from June 6-14 with special online events to commemorate the Chesapeake Bay and the area’s connection to the critical natural resource.  

The flow of every stream in Montgomery County eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay, which is the largest estuary in the United States. The annual commemoration is a week that highlights the culture, history and natural beauty of the Bay and its surrounding lands, rivers and streams. It also is a time to remind residents and businesses that daily actions have a direct impact on the Bay.   

“Many people assume that the Bay is far from us in Montgomery County, but it is actually in our backyard,” said DEP Director Adam Ortiz. “The water that flows from our lawns, driveways and sidewalks ends up in the Bay, which makes us very much connected to it. Each of us can play a role in the health of the Bay; clean up after our dogs, utilize reusable grocery bags, plant native trees and shrubs, install rain barrels and control runoff from our roofs and patios. Even in these unusual times, we need to remember our shared responsibility to protect the Chesapeake Bay and not lose sight of the great progress we have made in making the Bay a cleaner, richer resource for all of us to enjoy.”

This year’s DEP Chesapeake Bay commemoration will move to social media with a series of announcements, plant giveaways and a virtual happy hour to bring the environmental community together to celebrate the Chesapeake Bay.   

Highlights of Montgomery County’s celebration of Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week will include: 

• Announcing the winner of the Clean Water Art Contest (Saturday, June 6).
• A daily native plant contest with trivia questions posted on social media each day starting Sunday, June 7. 
• Chesapeake Bay Watershed Group Virtual Happy Hour (Wednesday, June 10).

More information on Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week can be found at https://mygreenmontgomery.org/2020/chesapeake-bay-awareness-week-2020/.

Follow DEP on Facebook at MyGreenMontgomery, Twitter at MyGreenMC and Instagram at MyGreenMC.  

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Release ID: 20-295
Media Contact: Cindy Pena 240-777-7733