The partnership has a lot to celebrate as we continue our mission of providing swimmable, fishable waters and enhancing the health and productivity of native oysters in a way that best meets the needs of the surrounding communities. The numbers below are a sampling of what we were able to accomplish together this year, but they don’t tell the whole story. This year, representatives from across Envision’s four workgroups share their perspective on the impact and importance of the partnership “Beyond the Numbers.”

1 All-Partner Meeting with 60+ attendees in September
Updated the Common Agenda to incorporate climate resilience & equity across our work
Engaged 9 jurisdictions, 83 community members, & 18 historically underserved farmers
Secured funding to support the Technical Assistance Circuit Rider for 5 years
Raised $390,000 for implementation of stormwater BMPs in 3 disenfranchised communities
Launched the LEAD the Shore pilot program with 19 participants

*Envision partners paddle on the Choptank River during this year’s All Partner Meeting.*

Workgroup Accomplishments

Working with Local Governments

There are 9 jurisdictions currently participating in the circuit rider program: Caroline County, Talbot County, Queen Anne’s County, Town of Oxford, City of Cambridge, Town of Easton, Town of Denton, Town of Goldsboro, and Town of Templeville.

The Technical Assistance Circuit Rider, provided by the Center for Watershed Protection, continued to identify and assess potential restoration projects, provide grant-writing and management support, and advance project implementation.

9 jurisdictions engaged
Provided technical assistance for:
- 3 grant proposals
- 6 request for proposals to hire contractors
- 3 bid processes
- 8 project design reviews
In total, 9 projects in 6 jurisdictions advanced into design/implementation
Initiated discussions with 4 jurisdictions to collaborate on comprehensive planning

Beyond the Numbers: “Green landscapes and unspoiled waterways are integral parts of the history and identity of rural communities, yet achieving goals for their protection is challenging for small local government staff who also are already stretched addressing critical community infrastructure, affordable housing and economic needs. Having access to the Technical Assistance Circuit Rider has provided the County with on-call grant writing, engineering and project management services. This level of assistance is a game changer for Caroline County.”
- Leslie Grunden, Caroline County Dept. of Planning & Codes

Engaging Disenfranchised Communities

*Participants in the LEAD the Shore pilot program stand under the Witness Tree at Mt. Pleasant Acres Farm.*

Engaged 3 communities in developing and carrying out community-wide restoration plans, and designed and piloted the LEAD the Shore program.

21 site assessments for individual properties
14 projects advancing toward implementation
2 community meetings & 2 capacity-building meetings with a community-based organization
Continued Community Ambassador Fund to support engaged community leaders
19 participants engaged through the LEAD the Shore program, a 4-day leadership development program designed to equip residents of disenfranchised communities with tools for effective civic engagement on climate change & natural resource issues

Beyond the Numbers: “For as long as I can remember, my father fought to keep storm water from collecting under our house and in the yard. Someone mentioned during one of the community meetings with Envision that the collection of stormwaters on properties serving as homes for people could cause health issues. This information caused me to think about my family and the health issues we endured as children. My childhood home is located on Klein Street in Jonestown. Out of the four children that lived in our home, three, including myself, suffered with asthma and other allergies. There were times when two of us would be hospitalized at the same time. I moved into another dwelling in my twenties, and rarely needed the assistance of an inhaler. Approximately, five years ago, I moved back to my childhood home, and the need for an inhaler increased. My parents became foster parents and adopted three children; two of them suffered with asthma as well.”
- Shirley Lake, Jonestown resident

Agricultural BMPs: Breaking Barriers

ShoreRivers and The Nature Conservancy worked together to conduct interviews with 18 historically underserved and/or female farmers to better understand their perspectives and needs as well as barriers to adopting conservation practices.

Worked to continue the Agricultural Landowner Assistance Coordinator (LAC) positions and build on the successful agricultural incentive programs

Completed multi-year grant to accelerate water quality improvements by implementing 186 acres of grass buffers, trees, & wetlands on high-priority agricultural lands
Pursuing funding to continue incentive programs in the Choptank and export across Delmarva
Inspired MDA’s pilot Conservation Buffer Initiative
18 historically underserved farmers interviewed
Developed Farmer Outreach Strategy for reaching disenfranchised farmers on the Eastern Shore

Beyond the Numbers: “So generally labor is the issue. So as I operate a five-acre farm, as an individual without much labor assistance, it‘s one of the biggest challenges. The other challenge is that I operate from a passion side of things, just trying to help the community, where the funding is not really there. So I have to spend my own money to basically make this happen and then it becomes a little bit on the hard side to basically make a farm sustainable and profitable... My elaboration on that would be some of the big challenges that we face are sources of funding for small farmers to do small things.”
- Anonymous Historically Underserved Farmer

Advancing Large-scale restoration

Aerial view of North County Regional Park capture the scale of the restoration effort, including Delmarva Bays, native grass and wildflower meadows, agricultural ditch retrofits, and regenerative stormwater conveyance improvements. Photo courtesy of Matt Pluta, ShoreRivers.

Worked to share and identify potential large-scale restoration projects in the Choptank watershed.

Advancing Large-Scale Restoration Mapper developed using existing data layers, prioritization efforts, and partner project ideas
20+ funding opportunities evaluated for support of large-scale, multi-practice projects
2 project concepts developed:
- Bunding Agricultural Practices in High-Priority Watershed
- Turning Around the Tred Avon

Beyond the Numbers: “Working with key partners, including funding from the MD Department of Natural Resources' Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund and others, the Caroline County Recreation & Parks department recently completed a large-scale restoration effort at the 207-acre North County Regional Park. Previously an active farm, the degraded drainage ditches and tributary channels were restored to improve water quality in the Choptank River and provide enhanced resiliency from high intensity rain events. This multi-practice project also created 2 acres of regionally-significant Delmarva Bay wetlands, more than 40 acres of pollinator and grassland habitats, and an expanded riparian buffer. Collaborative efforts such as this go beyond what a single organization could accomplish and enhance community and ecosystem resilience to climate hazards, while also improving cost-efficiencies of larger, multi-practice projects. Through its new workgroup, Envision will build off of Caroline County’s example to advance large-scale restoration across the watershed. ”
- Carrie Decker, Maryland Department of Natural Resources