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Grants Awarded to Local Churches to Reduce Stormwater Runoff

ByErin Bennett

Two Baltimore churches were recently awarded grant funds to implement stormwater restoration practices to reduce polluted stormwater runoff from their sacred grounds. St. John Lutheran Church in Brooklyn and Christian Temple Church in Catonsville will receive $52,933 and $25,000, respectively.

The churches will be removing impervious pavement, installing rainwater harvesting systems and rain gardens, and planting trees all with the aim of not only reducing polluted stormwater from running into our streams, but to also model this behavior within their communities to educate members, residents and visitors about the problem of polluted stormwater and the different solutions that we can adopt.

St. John’s Lutheran Church and Christian Temple Church are both participants in Blue Water Congregations, a program led by Blue Water Baltimore and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake and funded by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.

Importance of Clean Water

Pastor Rick Powell from Christian Temple Church says, “The members and friends of Christian Temple are excited to be working with Blue Water Baltimore and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake to expand what was initially a small Memorial Garden project into a beautiful rain garden that will not only improve our local waterways, but that will provide a visual example to all the people in our community of how to care for God’s creation.”

Pastor Robert Schmitt who serves as the Lutheran Port Chaplain in addition to being the Pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church says, “I am keenly aware of the importance of clean water and appreciate this opportunity to help people understand that how we treat the land affects all of our lives. “The grants received by the churches are funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

Become Involved

Contact Blue Water Baltimore
Erin Bennett, Program Manager, Stormwater Assessments
410.254.1577 ext. 106 or [email protected]

Contact Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake
Bonnie Sorak,Congregational Outreach Coordinator
443.799.0349 or [email protected]

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