Article submitted by the Interfaith Partners of the Chesapeake’s Outreach Team for shorerivers’ 2023 fall advocate.
“Collaborative work is the core philosophy behind our work at Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake. We couldn’t be more excited, or prouder, to be working with a partner like ShoreRivers in a joint effort (the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Community-Based Organization Capacity-Building Initiative) to expand a movement of faithful stewards working together to restore creation across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Our strategy is simple: we have seen firsthand the impact a team can have on what a congregation can accomplish. The truth is, everything is easier with a friend! That’s why our Faithful Green Leaders Training program offers a free course designed to help you form your own Green Team. These information sessions show you how to recruit new allies, how to become accredited by your faith leadership, and how to identify and undertake environmental actions. Our next session starts in October.
Our partners, like ShoreRivers, are standing by to help our Green Teams learn more about the kinds of actions they might be able to take on their own property. Site assessments aim to help Green Teams understand and catalog the breadth of actions they might be able to take at their own congregation, inside and out. These assessments will also include the creation of a written report detailing various actions and initiatives available to that group. Every congregation is different!
To date, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake has helped 170+ congregations form a Green Team in an effort to improve the health of communities throughout the Chesapeake watershed. These congregations have come together and have collectively undertaken more than 600 actions on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay. These have included a huge multitude of projects and events—tree and native species plantings, rain gardens, bioswales, cisterns & rain barrels, solar and energy conservation initiatives, advocacy campaigns, and more. Likewise, we’ve brought onboard more than 130 partner congregations from across the watershed through our Partner Congregation Pledge, demonstrating their commitment to faithful stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn more about our work at interfaithchesapeake.org.”
Meet Ebenezer AME Church in Galesville, MD: the pilot for interfaith partners’ Community-Based Organization Capacity-Building Initiative!
This concept diagram of Ebenezer AME Church highlights different possible areas for installation of environmentally focused practices. There are more than 19,000 congregations across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Imagine the potential if we all came together.
After forming a Green Team and conducting a site assessment with regional partners in Anne Arundel County, Ebenezer AME Church was able to identify a variety of ways they might be able to improve ecosystem health across their property, and how they might be able to address flooding concerns surrounding their building and adjacent cemetery. With support, Ebenezer AME has received more than $75,000 from the Chesapeake Bay Trust toward their efforts to design green infrastructure, mitigating flooding and improving habitat across their property. As design work continues to unfold, Ebenezer AME Church focuses on educating congregation members and preparing for the work ahead in maintaining their conservation practices (tree plantings, native plantings, bioswales, and cisterns).