ShoreRivers staff and interns (left to right) Kyle McKim, Maegan White, Darran White Tilghman, and Lexi Norman.
ShoreRivers’ office at the Chestertown Marina Cerino Center is now a beautiful and purposeful demonstration of river-friendly plantings. If you look closely, you can see that the native shrubs and perennials—with their showy yellow, orange, and purple flowers—are removing pollution from stormwater before it flows to the Chester River. All of the gutter downspouts have been rerouted into a large pipe that runs under the deck and empties into a rock-lined retention basin in front of the building. There, water can slowly filter into the surrounding plantings, leaving the soil and nutrients in place.
“Instead of rain rushing across the turf grass and the impervious parking lot, picking up pollution and carrying that load straight into the Chester, we capture that rainwater and let the plants work their magic. In addition to absorbing runoff, native plants also provide critical habitat benefits and food sources that non-native landscaping cannot,” says ShoreRivers Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher, who helped with the design and plant species selection.
Volunteers of all ages help to plant a river-friendly landscape at ShoreRivers’ office at the Chestertown Marina Cerino Center
Click here to learn more about how you can make positive change in your own backyard (or front yard, workplace, church, or school) with advice and incentives from ShoreRivers’ River-Friendly Yards program.
This innovative project was made possible by a grant from the Robert F. Schumann Foundation and the design team at South Fork Studio Landscape Architecture. Essential support and expertise were provided by Wye Gardens, Anthony’s Flowers and Landscaping, Owen Excavation, and Edge Roofing. ShoreRivers volunteers put all 320 plants in the ground at a First Friday “Dig and Drinks” event in June.
“What I love most about this project is that you immediately see the benefits to the whole ecosystem,” says ShoreRivers Director of Community Engagement Darran White Tilghman. “Our workplace is now alive with birdsong and buzzing with pollinators. It also transforms the space for humans. Whether you arrive at our town marina by boat, car, or on foot, you’ll feel welcomed into the beauty of this little landscape.”