Formed in 1989, Gunpowder Valley Conservancy (GVC) is a Baltimore County-based land trust and watershed restoration nonprofit. When you donate to my personal fundraising page, your tax-deductible donation helps GVC promote and work for:
- Clean drinking water from Prettyboy and Loch Raven Reservoir
- Climate resiliency through native tree plantings and preserved lands
- Community pride in neighborhood streams that have regular clean-up events
- Pollinator habitat that also filters pollutants and reduces standing water
I have volunteered with GVC for 10+ years as a reforestation crew chief, personally helping volunteers plant hundreds of trees. To date, GVC has planted over 36,000 native trees in the watershed. As a crew chief I educate volunteers about the watershed and the benefits of trees, and give instruction on how to plant the trees. As I told a recent group of volunteers, we aren't planting trees willy-nilly. Tree species are selected and the location of each tree is determined based on existing native trees thriving at that site, soil type, proximity to water, and sun exposure. Over the years GVC has tweaked its planting procedure based on the success of past plantings. We currently boast a survival rate of over 85%!
In 2023 I joined the Board of Directors as Secretary. I've seen that GVC is so much more than tree planting with active tree maintenance, land preservation, stream, rain garden, and rain barrel programs. Beyond that, GVC collaborates and forms partnerships with area organizations, businesses, and individuals. The GVC community is strong and far-reaching. It has been a pleasure to meet so many wonderful people working to improve our environment and community.
The Gunpowder Watershed includes Prettyboy and Loch Raven Reservoirs and supplies most of the drinking water for the Baltimore/Baltimore County water system via the Montebello Filtration Plants. During normal operation, 100% of the the drinking water in downtown Baltimore is from the Gunpowder Watershed. https://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/pw-bureaus/water-wastewater/water/history
Almost all of my local hiking is done within the Gunpowder Watershed - in land around the reservroirs and at county and state parks. I'm lucky to have so many beautiful public lands available in a 5-35 minute drive.
Protecting our community watershed is something that should unite us all. Please help me reach my fundraising goal and make a difference for future generations!