Meet Meredith Prescott: CCAN’s New Invasive Vines Organizer

Hello! My name is Meredith (she/her) and I am thrilled to be joining the CCAN community as the Invasive Vines Program Manager.

My relationship with nature began in the wild forests and rocky coastlines of rural Maine, where I spent my childhood exploring. I moved to DC in 2015 to study Public Health at George Washington University, where I also had my first taste of service learning in local parks.

Studying public health while doing volunteer work in urban green spaces helped me see the fundamental connection between the two. I quickly learned that in DC, both parks and public health tell a story of inequality. It shocked me to learn that we can predict expected health outcomes in DC simply on geography alone. Which side of the Anacostia River you live on may literally add a decade or more to your life expectancy. And in these same areas where residents have worse health outcomes, we also see underfunded and underutilized public parks.

After graduating from GW, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. With the Student Conservation Association, I brought groups of high school students to complete conservation projects both in Rock Creek Park in NW DC and National Capital Parks-East (NACE) in SE DC. Both parks are rich in biodiversity and provide much needed sanctity from the city with their trails, picnic areas, and recreation spaces. However, the difference in management and upkeep of these two green spaces could not be more stark. In Rock Creek, you will see residents enjoying miles of well-maintained hiker/biker trails and pristinely mowed picnic areas. Meanwhile, NACE parks in SE DC often feel like a jungle of neglect, with trails made impassable by erosion and overgrowth, trash littering the ground, and entire swaths of forest overtaken by invasive species. This makes sense when you consider that Rock Creek Park receives over five times the funding per acre. (Additionally, the National Mall receives 80 times more funding for its 146 acres than NACE parks does for its 8,000 acres).

Despite the challenges and frustrations, my work in these parks has been incredibly rewarding. It’s not just about maintaining green spaces; it’s about empowering people. For many of our young people, hands-on service to the land is a much needed way to take action in what sometimes feels like a powerless fight against the climate crisis. It inspires me to see young people who may engage in this work primarily to fulfill a volunteer requirement and emerge with a sense of community, passion, and gratitude for the ability to spend time outdoors.

In my time working in DC parks, I have built trails, planted trees, installed countless erosion control structures, and even constructed a boardwalk or two. However, there has been no project that is both rewarding and low-maintenance like invasive species removal. It’s a tangible, hands-on way to make a noticeable difference in a short time and a great way to build community around outdoor work. We may not be able to fix the systemic issues that have gotten us to this point in the climate crisis, but we can all go outside and tackle those invasive vines one by one. And in the face of massive biodiversity loss at a global level, it is more necessary than ever.

I am thrilled to kick off this new chapter with CCAN, reigniting this volunteer program and working towards making every green space accessible and thriving. Every vine pulled is a step towards a greener, more equitable world. Let’s get to work!

Click HERE to learn more about CCAN’s efforts to save trees from invasive vines. If you’re interested in getting involved, email meredith@chesapeakeclimate.org

 

Funding for this project is provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program in partnership with Casey Trees. 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Offshore Wind Energy is a Breeze: Environmental & Wildlife Impacts

By Chloe Taylor, Katrina Vaitkus, Zachary Felch, Justin Stacey, Miranda Mlilo, Amanda Speciale, Katie DeVoss

Chloe Taylor, Katrina Vaitkus, Zachary Felch, Justin Stacey, Miranda Mlilo, Amanda Speciale, Katie DeVoss

Who we are:
We are a group of University of Maryland students majoring in Environmental Science and Policy. For our senior capstone project, we are researching the impact of offshore wind energy to help CCAN prepare for the upcoming public comment period for the proposed Ocean City US Wind Project. We will be creating a series of blog posts to provide information about different aspects of offshore wind and its impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, the economy, and wildlife. This is the last of our three part series.


Although offshore wind is relatively new technology, there is significant evidence proving that offshore wind farms do have a positive impact on the local environment. The negative impacts caused by offshore wind farms are short-lived, as seen at multiple European offshore wind farms such as Horns Rev, Nysted, and Egmond aan Zee. Many scientists currently studying the environmental impacts of offshore wind have found that there is a net positive environmental effect resulting from the existence of these farms.

Environmental Impacts
The development of the offshore wind farm in Ocean City, Maryland will cause some immediate negative impacts from physical disturbance of the local habitat as well as noise pollution both above and below the surface of the water. However, multiple studies conducted on several active European offshore wind farms (Offshore Wind Farm Egmond aan Zee, Horns Rev) have shown that most, or all, of these negative side effects subside over time, eventually becoming negligible. These studies have also shown that there are many positive environmental impacts which occur as a result of the introduction of the wind farm into the ecosystem. These can include, but are not limited to, creation of habitat for wildlife species, increased total biomass, and increased biodiversity.
Although there will be significant modification of the local environment, this will create room for growth in both species richness and diversity. Sites typically chosen for wind farms have naturally occurring sandy sediments. In order to support the wind turbines, large rocks will be introduced to build up the foundation and to increase stability of the monopiles. These large substrates create new habitats for many species of fish and invertebrates. Thus, despite initial disturbance, operating wind farms are capable of supporting many organisms. Benthic communities and aquatic vegetation have found the large substrates around the monopiles to be particularly useful as sites for colonization.
Some images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observatory have shown sediment plumes resulting from the flow of water around the monopiles of wind turbines carrying disturbed fine-grained sediments with the current. These plumes can be up to 30 meters wide and several kilometers long. However, increased turbidity in the waters near operating wind farms has proven to subside and to have negligible impacts on local wildlife. After five full years of operation, Egmond aan Zee wind farm in the Netherlands showed zero negative impact on the benthic communities within the wind farm site resulting from increased sediment flow.

Marine Species Impacts
Marine organisms face several negative impacts from the creation of wind farms including increased noise pollution. However, the benefits that come from the creation of the wind farm outweigh the negative effects. The noise levels created by fully operational offshore wind farms have shown minimal long-term disturbance of organisms within the local area, however knowledge on this topic is lacking and requires further study over longer periods of time. However, the most dramatic noise pollution occurs during pile driving, but it is not a long-term impairment. One Dutch study showed an increase in the detection of dolphins inside the wind farm area as opposed to outside sampling sites. This same study also reported the return of seals to the area following completion of construction.
According to a study conducted by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the noise generated by an active turbine may be audible to marine mammals from just over 40 miles away. Ongoing research explains methods that can be used to significantly reduce the impact of noise on the surrounding environment.
Following the construction of wind farms, each turbine may support marine wildlife on a large scale. Each wind turbine is able to support up to four metric tons of shellfish that attracts other marine wildlife to the area, similarly to that of an artificial reef. The wind farm will then attract a wide range of organisms to the area due to the newly available habitat and resources. The higher abundance of smaller organisms will attract larger predatory organisms to the wind farm and create a healthy marine ecosystem that may not have been as abundant or productive pre-construction.
The increased biodiversity provides marine mammals with high food availability, encouraging them to return to the area in higher abundances than pre-construction. The increase in food availability resulting from the physical structures of the turbines will provide an overall benefit to marine organisms and their ecosystem.

Avian Species Impacts
The proposed wind farm in Ocean City will be positioned in the path of the Atlantic Flyway, a major migration pattern for birds along the east coast of North America. Birds that fly along the Atlantic Flyway may include the bald eagle, golden-winged warbler, and piping plovers. This causes fear that there will be increased bird strikes during the annual migration. There have been several studies to quantify the estimated rate of impact of the proposed wind farm in Ocean City, which has proven to be minimal. In fact, wind farms cause fewer bird deaths than other anthropogenic factors. One of these studies found that, “wind farms and nuclear power stations are responsible each for between 0.3 and 0.4 fatalities per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity while fossil-fueled power stations are responsible for about 5.2 fatalities per GWh.” This data was collected from land based wind farms, where the abundance of birds and bats is much higher than on the coast. As such, the strikes from offshore wind farms would be much lower comparatively to the land farms and other types of energy production. Another study conducted at an offshore wind farm called Horns Rev located in the North Sea found minimal bird collisions with the turbines based on observation and modeling.
Furthermore, few species fly far enough off the coast for the wind farm to interfere with their normal flight pattern. Local bird species who do not necessarily use the Atlantic Flyway for their migration were found to be in higher abundance near the wind farms because of the higher localized biodiversity. Cormorant and seagull populations actually increased in the wind farm area. Additionally, the birds inhabited the area for longer periods of time than previously measured and would nest on the turbines. Birds that are migrating along the Atlantic Flyway are likely to have few strikes and perhaps even use the wind farm for an intermediate point for rest and a source of nutrition. The presence of a wind farm in this area would provide a beneficial site for resting, socialization, and foraging.

Conclusion
Based on findings and information from currently active wind farms, the overall environmental impact of offshore wind in Ocean City will be positive. The area will experience a decrease in carbon emissions resulting from increased biodiversity because of creation of new habitat and food sources, as well as increased total biomass. While wildlife may be negatively affected during construction and servicing of turbines, these effects tend to be short-lived and have shown minimal or no long-term negative impacts on behavior or physiology of species present. Current knowledge of offshore wind has provided a lot of insight into the potential issues which may be faced during construction and implementation, making it possible to anticipate and preemptively act to mitigate any negative effects. Thus, serious environmental harm can be avoided while taking advantage of the benefits of clean energy.

SIGN THIS PETITION TO THE BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT URGING THEM TO APPROVE OFFSHORE WIND IN MARYLAND!

Learn More: Bringing Offshore Wind to Maryland

Offshore Wind Energy is a Breeze: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By Chloe Taylor, Katrina Vaitkus, Justin Stacey, Zachary Felch, Amanda Speciale, Katie DeVoss, and Miranda Mlilo
Who we are:
We are a group of University of Maryland students majoring in Environmental Science and Policy. For our senior capstone project, we are researching the impact of offshore wind energy for CCAN to help prepare for the upcoming public comment period for the proposed Ocean City US Wind Project. We will be creating a series of blog posts to provide information about different aspects of offshore wind and its impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, the economy, and wildlife. This is the first of our three part series.

Chloe Taylor, Katrina Vaitkus, Justin Stacey, Zachary Felch, Amanda Speciale, Katie DeVoss

Greenhouse gas emissions are the most significant driver of climate change. These emissions increase atmospheric temperature, correlating to climate change events such as sea level rise and increased frequency of extreme weather. Not only do these emissions create climate change, but they also pose serious public health risks, specifically to those with poor respiratory health, due to their contribution to air pollution and air quality.
Renewable energy is a solution to combat the problems from greenhouse gas emissions. Supporting renewable energy initiatives and projects can decrease greenhouse gas emissions by millions of tons per year. Currently in the state of Maryland, we emit 59 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, and 17 million metric tons of these alone are from the energy sector. Despite this high number, only 10% of energy generated is renewable. The offshore wind project proposed off of the coast of Ocean City, Maryland may be the solution we are looking for. Not only will it help decrease Maryland’s total emissions by millions of metric tons per year, but it will encourage more renewable energy development.
Currently, wind energy accounts for 1.4% of renewable energy in Maryland, from 191 MW of onshore wind, providing for 49,000 homes. The offshore wind project proposes 250MW of wind power, therefore this could more than double the amount of wind power Maryland uses. American Wind Energy estimates that in 2017 wind energy avoided a total of 189 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the US , reducing 11% of all US power emissions. In addition to carbon dioxide emission displacement, wind also avoided 188,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and 122,000 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions. This major cut alone prompted an estimated $8 billion in public health savings due to better air quality and less pollution.
The offshore wind project could bring many benefits to the state of Maryland and help to decrease emissions on both the state and global scale. Shifting towards renewable energy is important not only for protecting our environment, but also for protecting our own health. Stay informed, get involved, and let our government know that you support offshore wind in the state of Maryland!

Sign this petition to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management urging them to approve offshore wind in Maryland!


Pictures Retrieved From:
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/hledej.php?hleda=pollution
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/5/25/17393156/offshore-wind-us-massachusetts-rhode-island-zinke
http://www.uswindinc.com/our-projects/

Learn More: Bringing Offshore Wind to Maryland

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Tell Gov O'Malley: Hold the line on fracking

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