County Receives $1.5 million in Grants for Glenmont Forest, Wheaton Hills ‘Green Streets Project’

Glenmont Forest Green Streets Map | from the Montgomery County website.

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, announced this Monday that they received three grants totaling $1.5 million for the Glenmont Forest and Wheaton Hills “Green Streets Project”.

The project aims to improve water quality in local streams and help manage stormwater runoff in the Silver Spring neighborhoods. In addition, the grants will support community projects such as the construction of 60 rain gardens, bioretention gardens and tree boxes named “Filterras”.

“The Department of Environmental Protection is committed to improving the water quality of our local streams and other natural spaces while contributing to the health and sustainability of communities,” DEP Director, Adam Ortiz, said in the press release.

The County also collaborated with Rock Creek Conservancy, a non profit organization, to expand outreach and community engagement activities such as installing rain barrels, educational lessons and promoting environmental programs.

Rock Creek Conservancy Executive Director, Jeanne Braha, says that community restoration projects work well when residents are engaged in helping. “Advancing this project with the engagement and support of the Glenmont Forest and Wheaton Hills communities is something we will be very proud to be a part of,” Braha said.

The grants were awarded by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

The Green Streets Project is a part of the County’s initiative to manage stormwater pollution and complements previous restoration on Joseph’s Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek.

Phase one of the project will begin Jan. 2021 with a social media campaign and community engagement to install rain barrels and pet waste stations in neighborhoods. Project construction is scheduled to begin in the Spring of 2021.

About Sydney Bullock

Sydney Bullock was a senior Multimedia Journalism major at the University of Maryland in the fall of 2020 when she was an intern with Montgomery Community Media.

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