Survey Questionnaire for residents of Watershed 246

This has been a Tough Week for the Harris Creek Watershed (246). It is hard enough to controil the things that you can,but even worse when things come your way totally unprepared for. The only you can is to have "tenacity to the Vision" and keep moving on.

After the Bus Tour of the Harris Creek Watershed,we sat down to complete the Questionnaire that we could then use to do the Survey in the upper part of the Harris Creek Watershed.The Pan is to use this information in part of a Workshop being put together that will help in developing a Stormwater plan for the Watershed. To do this,we need people or residents to come together and share their experiences so that "problems of the neighborhoods" can be worked out in this setting. For these,we need to reach out and identify such individuals,but we are having trouble getting cooperation from those in authority that is needed to do this effectively.

Despite this setback,we are determined to modify our strategy and reach these people necessary to write a stormwater plan. "Tenacity to the Vision will be our Battlecry"

Respectfully,Raymond D.Bahr MD BHWA

Hoop Dreams: Sustainable agriculture comes to Lake Clifton Park | Baltimore City Paper

Hoop Dreams: Sustainable agriculture comes to Lake Clifton Park Baltimore City Paper

This will be part of our Stormwater Plan for the Harris Creek Watershed. We will try and promote Community Green Gardens,both the Standard ones as well as the "more intensive ones" as described here throughout the many unused acres in our Urban area for Agriculture. Read about this and give us some of your ideas how this can be successful in our GIS 246 Watershed. Ray Bahr MD BHWA

Harris Creek Watershed Game Plan

Game Plan

The Stormwater Project of the Harris Creek Watershed can only be successfully accomplished if there is Community Buy-in and that will require more than just Education about Trash and implementing best management practices for stormwater management. It will require an entire mindset change for this cultural change to take place.It will involve getting to know what the residents in these 17 neighborhoods feel are more pressing issues and how to go about achieving both objectives. Areas with concentrated poverty makes it difficult for residents to lead a more normal existence. To help neutralize this,we will try our best to promote,enhance and expand Community Gardens and Community Gathering Places. We will try and work with the Churches as well as the many groups already involved in cleaning and greening activities (see previous e-blog) in this watershed. Networking (never having to re-invent the wheel) will be a major strategy in trying to connect the people and the places in this watershed.There are many fine people living in these areas that at times become strangulated with the crime,violence and illegal drugs. Our Plan for the Harris Creek Watershed will get nowhere unless we find ways to improve the Quality of Life for all living in the watershed. We need to provide this Hope for them

With these Thoughts in Mind,we will incorporate the Humane Metropolis Baltimore Initiative that recently unrolled in a Conference Workshop sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society and the Parks and People Foundation. The Initiative highlights new initiatives to become more:

Green: Protect and restore urban biodiversity and ecological services.

Healthy: Promote outdoor exercises and fitness,reduce respiratory threats.

Safe: Reduce crime rates;lower risk of fire,floods and other hazards.

Efficient: Employ a better use of water,energy,materials (green buildings,light rail etc).

Equitable: Embrace environmental and social justice,affordable housing,access to jobs.

Neighborly: Foster pride of place and sense of Community



To these six, Dr.Lenneal Henderson added three more to improve even moreso the above. These are Creativity,Communication and Artistic........and to gel this Plan even moreso,Scott Spencer added "diversity" has to be included in every discussion.

Creating Community through Horticulture and adding Gathering Places for the needed Converstations to take place that will highlight Humanity as the most important aspect in our Stormwater Plan for the Harris Creek Watershed.

Respectfully,Raymond D.Bahr MD BHWA

The Harris Creek Watershed Plan for Stormwater Management
"Moving Along"

(3)-What makes this a viable Plan and gives it Hope is what is going on in the "greening" parts of the Watershed. Let's take a Look!

Banner Neighborhood's Garden

Duncan Block Community Garden

Montford and McElderry Garden

600 N.Rose Garden

God's Glory to Glover Street

Milton Montford Garden

Garden of Eden

Eager and Milton Garden

Faith Garden/Chess Park

Mura Street Garden

Lanvale Garden

Duncan Miracle Garden

North and Wolfe Garden

Darley Park Community Garden

Madeira Street Garden


Community Humane Groups working together

HEBCAC

Civic Works Americorp Program

Baltimore Green Space

B'more Green

Tree Baltimore

Cleaner,Greener Baltimore Initiative

OSI Fellows

University of Maryland Cooperative Gardens

Parks and Recreation

CARE

Baltimore Green Mapping

Master Gardener Program

Environmental Justice Partnership

Habitat for Humanity






Not to be forgotten are the Two Parks, Patterson Park and Clifton Park and the many vacant lots being turned into green spaces. Also to be included are the many Churches and Schools. Connecting these green points of lights and increasing the Gathering Spaces are part of the Humane Metropolis Initiative that serves as our Strategy for improving the Quality of Life in these impoverished areas. We can not expect to develop an effective Stormwater Plan for this Watershed unless we show an attempt to change the Culture of Despair that exists. Finding and Identifying Effective Stakeholders in each of the 17 Neighborhoods will be a Tool that we will seek to employ. Stay tuned in..............best,BHWA

The Harris Creek Watershed Stormwater Project

The Harris Creek Watershed Project is starting to make Progress. Moving it forward and getting the Message out as to what we aim to do in the Watershed is Important to us at this stage. The "gist" of this was included in a recent Sun Paper Article following a Bus Tour of the Harris Creek Watershed.

The Important Points covered and now available to the Public are (1)-The Harris Creek Watershed is an undertaking by the Baltimore Harbor Watershed Association (BHWA),that is has a significant Historic background,that it was paved over during the Industrialization of Canton,that it has an Outflow on Boston St,that 55 miles of pipes are necessary to carry the stormwater from Clifton Park to the Canton Area. There is a Paddle Wheel Trash Interceptor located at the Outfall and 3-5 Tons of Trash are collected each month. The immediate Goal of the BHWA is to reduce this significantly with Practices that will accomplish this.

(2)-The way to Clean up the Baltimore Harbor is to Clean up the City ....one Block at a time and help bring back Baltimore. However this will be a real challenge because of the Diversity that now exists in the Watershed. There is a wide variation in Income,rate of unemployment,schools crimes,drug addiction,etc Social Justice and Environmental Justice Issues need to be considered and better understood before setting up Workshops dealing with the Stormwater Issue. It becomes a Shared Watershed Plan only if "togetherness" becomes part of the core ingredients.

More to Come. Ray Bahr MD BHWA

Harris Creek Watershed Bus Tour

The Bus Tour to see the Harris Creek Watershed will take place on Saturday October 17,2009 from 12:30 to 3 PM and end in Canton at St.Anthony's Hall (St.Casimir's) with refreshments of Homemade Regular Chilli and Vegetarian Chilli where a discussion and critique of the Watershed will take place. There are 17 Neighborhoods and two Parks in the Watershed. Those interested in coming on the Bus Tour,contact Ray Bahr 410-534-7655