Clean Waterways Group Celebrates Success

Improve the water quality of Jennifer Branch, a tributary of the Gunpowder River that runs through Carney and Cub Hill. That was the mission of the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy's Jennifer Branch project.

Over the course of a two-year grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the group had more than 480 volunteers donate over 1,400 hours of time and labor to remove a staggering amount of garbage — over one ton — from almost three miles of stream.

Recently, the group held a community dinner at Christus Victor Luteran Church to celebrate the project's accomplishments.

"GVC and the Jennifer Branch Watershed Committee are very pleased with the entire project’s successes," said Diane Brazil, a Gunpowder Valley Conservancy employee. "Carney, Cub Hill and Parkville community resident volunteers not only accomplished the goals set forth, but exceeded them!"

The dinner was attended by about 35 people, including residents, volunteers and local politicians. Several Carney and Cub Hill residents were recognized with community leadership awards, including Fred and Susan Bath, Kathleen Ettinger and Deb and Mark Lancaster.

The grant money ran out on Nov. 30, but that doesn't mean the end of the project. The group will continue as the Jennifer Branch Watershed Committee, a volunteer arm of the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, thanks to Susan Bath and Deb Lancaster who will head up the eight-person group.

The volunteer group already organized the fall Better Waterways Cleanup, in which they coordinated with other volunteers to remove over 1,000 pounds of trash from area streams.

"Thanks to their leadership and commitment, the water quality of Jennifer Branch will continue to improve," Brazil said.