Along the banks of College Creek in Annapolis, officials and dignitaries dedicated yesterday a native-species garden to the current and former leaders of the Anne Arundel County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The Freedom Grove, a riparian forest buffer designed to manage storm-water runoff, is the first of 12 demonstration sites that will form the Chesapeake Bay Ecology Center on the grounds of the Anne Arundel County Learning Center, an alternative middle school.
Yesterday, speakers lauded the grove as an important convergence of civil rights and environmentalism.
"This partnership is about creating a better world, a better environment and a better society," said keynote speaker Carl O. Snowden, a former Annapolis alderman and special assistant to County Executive Janet S. Owens.
A tribute to the nine presidents of the county NAACP since its 1944 formation, the grove includes several native plants and trees, such as American holly, redbud, bald cypress and highbush blueberry.
It also includes a small watermen's garden planted with dogwood and black locust trees, which traditionally were used by watermen to remember the cycles of rockfish, shad fish and peeler crabs.
The buffer, which includes mulch-covered pathways, will decrease the amount of runoff entering College Creek and will create a habitat for migratory birds and waterfowl, organizers said.
Over the next year, 11 other demonstration sites will be developed on the 10-acre property to make the Chesapeake Bay Ecology Center an outdoor classroom for students and the community.
Among the other sites will be a children's art and butterfly garden, a compost demonstration site, a native plant and wildflower meadow and a community garden with raised beds for seniors from the nearby Glenwood High Rise.
Each site will have an information kiosk, and visitors will be able to take a self-guided tour through the project.
Mark Bundy, director of education, bay policy and growth management for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said at yesterday's dedication ceremony that he hopes the center will help young people in the city realize there is a role for them in saving the bay.
"We all have a commitment to and a responsibility for restoring that treasure downstream," Bundy said. "To do your part, you must first know you have a part."
Zora Lathan, program director of the Chesapeake Bay Ecology Center, said students from the learning center helped plant the buffer.
"They are really into it," she said. "Hands-on learning is great for everybody."
Lathan said the ecology center will expand to work with students from other local schools.
Snowden, who also is chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Trust's diversity committee, said the Freedom Grove project is the first time an environmental project in the county has involved a civil rights group.