From garden to table, rain to waterway, trash to treasure, sustainability is becoming a way of life in Berlin, Md.
Environmental group Grow Berlin Green (GBG) has created a green mindset by teaching and engaging the community. Although centered in the town, Program Director Steve Farr said the environmental impact of GBG extends beyond town limits in terms of education and awareness.
GBG tackles every facet of environment and sustainability, from food to a major coastal problem: erosion.
Bottle Branch is one of three streams carrying water from the town to the bay. This once-small ditch is prone to flooding and has eroded land on either side so that even nearby houses are sagging toward it.
But, rather than installing piping to contain the stormwater, GBG and the Town of Berlin plan to re-sculpt the landscape of Bottle Branch. The innovative stormwater management project is expected to rescue the imperiled houses and prevent sediments from leaking into the bay.
If the alternative landscaping is successful, it could provide a new model for stormwater management.
GBG has also taken on the issue of recycling. While the Town of Berlin provides curbside recycling pickup for citizens, businesses must pay waste haulers for the same service. So GBG provided a recycling incentive. They donated funds, which the town then matched, and an industrial recycling container was placed behind the Globe Theatre on Broad Street. Businesses can now recycle bulk items free of charge.
GBG then took recycling to the next level with “upcycling,” where used materials are turned into a new, better product. Snack bags form purses; magazines are woven into belts; and rubber shoe soles are shredded into playground mulch.
Non-traditional recyclables go to the TerraCycle company: yogurt cups, toothpaste tubes, bottle corks, tape dispensers, drink pouches and plastic packaging from chips, candy, cereal, granola bars, paper towels, makeup, butter spreads and much more.
Grow Berlin Green challenged people to bring these unorthodox recyclables to drop spots at school and in town, and Berlin answered the call. Within six months, Grow Berlin Green collected more than 15,000 wrappers, meaning 180 pounds of garbage was not stagnating in a landfill, or worse, clogging the waterways and environment.
GBG Project Manager Debbi Colley cited the volunteer efforts of people such as Kathy Winte, who collects and sorts upcyclables from the town and schools.
“She’s just very passionate about the environment,” Colley said.
TerraCycle offers a stipend for each wrapper, so Grow Berlin Green also earned $310 to continue its mission.
“For us, what’s important is not the money but what’s not lying in the streets,” said Colley.
Some money is necessary to sustain the program, so Grow Berlin Green finds diverse methods of funding, such as grants, donations and green gift raffles.
“It’s gonna go as long as we have the resources to sustain activity and the opportunity to make a difference,” said Farr.
GBG often teams up with students to promote sustainability with the next generation. Such programs include after-school gardening clubs, upcycling collection contests and recycled art contests.
Farr explained that schools are great partners for GBG because students eagerly participate, and they transfer that knowledge and excitement to their parents.
“The success of this program depends on the commitment of Berlin citizens, businesses owners, educators, students and policy makers,” said Farr, who aims to partner with all groups.
He and Colley noted that the biggest challenge is trying to engage individual citizens, especially a more diverse following. Berlin is geographically separated by Route 113, but Farr said GBG is committed to overcoming these hurdles.
GBG is also planning chemical-free seminars on green cleaning products and all-natural insect repellents.
An idea for bicycle trails could reduce car emissions while promoting good health.
“When we’re talking green and sustainable, it all falls hand in hand,” Colley said.
Many of these endeavors sustain other projects within GBG. The recently planted herbs and heirloom tomatoes will be harvested for a canning class in August. Colley said the gardens may become a demonstration area where people can come for native plants or learn about rain barrels. Money from rain barrel sales help to purchase more barrels.
Moreover, the output of these programs stay within the community, such as food and produce that goes to local crisis centers or soup kitchens.
“We’re trying to think ahead,” Colley said. “What can we do next?”
GBG and Main Street Berlin won a Clean, Safe and Green Award for conservation efforts at the Maryland Preservation Conference.
“The Town has been a super partner in terms of resources and helping us promote,” Farr said.
GBG developed as a partnership between Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT), Lower Shore Land Trust and Maryland Coastal Bays Program, when all three applied for funding from Town Creek Foundation, a private, philanthropic organization that promotes sustainability on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Town Creek challenged them to collaborate on one issue. Each has a slightly different mission or geographical area, but Berlin is common ground for all three. Town Creek approved funding for three years, and Grow Berlin Green hit the ground running in early 2009.
BGB has developed a bigger presence in Berlin, from programming to booths at the Farmers Market and Peach Festival, where they display a bicycle-powered smoothie blender.
However, it’s not enough for them to do programming in Berlin. They aim to grow a green mindset. When the community embraces green measures and sustainability becomes ingrained in citizen behavior and public policy, Farr said, Grow Berlin Green can fade away.
“Ultimate success will cause us to become obsolete,” said Farr.
For more information on Grow Berlin Green programming and events, call (410) 629-1538 or visit www.growberlingreen.org.
