The Creation Care Team at Catonsville Presbyterian was formed in 2016 following a workshop facilitated by Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake. We started with some modest projects. We held a rain barrel/native plant workshop for the congregation, restoring two very overgrown flowerbeds and installing three rain barrels at our Church House. In cooperation with the Alliance for the Chesapeake, we planted 80 native trees around our church property.

In the Spring of 2017 we began an ambitious project to reclaim and restore about 1 1/2 acres of church property that was a woodland plot of invasive growth, including a massive stand of Ailanthus and many varieties of weeds and vines. With support from the Chesapeake Bay Trust the first year, and the Trust plus BG&E/ Exelon Green Grant program in year two and three, we have able to hire contractors to assist with the volunteer labor to clear and begin restoring the area with native plants.

Over the past four seasons, the Creation care Team has completely transformed this space into a welcoming place of learning, play, and meditation! In partnership with Hillcrest Elementary, our neighbor, and many helping hands the growth of native trees and pollinator-attracting plants has been a joy to see develop. This season we have also created several new gardens of native plants, including two areas of conservation landscape plantings and a rain garden. We continue to plant new native trees, particularly in the woodlands areas, to add to the quality and diversity of the canopy and understory trees for the property. The Creation Care Team continues to do the maintenance and the planting as a small but enthusiastic part of our church’s commitment to environmental stewardship!

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