At the end of March, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake (IPC) wrapped up a 3-year Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)—and the results have exceeded all expectations.

What began more than a decade ago as Blue Water Congregations, a pilot effort in the Jones Falls watershed, has grown into a region-wide movement. Today, the One Water Partnership (OWP) reaches nearly 30% of all congregations across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. That means thousands of faith communities working together to restore sacred waters and care for Creation.

Nearly 100 Projects—And Counting

In just this latest grant cycle, IPC and our partners helped install nearly 100 green stormwater infrastructure projects across the watershed. These projects are

 designed to keep pollution out of our waterways—and they work. Every year, they will keep:

  • 592 pounds of nitrogen

  • 52 pounds of phosphorus, and

  • 80 tons of sediment
    from entering the Chesapeake Bay.

This is Creation care in action—with measurable results.

Faith, Relationships, and Results

But the One Water Partnership is about more than reducing runoff. At its heart, OWP is about building deep, lasting relationships across faith traditions, communities, and geographies.

During the three-year grant, we:

  • Trained 62 Green Teams

  • Led 24 Learning Labs with 2,650 participants

  • Reached 24,000+ people through community outreach

We also developed value-aligned partnerships with non-traditional groups like the Fenix Youth Project and Delmarva Free School, expanding our reach to young people and grassroots changemakers.

Innovation on the Ground

We don’t just plant trees—we plant ideas. This past year, we piloted a number of creative new initiatives to help congregations and communities thrive:

  • Garden Guardians: a “faithful flash mob” model where volunteers support congregations that need help maintaining their rain or pollinator gardens.

  • Faith-Based Agricultural Menu for Action: a new tool to engage rural and farming communities—supporting both spiritual and environmental wellbeing while encouraging sustainable farming practices.

These innovations help make environmental action more accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the real needs of our partners.

Facing Challenges, Learning Lessons

Like any major initiative, we encountered obstacles:

  • Staffing and partner capacity issues slowed some implementation.

  • Data tracking platforms were difficult to manage.

  • Permitting and maintenance challenges highlighted the need for more upfront support.

Still, we adjusted, learned, and grew. And the lessons we’ve taken from these challenges are already shaping the next phase of our work.

What’s Next? Scaling Up for 2027

With a new NFWF INSR grant in hand (running through 2027), IPC is building on this momentum. We're expanding into new counties, integrating with local stormwater strategies, and using GIS tools to guide project selection.

Our goals are ambitious—but so is our belief in the power of faith-led action. There are 19,000 congregations across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Together, we can inspire each of them to be a force for clean water, climate resilience, and community healing.

Join the Movement

Whether you’re a faith leader, environmentalist, funder, or just someone who cares about your local watershed—there’s a place for you in this story. The One Water Partnership is proof that when we unite across differences to protect what we all depend on, transformation is possible.