Day 6: Education Day!!!

Today we visited the Arthur Sherwood center, where we met CBF employees Tiffany and Mark.  We were shown the treehouse Clivus system.  It takes 3 years for the waste to completely convert to compost, and then it is spread over the surrounding area for trees and shrubs.  The compost didn't smell bad at, all, and the bathroom system used zero water.
Mark took us out on his boat named Marguerite.  She was named after a donor who gifted a large sum of money.  Before we got to the Chesapeake, the boat's alarm went off because of low fuel pressure. Mark fixed it up quickly, and we drove out to the bay.

Then we went to the Holly Beach Farm and played with Otter, the coolest dog ever. We had a really nice picnic lunch at the farm while playing catch with Otter. After lunch, we went net fishing after putting on waders.  We also used trowels to pick up more fish.  But David Tana was the only one who actually caught anything, a striped killifish.
After going back to Arthur Sherwood, Mark and Tiffany took us up Meredith creek to look at the wetlands.  We went canoeing up the creek, then returned to Merrill for a meet and greet with CBF staff. The CBF staff was nice enough to treat us to some really nice finger food and a killer punch which we all enjoyed very much. After that we had some delicious Ledo's pizza and played rose, thorn and bud with David Tana.




Matt and Radha

Pics from Days 4 & 5

Day 6 Pics

Day 5 Garst Springbrook Farm

Just another day saving the bay, The Alternative Break Chesapeake Bay 2016  continued our mission to replant trees such as Dogwood, Oak, Sycamore to repopulate the riparian buffer which aids to filter the non-point pollutants that enter into the waters leading into the Chesapeake Bay. The best day in terms of weather, we were able to bask in the sun at Garst Springbrook Farm and take off the five layers of cloths which we all had on habitually during the week. It was a great day for tree planting! We even had a guest planter Patricia, an Alternative Weekender who made the trip to help us today. We finally came full circle, at Clagett Farms we potted saplings, Today we planted year old trees, and yesterday we did maintenance on more than one thousand trees planted last year on Earth Day. So now we have a well rounded understanding of the tree planting process that occurs at CBF, hopefully we'll be able to see some full grown forests planted years ago. Soooo.... as much fun that was had today at Garst, there were MADDDDD spiderrs yo! Think Harry Potter, Ron Weasley spider scene.. it was sticky situation to say the least but it goes to show you how many creatures survive the same environment and play a roll in the ecosystem. As we went through out the field hammer back down the wooden stacks which held the tree and its protective casing, we quickly learned how fragile these trees were. Having a little under 10 percent of the trees that were previously planted unfortunately didn't make it. It only made us wonder how much time it would take for such a regrowth project to occur naturally. Though today's task was a reiteration of yesterday's service it was a completely different experience. Being the first day in which we camped out on the beach we woke up to a stunning sunrise, this natural alarm clock pleasantly woke  everyone up without any hesitation or without begrudging feelings. Today we worked really well as a team, we finished each task really efficiently in teams and some even had enough time to have a javelin throw competition. We even had a pretty awesome assembly line to pack all the shelters and stakes into D. Tanas' hoopty.  Even the cows were feeling our energy today! We have some hands licked, mucus covered noses pet, even the cats wanted to check us out. We made our last pit stop on our way back to the Merrill center, hearts were set on trying a McShamrock shake for St. Patty's day and they were out, we had to console some of the team on that one! Oh! before I forget, I'm gonna leave my lunch in fridge, and if I forget it.. I'm blaming y'all! ;D

- Chris + Ya-Maila
P.S Dem Spiders doe..
P.P.S Thanks CBF for having us!

Day 4 Garst Springbrook Farm

To begin our day, Joe and Dylan got up at the break of dawn to move the tents to the beach so that we could start camping outside tonight since the weather had finally cleared up. At 7:30 we started our longest trip of the week yet to Garst Springbrook Farm, a dairy farm in Frederick. Rob Schnabel, the restoration manager for CBF spent the day with us to teach us about our service activity. We started with best principles for wetland restoration. Garst Springbrook is in a fifteen year partnership with CBF in which they plant trees to help with managing water flow. We helped maintain existing tree shelters for young trees and shrubs that had been planted along the stream bed the previous year. A tree shelter is a hollow plastic tube with diameter wide enough to surround a young sapling. The shelter is held upright by a wooden stake that anchors it to the ground. Many of the shelters had been blown over, which could affect the trees' growth and left gaps to unwanted critters. We felt satisfied with our work having maintained hundreds of shelters. We were hungry so we sat down on a tarp gently laid upon mounds of manure. After lunch we headed over to the barn. Dana Garst, the farm owner, told us that they 80 cows on 180 acres. Rob told us the cow to acre ration was ideal for the pasture rotation method that is ultimately the best for the environment, animal, and human health. About two acres of pasture per animal allows enough room to feed the cows, give portions of the pasture enough time to regrow, provides the land with enough manure to be self sustainable without the use of chemical fertilizers. This method also eliminates the need to invest in equipment for corn-based operations, bringing in a steadier profit for the farmers as well as giving the cows grass-based food, which they are naturally adapted for. After this discussion, we unloaded young potted trees from Clagett farm - where we had potted saplings on the first day of service - to be planted beside a different part of the stream. CBF had helped build a fence around this stream to separate it from the cows, in observation of Maryland law. They had also helped subsidize the price of a bridge that crosses the stream. This financial aid from CBF helps offset the collaboration from Dana and farmers like him. Rob then directed us in placing trees in appropriate positions, to be planted during tomorrow's service. These trees will help slow down erosion caused by flooding of the stream and help clarify water flowing down into it from upstream. After service we went straight to an alumni dinner, generously hosted by Codder's (an AB alum) family. We were nervous about arriving in our work clothes and smelling strongly like manure but our hosts were very gracious and we all thoroughly enjoyed the Asian Buffet (the restaurant's actual name). We arrived back to camp, set up sleeping bags, took much needed showers, and are now getting ready to enjoy another vulnerability reflection session, this time around the campfire! (hopefully accompanied by s'mores)

Photos from Day 3

Day 3: ORC and Baja Fresh

Question of the day: "How many (in quantifiable units) buildings does CBF own across... everywhere" - Participant shall not be named.
Answer: "Umm. 7 plus a lot of environmental centers" -Doug
We woke up at 7:15 for a swift departure at 8:00. We arrived bright eyed and slightly unprepared for the physically demanding task of shell shaking. What is that, you ask? Exactly what it sounds like; we shovel oysters in a separator net and used our strength to sift the oysters from the marine debris (aka dirt). We moved inside after shaking a ton (literally) of oyster shells and began the next process of oyster conservation. We started measuring and constructing wire for oyster cages to be used for oyster gardeners while the guys, specifically Joe, Dylan and Matt, constructed a fish tank stand that was a constantly evolving project. After our labor, we received a brief but very informative tour of the facilities and the spat hatchery tanks. To our fatigued bodies' surprise, we found Baja Fresh waiting for us at CBF headquarters thanks to Allison, the executive director of CBF-MD! Gorging on pie (for pi day), guacamole and quesadillas we engaged in dynamic conversation between the workers and the volunteers, learning about the Chesapeake Bay and the specific work they do to protect it. We noticed the work environment was very relaxed but passionate, we witnessed an impromptu bear hug between two prominent staff after a public bonding moment. Enjoying the last bit of our luxury indoor camping experience, we are staying in the Canvasback room mentally preparing for staying in the outdoors for the remainder of the trip. Further updates coming tomorrow!
-Allie and Libby

Day 2: Clagett Farm

Today we traveled to Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, MD, a farm owned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation run by a man named Rob and his family. Some special features of the farm are grass-fed cattle, rather than cattle raised on grains, and acreage devoted to trees. A main attraction for us volunteers were the two dogs that strolled around the farm, Buddy and Maggie (you may see quite a few pictures of them in the other posts).

Our first task of the day was to pot trees. The process of tree potting involved our group breaking up to each take on an individual task in an assembly-line manner around a giant wagon filled with different dirt mixtures. We started with baby trees, though they were hardly mature enough to be considered twigs, that were seeded a year before. These trees were transferred to new pots that were filled to the top with a special mixture of potting soil. We then added a layer of organic fertilizer and topped them off with mulch.  At the end of the morning we managed to pot approximately 500 trees.

After lunch Rob gave us a tour of the land. We visited some of the livestock, including the cows and sheep. Unfortunately, our presence was not appreciated by either as the animals drifted as far away from us intruders as they possibly could, leaving an intricate pattern of three separately populated corners of cows, sheep, and people.

Despite our disappointment with not being able to interact with the animals, we were eager for our next task - transplanting strawberry plants. Rob's wife took us out into the field and we transplanted strawberries in rows while also staring into the cloudy skies and hoping the clouds would take mercy on us (only in the end did we face a mild rain so it worked out for us for most of the day).

Our day concluded with going back to the Phillip Merrill Environmental Center where we enjoyed a hearty breakfast for dinner and a heated game of Cards Against Humanity. After a long day's work, we cleaned ourselves up and settled down with reflection.

It was a good day on the farm and we are excited to return there later this week!

-Paula and Joe

We've Arrived!! (Day 1)

Today the Alternative Spring Break Chesapeake Bay crew left CP and arrived at the Phillip Merrill Environmental Center outside of Annapolis! After unpacking the vans and setting up camp, we began a tour of the grounds lead by David Tana. David is the Maryland Outreach Coordinator at the center. He pursued his undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Geology at UMD. After some time working as an academic adviser, he is now back as a student in the graduate school.

He gave us a comprehensive tour of the awesome facilities. The center was built in 2000, yet still looks brand new. It is one of the only LEED Platinum certified buildings in the world. The building uses large systems to collect rain water that circulates and provides all non-drinking water for the building. Most of the building is constructed out of recycled material. One of the coolest features is their compost toilet system, which allows them to use 90% less water than the average office building.

Because of incoming rain, we had to relocate camp to inside the center, so the rest of our free time was spent bringing our tents in and cooking dinner! Signing off from a great first day, we can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store!

-Maggie and Ben

Photos from Day 2