Page 13 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 5 - 2024

be reached through typical outreach channels such as
public hearings,” said McCoy. “We made a lot of new
connections in the community and learned from them
as well.”
The Mid-Bay Outreach Team will continue to attend
similar events within Dorchester County, including but not
limited to cultural, community and special interest group
events.
Mid-Bay Community
Conversations
Provide Opportunity
to Connect
The City of Cambridge’s Juneteenth Celebration at
Cornish Park provided an opportunity for the Maryland
Port Administration and its partners to connect with nearly
200 community members through an outreach effort
called “Mid-Bay Community Conversations.”
Event participants learned more about the Mid-Bay
Island Project, where dredged material will be used to
restore two eroding Chesapeake Bay islands located in
Dorchester County. KLT Group Director of Outreach
and Engagement Brandi McCoy, a consultant providing
outreach and engagement support to the Maryland
Environmental Service and Maryland Port Administration
on the project, noted this event provided the Mid-Bay
Outreach Team an opportunity to connect with additional
local community members and hear directly from them.
“The City of Cambridge’s Juneteenth celebration
The picture features Brian Barrett, Maryland Environmental Service,
provided an opportunity to engage people who may not
engaging with a vibrant young group in environmental education activities.
PHOTO BY BRANDI MCCOY / KLT GROUP
Creating such relationships helps
to expand that message to a wider
audience and maintaining those
relationships is important.
Through the years, the BPA
PHOTO BY DAN SPACK / ECOLOGIX GROUP, INC.
has continued to support CARE by
providing donated items such as
a container for storage of garden
equipment, wood used to build raised
garden beds, picnic tables, and wharf
logs to prevent illegal parking in
community green spaces. Members of
the community have also participated
in tours of the Port. As CARE is
looking to expand the green space
next to the garden, the BPA recruited
volunteers to help clear the space this
past June by performing weeding
and light tree trimming. The Fraley
Corporation kindly donated the use of
a 30-foot dumpster for the debris.
John Walker is CARE’s manager
for the garden and other green spaces
in the community. He performs this
work in addition to having a full-
time job. Walker is grateful for the
partnership formed with the BPA and
appreciates the assistance to support
their mission.
According to MPA’s Environmental
Manager Cindy Hudson, the BPA
is planning another Community
Partnership event in the fall.
A group of hardy volunteers turned out to support the Madeira Street Garden
despite the heat and humidity.
BPA Helps a Community
and Its Garden Thrive
Community gardens provide a place
of fellowship and nourishment.
Volunteers from the Baltimore
Port Alliance (BPA) Environmental
Committee and the Caring Active
Restoring Efforts (CARE) Community
Association, Inc. of East Baltimore
turned out on a hot and humid
summer day to support CARE’s
Madeira Street Garden, which
provides a safe space to grow
fruit and vegetables that are made
available to neighbors at no cost.
The BPA’s relationship with CARE
began in 2017 through a connection
made by the Baltimore City
Environmental Control Board as the
BPA sought to expand its connections
with communities beyond those
that are near Port facilities. A key
mission of the BPA’s Environmental
Committee is to communicate to
external stakeholders about the Port’s
role in environmental stewardship.
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