In 2020, GreenVest completed the Muddy Creek Stream Restoration Project (MCRP) for the benefit of the Maryland Department of Transportation—State Highway Administration (SHA) to help them meet their Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) reduction requirements. The MCRP is located at River Valley Ranch (RVR), a year-round camp facility with programming for all ages that serves more than 15,000 visitors annually. Currently in its fifth and final year of maintenance and monitoring, the site continues to outperform expectations. Designed to meet the goals of both RVR and SHA through one comprehensive approach, the project delivered myriad co-benefits: aquatic habitat and water quality improvements, flood risk reduction to the Camp’s historically inspired Frontier Town, safety improvements to the stream corridor, and educational programming opportunities.
As part of GreenVest’s ongoing commitment to local outreach and engagement, Laura Kelm, a GreenVest Project Manager, spoke to a group of seventh and eighth graders from the Banner School in Frederick, Maryland about the MCRP. Building upon what they had learned in the classroom, Laura taught the students about ecosystems and natural life, stormwater runoff, watersheds, water quality, aquatic habitat, and erosion. The tour also discussed how the project was designed to suit the needs of both the TMDL program and RVR’s uses by reducing bank erosion and the associated sediment and nutrient loading, mitigating flooding, providing access to the streams for educational and religious uses, and more.
Laura showed the students pre-construction photos of Muddy Creek, which exhibited large stretches of eroding stream banks and minimal trees in many areas of the riparian zone. These conditions increased runoff and decreased rates of infiltration, transpiration, and groundwater recharge, thereby diminishing water and habitat quality and posing safety hazards to users. Stabilizing the stream channel and replanting the riparian buffer addressed these ecological deficiencies, and adding important aquatic habitat elements, such as large woody debris structures, greatly improved the ecological services provided by Muddy Creek to local flora, fauna, and the broader Gunpowder Falls watershed.
In addition to the hydrological benefits of the MCRP, the group discussed aquatic habitat goals, methods, and outcomes. Laura discussed the wildlife that inhabits the site, including a confidential threatened & endangered species, native brook trout, and macroinvertebrates (or aquatic insects) that serve as food for the trout and other local wildlife. Some macroinvertebrates, like caddisflies and mayflies, are highly sensitive to pollution so their presence in the restored stream is a significant indicator of high water quality. Laura taught the students about indicator species and had them help her identify aquatic macroinvertebrates found under rocks in the channel. Seeing the critters up close proved exciting as the students passed rocks around to show off the indicators of healthy streams to their friends and chaperones alike.
Finally, Laura discussed the wide variety of career opportunities available in the stream restoration field and the green industry at large. Whether students are interested in ecology, engineering, construction, policy, sustainability, or otherwise, the environmental industry has a role for them to fill. GreenVest is proud of Laura’s commitment to our company mission and her role in fostering environmental stewardship in the next generation.
All photos courtesy of Stephanie Chaloux, River Valley Ranch.
