Anacostia Watershed Society Inc

SEE SCHEDULE O: ORGANIZATION'S MISSION.

STEWARDSHIP: IN 2021, AWS REDUCED POLLUTION ENTERING THE RIVER BY INSTALLING RAIN GARDENS AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PRACTICES IN THE WATERSHED THAT WILL CAPTURE AND TREAT POLLUTION CAUSED BY STORMWATER RUNOFF. DESPITE THE PANDEMIC, OUR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS WERE ABLE TO PLANT 694 NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS AND 244 WETLAND PLANTS. WE HOSTED RIVER CLEAN-UPS, WHICH ENGAGED MORE THAN 1,200 VOLUNTEERS TO REMOVE 42 TONS OF TRASH AND 212 TIRES FROM THE WATERSHED. WE ALSO PROPAGATED AND RELEASED APPROXIMATELY 6,000 MUSSELS INTO THE RIVER. ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, THESE MUSSELS WILL FILTER NEARLY 22 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER, THE EQUIVALENT OF 33 OLYMPIC-SIZE SWIMMING POOLS.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: WHILE SCHOOLS REMAINED IN DISTANCE LEARNING MODE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR, AWS STAFF CONTINUED TO PROVIDE REMOTE CLASS VISITS FACILITATED VIA ZOOM AND LIMITED IN-PERSON INTERACTIONS TO ENGAGE 4,003 STUDENTS. CLASSES WERE CONDUCTED AS LIVE PRESENTATIONS WITH LARGELY THE SAME CONTENT AS THE STUDENTS WOULD HAVE EXPERIENCED BASED ON THEIR SPECIFIC PROJECT AREA, WITH NECESSARY TWEAKS IN DELIVERY, AND ALL CUSTOMIZED TO THE NEEDS OF THE TEACHER. WE ALSO DEVELOPED ADDITIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES, WHICH ARE HOSTED ON OUR LEARNING FROM HOME WEBPAGE. THESE NEW LESSONS ARE DESIGNED TO BE RELATIVELY EASY FOR A STUDENT AND PARENT TO COMPLETE AT HOME WITH NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND WITHIN THE SAFETY OF THEIR OWN HOME, YARD, OR NEARBY GREENSPACE. WE ALSO WORKED WITH A VIDEOGRAPHER TO CREATE A SERIES OF SIX EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS, CALLED ANACOSTIA RIVER ADVENTURES, WHICH WE SHARED VIA OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL. TO DATE, THESE VIDEOS HAVE BEEN VIEWED MORE THAN 1,000 TIMES. ADDITIONALLY, WE PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND MENTORING TO 60 TEACHERS FROM DC AND MARYLAND SCHOOLS. THESE TRAININGS HAVE EQUIPPED TEACHERS WITH CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, LESSON PLANS, AND MATERIALS, WHICH ENABLE THEM TO INCORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND WATERSHED CONCEPTS INTO THEIR CURRICULA. THROUGH OUR MUSSEL POWER PROGRAM, WE ASSEMBLED MUSSEL AQUARIUM SYSTEMS AT TEACHERS' HOMES AND CREATED CURRICULAR KITS FOR CLASSES THAT PROVIDE A HANDS-ON FEATURE TO THE PROGRAM THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE LACKING IN A REMOTE ENVIRONMENT. MODULES INCLUDE CREATION OF A MUSSEL ANATOMY MODEL OUT OF CLAY AND TAKE-HOME DISSECTION KITS WITH ACTUAL PRESERVED MUSSEL SPECIMENS. DUE TO THE PROGRAM'S REMOTE NATURE, WE AMPLIFIED THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY BY ADDING DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERAS TO THE SET-UPS, WHICH ALLOWED FOR CONSTANT REMOTE MONITORING AND RECORDING OF MUSSEL ACTIVITY. WE ENGAGED 700 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND 100 ELEMENTARY-AGED STUDENTS THROUGH THE MUSSEL POWER PROGRAM. STUDENTS EXPERIENCED THREE REMOTE VISITS WITH AWS EDUCATORS, INCLUDING A VIRTUAL FIELD EXPERIENCE, WHERE PARTICIPATING TEACHERS "BROADCAST" FROM KENILWORTH AQUATIC GARDENS TO THEIR STUDENTS. USING TABLETS AND A WIFI HOTSPOT, STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO LOG IN AND VIEW THEIR TEACHERS "IN THE FIELD." DESPITE THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE 32 STUDENTS IN OUR SATURDAY ENVIRONMENTAL ACADEMY, A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ENGAGE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH 7 WEEKS OF LEADERSHIP AND ENVIRONMENTAL SKILLS LEARNING. STUDENTS ENGAGED IN HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING SERVING AS CITIZEN SCIENTISTS AT A VERNAL POOL, INVESTIGATING MUSSELS AND OTHER AQUATIC LIFE AT KENILWORTH AQUATIC GARDENS, PLANTING TREES IN THE WATERSHED, AND MORE. THE PROGRAM GAVE YOUTH A VITAL OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT SAFELY WITH OTHER PEERS AND MENTORS, GET MOVING OUTSIDE, AND FEEL A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AS THEY HELPED AND LEARNED FROM OUR ENVIRONMENT.

ADVOCACY: AWS CONTINUED TO INFLUENCE POLICIES AND RESOURCES FAVORABLY TOWARDS THE RESTORATION OF THE ANACOSTIA RIVER, WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON ENHANCED STORMWATER CONTROLS, REDUCTION OF TRASH INPUTS, AND INCREASED ATTENTION TO REMEDIATION OF LEGACY TOXIC CHEMICALS IMPACTING THE RIVER. IN JUNE, WE RELEASED OUR ANNUAL STATE OF THE RIVER REPORT CARD IN WHICH THE ANACOSTIA RIVER SCORED A PASSING GRADE FOR THE THIRD TIME IN FOUR YEARS. DESPITE IT BEING THE THIRD WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD, UNDERWATER GRASSES RECEIVED A 100% SCORE; HOWEVER, LAST YEAR THE RIVER SAW AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNTS OF FECAL BACTERIA POLLUTION AND STORMWATER RUNOFF - BOTH CONSEQUENCES OF AN UNUSUALLY RAINY YEAR. WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CHOOSE CLEAN WATER COALITION, WE CONTINUED TO REPRESENT THE URBAN RIVERS IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY, PROMOTED STRONG APPROPRIATIONS, AND DEFENDED THE CLEAN WATER ACT. WE SUBMITTED TESTIMONY ON THE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS NOW ACT, THE ACE ACT (WHICH CREATED THE CHESAPEAKE WILD PROGRAM), AND IN OPPOSITION TO HB 991 NATURAL RESOURCES FOREST MITIGATION BANKS. WE ATTENDED COMMUNITY MEETINGS ON THE ANACOSTIA RIVER SEDIMENT PROJECT AND KENILWORTH PARK LANDFILL REMEDIATION AND SUBMITTED PUBLIC COMMENTS TO INFORM THE INTERIM RECORD OF DECISION AND REMEDIATION PLAN. LASTLY, WE CONTINUED TO COLLECT DATA ON LITTER CAPTURED BY OUR TRASH TRAPS AND ARE USING THE INFORMATION TO CREATE A CAMPAIGN TARGETING PET WASTE, WHICH HAS SEEN A DRAMATIC INCREASE AT OUR RIVER TERRACE TRASH TRAP. IN ONE CLEANUP, WE COLLECTED 52 BAGS OF DOG WASTE FROM THE TRASH TRAP.

RECREATION: AWS CONTINUED TO PROMOTE THE RECREATIONAL USE OF THE ANACOSTIA RIVER AND THE TRAILS ALONG ITS TRIBUTARIES. WE PROVIDED NEARLY 200 FREE PONTOON AND CANOE TOURS TO MORE THAN 2,200 RESIDENTS, INCLUDING SCHOOLS, SUMMER CAMPS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, CONGREGATIONS, AND COMPANIES. THESE TOURS ENABLED COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF THE RIVER FIRSTHAND, OBSERVE WILDLIFE IN AN URBAN SETTING, AND DEVELOP A SENSE OF STEWARDSHIP AND CONNECTION TO THE ANACOSTIA RIVER AND ITS WATERSHED.