Come Join the MSRA at our annual members only event!
Registration is now closed.
When: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 5:00-9:00 PM
Where: Irvine Nature Center
11201 Garrison Forest Road
Owings Mills, MD 21117
Parking: There is a large parking area directly in front of the tent.
EVENT DETAILS:
5:00 - 6:30 Arrival, Drinks and Food
BBQ Picnic by G&G Catering
Full Bar sponsored by Chesapeake Valley Seed
6:00 - 7:00 Presentations
Address from MSRA President Adam Nabors
Presentations - Highlighting Non-profits
Chesapeake Bay Trust - Sadie Drescher and Sarah Koser
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay – Laura Todd
Severn River Association – Ben Fertig, PhD
7:00 - 9:00 Networking and Twilight Tour of Stream Restoration/Green Infrastructure Project (on Irvine Nature Center Grounds).
This event is currently for Members ONLY. If you would like to attend, Join the MSRA today! Event updates will be forwarded to MSRA members and posted at the following website: www.marylandstreamrestorationassociation.org
Non-profit and Speaker Bios:
Chesapeake Bay Trust
The Chesapeake Bay Trust is a nonprofit grant-making organization dedicated to improving the watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland Coastal Bays, and Youghiogheny River. Created in 1985 by the Maryland General Assembly, our goal is to increase stewardship through grant programs, special initiatives, and partnerships that support K-12 environmental education, on-the ground watershed restoration, community engagement, and the underlying science of these three realms. Through our grants, the Trust engages hundreds of thousands of students and volunteers in projects that have a measurable impact on the natural resources of our region. Grantees include schools, local governments, community groups, faith-based groups, watershed organizations, and other not-for-profit entities.
Sadie Drescher - Sadie joined the Chesapeake Bay Trust in 2014. At the Trust she leads the restoration programs that include implementation projects, research efforts, and innovative watershed and community engagement award programs. She has background in environmental science with a M.S. in Environmental Studies from the College of Charleston and a B.S. in Environmental Biology from Tennessee Technological University. Sadie’s work focuses on watershed restoration and stormwater management to support policy, training, and outreach initiatives. At the Trust, Sadie enjoys working with partners to form strong grant programs that benefit the water and people in the Chesapeake Bay.
Prior to joining the Trust, Sadie was a Watershed Researcher and Planner for the Center for Watershed Protection where she developed watershed management strategies for local communities and was an US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office coordinator. Before working at the Center, Sadie was a Research Specialist in the Science and Policy Division of SC’s coastal management program, worked at the USDA Center for Forested Wetlands in SC, and was an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellow for the US Department of Energy in Tennessee.
Sarah Koser - Sarah joined the Chesapeake Bay Trust in 2019. At the Trust she supports the restoration programs that include implementation projects, research efforts, and innovative county watershed and citizen engagement grant programs. She has a background in wetlands and environmental restoration with a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Biology/Botany from the Pennsylvania State University. Sarah’s work focuses on watershed restoration and stormwater management to support policy, training, and outreach initiatives. At the Trust, Sarah enjoys working with partners to form strong grant programs that benefit the water and people in the Chesapeake Bay.
Sarah has almost 20 years of expertise in science-related work as a consultant. Prior to joining the Trust, Sarah was a senior scientist for EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC where she managed projects focused on habitat restoration, wetland delineation and function assessment, technical writing, conducting baseline fish, benthic, and plant surveys and stream assessments. Other experience includes conducting rare, threatened, and endangered (RTE) plant species surveys; habitat and vegetation identification and mapping; and plant identification to species level. Before working at EA, Sarah was a lab assistant at Penn State where she conducted research on the mineral uptake of Arabidopsis thaliana (mouse ear cress) and soybeans, focusing on phosphorus and the efficiency of root hair growth.
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Since 1971, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has brought together communities, companies, and conservationists to improve our lands and waters. They strive for clean streams and rivers flowing through resilient landscapes, cared for by the people who live, work, and play in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Alliance implements local programs that connect people to their waterways and becomes directly involved in restoration efforts. They have offices in Annapolis, MD, Lancaster, PA, Washington, DC and Richmond, VA. Their shared goal is to build resiliency among our communities and landscapes to continually adapt to a changing world.
Laura Todd - Laura was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She graduated from Elon University in North Carolina with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and minors in Spanish and Entrepreneurship. During her time at Elon, she interned with the Haw River Assembly where she assisted in the coordination of the Haw River Learning Celebration, a three week long environmental education program hosted in three counties. She was also accepted into a research fellowship program at Elon where she studied the significant life experiences of adolescent environmentalists. Laura would rather be on the water than anywhere else. She has even led kayak ecotours on the Sinepuxent Bay along Assateague Island National Seashore (her favorite place!).
She currently lives in Montgomery County, MD. When she isn’t trying her hand at vegan baking, you can find Laura kayaking, reading, or going to live music performances in DC.
Severn River Association
The Severn River Association (SRA) was founded in 1911 with the goal of preserving the Severn River in Maryland. This makes it the oldest river conservation group in the country. For much of that history SRA was an all-volunteer citizen environmental group that supported a diverse array of river-protection initiatives. Prominent examples include a 1984 SRA initiative that resulted in creation of the Severn River Commission in 1985, and creation of the Severn River Land Trust (now known as Scenic Rivers Land Trust) in 1988.
Over the years, the concerns of the SRA adapted to the threats facing the river. In the early days, the main threats were pollution from septic systems and farm runoff. Over time, commercial and residential development, loss of forest cover, erosion, and stormwater runoff became increasingly harmful. SRA supported the State’s protection of over 1,700 acres of the Severn Run watershed as a preserve called the Severn Run Natural Environment Area.
In 2017 the organization hired its first full-time employee dedicated to protecting and preserving the River. In 2021 SRA developed a new strategic roadmap to guide its continuing evolution as the most effective guardian of the Severn River for years to come. SRA continues to aggressively pursue restoration of impaired areas of the river, and stays vigilant for emerging threats to its health. Together, we will continue to connect the people who live, work, and play on the Severn River to restore and protect it for all of our communities.
Ben Fertig, PhD - Ben is a marine and environmental scientist who joined the SRA team in April 2023. As Restoration Manager, Ben is responsible for expertly administering all restoration projects undertaken by SRA from the upland to the shoreline to in the water. This includes everything from preliminary site assessments, drafting requests for proposals, and ensuring that projects are appropriately designed, permitted, constructed, monitored and maintained. You can find Ben staffing SRA events, engaging volunteers and presenting at SRA meetings.
Ben’s background is in marine, estuarine, and environmental science. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Maryland (2010), has used oysters to detect nitrogen pollution throughout Chesapeake Bay and Maryland’s Coastal Bays, helped monitor the success of oyster restoration on historic reefs, has taught ecology and evolution, and led hundreds of volunteers in watershed restoration efforts. Though originally from New England, Ben has made the Chesapeake his home since 2003 and developed a deep love and respect for its waters. Outside of work, Ben is a dedicated parent to his three children and their furry feline friend. Ben enjoys exploring the outdoors and has a passion for gardening with native plants, which aligns with his commitment to environmental sustainability.
