Spring Cleaning Along the South River

Spring just wouldn’t be the same without cleaning up the Edgewater Elementary bog. We were excited to be able to team up with an enthusiastic 4^th grade class for the fourth time.  Thanks to great support from the school, we are able to do this event twice a year.  Each time, we take one 4^th grade class out to explore and clean the bog.  We do fun and interactive educational activities relating to the Chesapeake Bay with the other classes.

Bogs were historically a common feature in the Maryland coastal plain, especially in Anne Arundel and the surrounding counties. They are composed of a very unique group of native plants and animals that we don’t even see in other types of wetlands, even those that might be located next to a bog. Bogs often look beautiful, but are naturally nutrient deprived which means that they can accept nutrient rich water from the suburban runoff that often flows down into them. Bogs can treat the pollution to some extent, and are sometimes created in new places specifically to help treat stormwater. Most of the county’s native bogs have been filled in or drained over the last 400 years, making it that much more critical to preserve them!

Although it was great to see so much trash removed from the bog, the best part of the day was seeing how genuinely interested the students were in the health of the bog and how excited they were to spend time outdoors.  It was very clear that the students enjoy having the bog at the school and look forward to participating in the cleanup again! The South River Federation thanks Edgewater Elementary and their students for taking such great care and pride of the bog - a beautiful, natural place right here in Edgewater!