On September 23, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland, an event will take place that’s representative of the global trend towards restoring urban harbors and rivers to fishable, swimmable conditions.
On that date, the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative will convene recreation, water quality and ecosystem health experts for a day of discussion and education during the first-ever Fishable Swimmable Summit.
Clean water advocates from across the region will hear from visiting experts from Boston’s Charles River Conservancy, New York’s +Pool and Washington D.C.’s Anacostia River Pool as well as local experts from Blue Water Baltimore, Baltimore Department of Public Works, National Aquarium, Trout Unlimited and others.
Dr. Mamie A. Parker, a distinguished fish and wildlife biologist and the former Assistant Director of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), will be the summit’s keynote speaker. Dr. Parker made history when appointed the first African American USFWS Regional Director of the 13 Northeastern states.
The event will celebrate accomplishments, highlight what needs to be done and inform discussions about the Healthy Harbor Initiative’s next decade of work. Attendees will also get to tour Baltimore’s most cutting-edge environmental restoration projects including Mr. Trash Wheel, floating wetlands, and an Inner Harbor oyster garden.
SCHEDULE:
- 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- 8:30 a.m.: Networking, light breakfast and Healthy Harbor press conference
- 10:00 a.m.: Panel and discussion on recreation
- 12:30 p.m.: Lunch
- 1:00 p.m.: Keynote address by Dr. Mamie Parker and Mr. Trash Wheel Sing-along
- 1:40 p.m.: Panel and discussion on ecosystem health
- 3:15 p.m.: On-site project tours
- 4:00 p.m.: Summit ends
About Healthy Harbor
The Healthy Harbor initiative provides a roadmap for cleaning up Baltimore’s Harbor and the waterways leading to the Harbor. A clean Harbor and clean streams will provide opportunities for residents and area families to enjoy clean water in their neighborhoods. Greener and cleaner neighborhoods will make Baltimore City and Baltimore County more livable for all our citizens.
For more information, visit healthyharbor.org.
About Waterfront Partnership
Waterfront Partnership is the proud steward of Baltimore’s crown jewel, its Inner Harbor and Waterfront. We’re lean, nimble and effective; the only organization that wakes up every day, rolls its sleeves up and gets to work on new ways we can make Baltimore’s Waterfront even more active, attractive and appealing. We’re the hosts who greet visitors, the creators of programs and promotions and managers of our beautiful parks. We encourage investment in Baltimore’s most celebrated asset so it can continue to grow, to serves as a place of pride and the place where Baltimoreans come together to recreate and to celebrate.
For more information, visit baltimorewaterfront.com.
WHERE: Brown Advisory, Bond Street Wharf, 910 S. Bond St., Baltimore, MD 21231
COST: Free to attend
Photo of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor via Adobe Stock.