The State of Maryland and the Forever Maryland Foundation are proud to announce that 91 Keep Maryland Beautiful grants totaling $312,500 have been awarded toward environmental education, community cleanup, and beautification projects through the Keep Maryland Beautiful program.
These annual grants are funded by Maryland Environmental Trust, a unit of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR); the Forever Maryland Foundation; the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD); and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).
“These grants support the incredible efforts of citizens across Maryland who are stewards of our communities, our green spaces, and our waterways,” Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio said. “DNR is proud to partner with the Maryland Environmental Trust, the Forever Maryland Foundation, DHCD, MDOT, and of course the recipients themselves on this important part of our mission.”
“Local volunteers and stakeholders are changing neighborhoods for the better through the Keep Maryland Beautiful program,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Kenneth C. Holt. “These Clean Up and Green Up awards will help our great partners continue to improve and beautify communities in all parts of Maryland.”
“MDOT is committed not only to a comprehensive transportation network, but also to environmental education, preservation and stewardship, and that’s why it’s important to contribute to the Keep Maryland Beautiful program,” MDOT Secretary Greg Slater said. ‘It’s good to know the funds MDOT provides goes to almost 20 different groups, ranging from community and neighborhood associations to conservancies and land trusts.”
Recipients included schools, nonprofit groups, municipalities and land trusts in 19 counties and Baltimore City. Many of these grants focus on developing and supporting communities, families, youth and students who take personal responsibility for the health of their communities, protecting nature in their backyards and seeking ways to help reduce or resolve environmental challenges.
“We are pleased to see our local communities receive Keep Maryland Beautiful grant funds for such innovative projects which will make an impact on our Maryland environment in many ways,” Forever Maryland Foundation Chair Steve Quarles said.
Awards given this year were:
- One Aileen Hughes award totaling $5,000, awarded to an individual representing a Maryland land trust for outstanding leadership, partnership and innovation in a conservation project. The grant is awarded to the Maryland land trust in recognition of the individual’s efforts and good work. The grant is given annually to honor the late Aileen Hughes, a true leader in the conservation movement.
- 12 Citizen Stewardship awards totaling $17,500, given in honor of Bill James, who drafted the legislation that founded Maryland Environmental Trust, and Margaret Rosch Jones, former executive director of the Keep Maryland Beautiful program. These grants are awarded to schools, nonprofits and other community organizations whose missions are centered upon directly engaging community members in environmental education and stewardship. These grants also support organizations that demonstrate active engagement as defenders of the environment by developing innovative solutions to local environmental problems.
- 65 Clean Up & Green Up Maryland Grant awards totaling $250,000. This grant was established in 2017 to help community groups and nonprofit organizations statewide with neighborhood beautification activities that include litter removal, greening activities, community education, and citizen stewardship statewide.
- 13 Janice Hollmann Grant awards totaling $40,000, given to Maryland land trusts to increase capacity, support community programing and innovation and foster stronger, better connected land trusts. All grants require a 100 percent match from the land trust of in-kind services and privately raised funds. The grant is given in memory of Janice Hollmann, who exemplified citizen leadership of local land trusts in Maryland.
2021 recipients of Keep Maryland Beautiful Grants include:
Anne Arundel County
Annapolis Green
Langton Green Inc.
Russett Community Association
Scenic Rivers Land Trust
Severn River Association
Calvert County
American Chestnut Land Trust
Project Spudnik
Town of North Beach
Charles County
Beyond the Classroom Inc.
Charles County Government, Department of Public Works, Environmental Resources
Conservancy for Charles County Inc.
Keep La Plata Beautiful
Stella’s Girls Inc.
Prince George’s County
Alice Ferguson Foundation
Keep Prince George’s County Beautiful
The Mission of Love Charities Inc.
Town of Edmonston
St. Mary’s County
Friends of St. Clements Bay
More information on the grants is available online.
