_edited.png)
Protecting the environment
“Ocean of Hope”
Making waves one Act of Kindness at a Time
Dive into the adventure with "Ocean of Hope," where every act of kindness creates a ripple effect for our planet! This initiative invites you to be one of our Voyagers of Change and join in exciting projects that protect our oceans and environment. Through fun activities, creative challenges, and hands-on volunteering, you'll help clean up trash, spread awareness about ocean conservation, and make a real difference. Let’s make waves together and show that small acts of kindness can lead to big changes for our Earth!
The Storm Drain Art program uses art to educate the public about the connection between our storm drains, streams and the Bay. Every drop of rain that hits the streets doesn’t just disappear. It flows into storm drains and straight into our local rivers, streams, and ultimately, the Bay, and the Ocean. The storm drains we paint serve as a beautiful reminder to everyone in the neighborhood that what goes down the drain, ends up in the Bay! All storm drain art must be done under the direction of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection. For additional information about the Storm Drain Art program, email Stream.Stewards@montgomerycountymd.gov
Community and Park Clean Ups
Park clean ups hosted by Montgomery Parks
https://montgomeryparks.org/support/volunteer/trail-volunteers/
https://mcp.samaritan.com/custom/1491/index.php
The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection will provide the tools and resources (receive garbage and recycling bags, gloves and litter grabbers) to support community clean up events, including instructions.
Plogging
What is plogging? It started as a fitness trend in Sweden! People organized picking up trash while jogging to better enjoy their route. They would post photos of them jogging and picking up trash to challenge others to do the same! The term “Plogging” is a combination of two Swedish words: “plocka upp” (to pick up) and “jogga” (to jog). MC Energy Connections launched #MontgomeryPlogs to encourage people to pick up trash on their normal walking/jogging route. The Plogging Challenge is a fun engaging way to raise awareness about stormwater pollution while providing Montgomery County residents the opportunity to take action and help with stormwater pollution prevention by cleaning up litter from streams, stormwater ponds, etc. Volunteers receive free supplies to do neighborhood cleanups anytime. You can join the #PloggingChallenge on social media by taking a picture of yourself Plogging in Montgomery County and either tag our Instagram account @mygreenmc or use our hashtag #MontgomeryPlogs on Instagram. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DEP/water/volunteer.html