Life on the Patuxent River
Published: October 16, 2019
Asbury Solomons is nestled along the Patuxent River in Calvert County, MD. It boasts picture-perfect river views and showcases phenomenal sunsets. For some residents at Asbury Solomons, the river maintains their previous lifestyle of living on the water; for others it fulfills a lifelong dream. Along with enjoying all that the Patuxent River has to offer, it also comes with great responsibility, one that the residents of Asbury Solomons take very seriously.
In the mid-2000s, a small group of residents banded together to form the Go Green Committee. That committee has evolved over the years and has become a passionate group that educates the community on how to be good stewards of the Earth, especially our little piece of it. Partnering with the Asbury Foundation, they embarked on a journey to protect the Patuxent River that is such a vital part of life at Asbury Solomons. In 2013, they wanted an idea to attract interest and support of Go Green’s projects. The clever idea of hosting an oyster dinner was born. This has become a signature event at Asbury Solomons. It is now a tradition to wear your Go Green t-shirt with your finest pearls that night! The event has raised more than $14,000 overall to support Go Green efforts on campus.
Over the years, the group has tapped the expertise of new residents and members of the Go Green Committee to expand their work. In 2016, they focused on a pair of osprey that had been nesting at the end of the pier each spring. They were in need of a new and appropriate platform to help support their osprey family. Through generous gifts made to the Asbury Foundation and with the help of a community partner, the new platform was completed. The osprey continue to return each spring, as residents watch them build their nest and nurture their eggs.
In 2018, the committee launched an effort to reduce the amount of runoff to the Patuxent River through the planting of rain gardens and utilization of cisterns. Through grants and devoted donors, the first planting will be in the ground this fall.
A dedication to recycling also took shape over the lat year. “From bags to benches” has proven to be a tremendously successful campaign. Residents took on a community recycling challenge by the company TREX. By collecting 500 pounds (approximately 40,500 bags) of plastic grocery bags across the community within a six-month period and sending them to the TREX recycling plant in Virginia, the group qualified to receive a free high-performance composite bench. They actually achieved this goal within just four months! This great bench now lines a walkway where residents, associates, and visitors can stop and enjoy the beautiful surroundings at Asbury Solomons. They are well on their way to working towards the next bench.
What will the Go Green Committee do next? The latest project undertaken by the dedicated group is to be a part of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory’s “Terrapin Watch.” So far, 11 nests for the diamondback terrapins have been located on the shores of Asbury Solomons. Now the battle to protect them from predators begins!
Through the spring an fall lecture series, lively drama skits at Resident Association Meetings, T-Shirt sales, beach cleanup, and other events, the Go Green Committee seeks to engage the community in appreciating and protecting the Patuxent River. For so many, it was the reason they moved to Asbury Solomons. By the motto of “Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle” they intend to do their part to safeguard it for the future residents of Asbury Solomons.