Round Bay Kids Help Spruce Up Local Beach

The beach at Round Bay in Severna Park was alive with activity Friday and Saturday morning as community members young and old helped transform the rocky beach into a more natural shoreline habitat.

With help from the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Corp and the Chesapeake Bay Trust, kids in the Round Bay Beach Day Camp spent Friday afternoon learning about wetlands, and even got to plant grasses themselves.

“We are really wedging the grass in between the rocks,” said Chesapeake Conservation Corp intern Christine Carpenter, who was helping the kids plant grass. “We are trying to bring back important functions that the rock has taken away.”

Planting the grasses along the beach will create a more stable shoreline, reduce run off and provide better habitat for Chesapeake wildlife such as diamondback terrapins and blue crabs.

When Carpenter first set out to complete the wetland project, she said she contacted a few area neighborhoods that had rocky beaches. She said Round Bay was the first community who responded.

“If this works we have found a way to make a living shoreline again,” said Round Bay stormwater management facilitator Hank Honick. “It will help filter the water and bring oysters back. Without the habitat they are just disappearing.”

In between planting sessions, kids from Round Bay Beach Day Camp played games and learned how wetlands work. They also got to climb around on the rocks and in the water to help with the planting.

Honick said he hopes that planting the grasses will help control the amount of nutrients that run into the water from the community, which would help make the water healthier and safer. 

To see more photos of Friday's planting in Round Bay, click here.