One of the coolest parts of Baltimore County that surrounds you every day is its pristine environment. Baltimore County has a diverse eco system that is made up of many elements. Did you know that Baltimore County has:
- over 380,000 acres of land
- a population of over 750,000 people
- The County contains 2,145 miles of streams
- 200 miles of trout streams. Trout need streams to be very cold and clean.
- 219 miles of Chesapeake Bay shoreline
- over 140,000 thousand acres of forests of tree cover. That’s 34 percent of the land inside Baltimore County!
- three drinking water reservoirs in Baltimore County, but they have all been owned by Baltimore City since 1918! The City and the County share the water from the reservoirs.
- received top honors from the National Recycling Coalition and the Solid Waste Association of North America
- trucks that pick up trash and recyclables at homes across the County every week
As hard as Baltimore County works to keep the environment clean, we still need your help. Keeping the environment for ALL of Baltimore County clean can seem like a big job, but there’s a ton of little things you can do at home, at school, even while playing with your friends that can keep Baltimore County clean and healthy.
Ask your teacher to help set up a recycling area in your classroom or in a hallway.
Use both sides of your paper for work and drawing. Using less paper reduces the amount of trash that we need to collect. Every little bit helps reduce the amount of trash in the County. Make sure you recycle the paper you do use!
If you bring your lunch to school, use a lunch box or other reusable bags or containers instead of lunch bags that get thrown away every day.
Use rechargeable batteries for your calculators. Most batteries contain elements that can be harmful to the earth when they are thrown away. Rechargeable batteries not only keep wasted batteries from polluting the environment, but save your parents money as well!
Make sure you reuse everything you can. Don’t throw away that bottle! Rinse it out and use it again. Materials such as aluminum foil, plastic bottles, and plastic bags can all be cleaned and reused again in the future.
Don’t just throw away your old stuff. Have some old toys you never use anymore or some shirts that no longer fit you? Don’t throw them away; there are plenty of charities that would love to have these items for other kids who could still use them. You could even have a yard sale with them to make some money or hand them down to a younger relative. Why throw it away when there’s someone else who would love to have it?
Create a compost bin in your backyard. A compost bin is a place to collect leaves, twigs, weeds, grass clippings, and other yard waste. Over time air and water mix with what’s in the compost bin and turns it into nutrient rich compost that can be used in your parents’ gardens to help their flowers and vegetables grow.
Make sure to cut the plastic rings your bottles and cans come in before you throw them away. If thrown away uncut, they could wind up in the environment and get tangled with an animal, sometimes even choking it.
When you leave a room, turn out the lights! If you don’t need the light, then you don’t need the power and the extra pollution that is generated by producing that power. Use daylight instead of artificial lights whenever possible, it’s free and causes no pollution. It’ll also save your parents money on their electric bill every month.
The State of Maryland’s Green School program recognizes schools in Maryland that teach kids about environmental issues, work with the local community to create a healthier environment, and have environmentally friendly practices and standards in their maintenance and design. Baltimore County has the most Green Schools in Maryland. Some of the things a Green School does:
- Purchase organic or recycled materials
- Turn out the lights when they leave a class room
- Do a stream or roadside cleanup
- Reuse materials
- Recycle
- Carpool
- Print double sided
Is your school a Green School? Learn more about Maryland’s Green School program.
Revised July 18, 2006
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