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Sentinel Swamp Cleanup
I took this photograph while leading a cleanup effort on Good Neighbor Day, November 12, 2022, at Sentinel Swamp. What you're seeing in the photograph is a couple of the volunteers collecting bags and bags worth of plastic and metal trash that have piled up in and around a swamp in College Park. I will be relating this photo to SDG 6, which has the goal to "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" (Goal 6). The related ecological concept is maintenance and care for local ecological and social communities.
According to the Goal 6 webpage, over 85% of the planet's wetlands have been lost over the past 300 years (Goal 6). This is pretty obviously related to this location, as swamps are a wetland and hold pretty significant ecological importance. Swamps reduce the damage and flooding from storms, which are not uncommon in College Park. They also recharge groundwater, provide carbon storage, and assist in stabilization of climate conditions ("Why Wetlands Are Important"). Focusing on just the flooding aspect alone, College Park is no stranger to it. We are in a floodplain 69 feet above sea level and parts of CP suffered some significant flooding in September 2020. Various residents faced complete flooding of cars and apartments, as well as sewage upwelling into homes through the drains. One instance alone of storm outlets being covered was when the local metro tracks were built, leaving allegedly just one outlet for flooding ("Flooding Continues to Plague College Park"). Coincidentally, those metro tracks are just mere yards to the left of where I took the above photo.
Flooding was just one issue that I wanted to bring up in relation to why swamps like this one are so important, especially for areas like ours. College Park has so much development and so many impervious surfaces, with apparently little outlet for the significant rainfall that happens multiple times a year. And as an eyewitness to all the construction around the University of Maryland alone, the major levels of development are not going away. And because of that, it makes it more important for us to protect the areas that help alleviate such prominent issues such flooding. With so much pollution in this one area alone, it could become even more dangerous and unsanitary.
Further than just high-water level, flooding becomes a tool of transporting such pollution and wastes through streets and surrounding environments. The pollutants we picked up were largely nonpoint sources. As water picks up and runs through soil. it collects contaminants left by these half-drunken bottles, dirty plastic bags, etc. and can wash them directly into now contaminated waterways and soils ("Watersheds, Flooding, and Pollution"). Pollution of soil leads to, but is not limited to, disruptions in metabolisms of microorganisms and small organisms at the base of food chains, decrease in fertility of soil and just general groundwater contamination ("6 Devastating Effects"). Groundwater pollution can lead to disease risks and animals and humans, as well as birth defects ("What Are the Effects").
Issues like these are why we went out on Good Neighbor Day in the first place. The goal of such volunteering was to help the local community through different projects related to pollution cleanup, removing invasive species, and repopulating some bees just to name a few ("Good Neighbor Day"). Caring for these ecological and social local communities was so important, as our wellbeing directly ties into them. Water is the foundation of life, and it is so important to make sure that our neighbors and members of the community are able to access it in a safe way, while also benefitting from its related ecological processes in different ways. Water, health and community go hand in hand and should be our top priorities.
Works Cited:
Brown, Razi. “What Is an Ecological Concept? - [2022] Expert Guide.” Jotscroll, 3 July 2022, www.jotscroll.com/what-is-an-ecological-concept#:~:text=T....
“Goal 6: Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All.” United Nations, United Nations, sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6.
“Good Neighbor Day.” Office of Community Engagement, oce.umd.edu/good-neighbor-day/.
“Watersheds, Flooding, and Pollution.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/wa....
“What Are the Effects of Groundwater Pollution.” All American Environmental, 12 June 2021, allamericanenviro.com/what-are-the-effects-of-groundwater....
“Why Wetlands Are Important.” NSW Environment and Heritage, 12 June 2018, www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/water/wetlands/why-wetl....
Sentinel Swamp Cleanup
I took this photograph while leading a cleanup effort on Good Neighbor Day, November 12, 2022, at Sentinel Swamp. What you're seeing in the photograph is a couple of the volunteers collecting bags and bags worth of plastic and metal trash that have piled up in and around a swamp in College Park. I will be relating this photo to SDG 6, which has the goal to "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" (Goal 6). The related ecological concept is maintenance and care for local ecological and social communities.
According to the Goal 6 webpage, over 85% of the planet's wetlands have been lost over the past 300 years (Goal 6). This is pretty obviously related to this location, as swamps are a wetland and hold pretty significant ecological importance. Swamps reduce the damage and flooding from storms, which are not uncommon in College Park. They also recharge groundwater, provide carbon storage, and assist in stabilization of climate conditions ("Why Wetlands Are Important"). Focusing on just the flooding aspect alone, College Park is no stranger to it. We are in a floodplain 69 feet above sea level and parts of CP suffered some significant flooding in September 2020. Various residents faced complete flooding of cars and apartments, as well as sewage upwelling into homes through the drains. One instance alone of storm outlets being covered was when the local metro tracks were built, leaving allegedly just one outlet for flooding ("Flooding Continues to Plague College Park"). Coincidentally, those metro tracks are just mere yards to the left of where I took the above photo.
Flooding was just one issue that I wanted to bring up in relation to why swamps like this one are so important, especially for areas like ours. College Park has so much development and so many impervious surfaces, with apparently little outlet for the significant rainfall that happens multiple times a year. And as an eyewitness to all the construction around the University of Maryland alone, the major levels of development are not going away. And because of that, it makes it more important for us to protect the areas that help alleviate such prominent issues such flooding. With so much pollution in this one area alone, it could become even more dangerous and unsanitary.
Further than just high-water level, flooding becomes a tool of transporting such pollution and wastes through streets and surrounding environments. The pollutants we picked up were largely nonpoint sources. As water picks up and runs through soil. it collects contaminants left by these half-drunken bottles, dirty plastic bags, etc. and can wash them directly into now contaminated waterways and soils ("Watersheds, Flooding, and Pollution"). Pollution of soil leads to, but is not limited to, disruptions in metabolisms of microorganisms and small organisms at the base of food chains, decrease in fertility of soil and just general groundwater contamination ("6 Devastating Effects"). Groundwater pollution can lead to disease risks and animals and humans, as well as birth defects ("What Are the Effects").
Issues like these are why we went out on Good Neighbor Day in the first place. The goal of such volunteering was to help the local community through different projects related to pollution cleanup, removing invasive species, and repopulating some bees just to name a few ("Good Neighbor Day"). Caring for these ecological and social local communities was so important, as our wellbeing directly ties into them. Water is the foundation of life, and it is so important to make sure that our neighbors and members of the community are able to access it in a safe way, while also benefitting from its related ecological processes in different ways. Water, health and community go hand in hand and should be our top priorities.
Works Cited:
Brown, Razi. “What Is an Ecological Concept? - [2022] Expert Guide.” Jotscroll, 3 July 2022, www.jotscroll.com/what-is-an-ecological-concept#:~:text=T....
“Goal 6: Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All.” United Nations, United Nations, sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6.
“Good Neighbor Day.” Office of Community Engagement, oce.umd.edu/good-neighbor-day/.
“Watersheds, Flooding, and Pollution.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/wa....
“What Are the Effects of Groundwater Pollution.” All American Environmental, 12 June 2021, allamericanenviro.com/what-are-the-effects-of-groundwater....
“Why Wetlands Are Important.” NSW Environment and Heritage, 12 June 2018, www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/water/wetlands/why-wetl....