April 2019 GVC Newsletter
Welcome, Lou Etgen!
2019 is shaping up to be a big year for the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy! Not only are we celebrating our 30th anniversary, we are also pleased to introduce our new Executive Director, Lou Etgen. Lou began working in his new role in mid-March and we are excited to welcome him!

Before joining the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, Lou was the Maryland State Director for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay after serving two stints as Interim Director. During his Alliance tenure, he helped create many of their signatures programs including: Project Clean Stream, the Chesapeake Watershed Forum, DC's RiverSmart Homes, and RiverWise Congregations. Throughout his time with the Alliance, he served as a member of the Management Team, which worked to establish the Alliance as a strong partner with other watershed organizations as well as local, state, and federal governments to advance the collective goal of clean water throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Lou also previously worked in the emergency food arena as the Director of Programs at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, DC and as the Operations Director of a small non-profit, Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network. Prior to that, he worked in the environmental education community starting with the Echo Hill Outdoor School on the Eastern Shore of MD and afterwards with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Growing up in the tidal creeks of the 1970’s era Chesapeake Bay, he learned to love the outdoors, especially where the land and water met. His formative days were spent fishing, crabbing, swimming, and boating. He has spent his adult life dedicated to restoring the Bay in hopes that future generations can continue to share his childhood experiences. This journey has led him to obtain a U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s License, meet scores of tremendous people, and afforded him the opportunity to spend time in many of the nooks and crannies of the Bay and its watershed. 


Lou is a lifelong resident of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and currently resides with his wife, Cindy at the headwaters of Mill Creek in the Severn River watershed. He is a graduate of Anne Arundel Community College and Towson (State) University with a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education.
"I have long admired the work of local watershed groups in achieving great, on-the-ground successes and the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy is one of the finest in the state. It is a great honor to be joining the GVC team as we work towards clean water in the Gunpowder watershed." ~ Lou Etgen
GVC's Continuing Education
Education is part of the GVC's mission, so we're always excited for opportunities to partner with local schools. Here are several ways that the GVC has benefited this year from collaborating with Baltimore area universities.

On March 1, GVC staff and Board representatives participated in the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School's Scope-a-Thon. They spent an afternoon with graduate student consultants who provided an in-depth analysis of the GVC's marketing strategy. We taught them the concept of a watershed, and they shared with us creative ideas to increase our unrestricted funds.It was a win-win! Special thanks to Business Volunteers Maryland for hosting this event.

This semester, the GVC has been the focus of Towson University's Communications Capstone Seminar. One team of undergraduate students is researching ways to promote our 30th anniversary, while the other is evaluating strategies to improve our land preservation messaging. We look forward to hearing the students' suggestions at the end of May.

Finally, we have several students currently assisting us above and beyond the role of a volunteer. We are very grateful for their hard work and will be featuring them in our next couple of newsletters.
Nicole Bellmeyer (GVC Intern) is a senior at Towson University. She is studying Environmental Science with a minor in Geology. After graduation, she hopes to work in stream restoration and water quality monitoring. She enjoys being outdoors and doing her part to make the planet a better place for future generations.
Manassaline Coleman (Graphic Design Intern) is a senior currently studying Visual Communication Design at Stevenson University. She is originally from Liberia and loves vegan food, hand beading, mindful living, and anything art-related.
Upcoming Calendar of Events
Spring is one of our busy seasons. Don't miss out on the chance to volunteer at one of our upcoming events. And after you've put in your hard work, make sure you check out our NEW Flickr page featuring GVC volunteer photos!
Saturday April 27 : Earth Month Tree Planting
Sunday April 28: Tree Maintenance
Saturday May 4: Edible Bayscape workshop
Saturday May 4 : Tree Planting
Sunday May 5 : Tree Maintenance
Saturday May 11: Edible Bayscape workshop
Sunday May 12: Tree Maintenance
Saturday May 18: Rain Garden workshop
Saturday May 18: Tree Planting
Saturday May 25: Rain Barrel workshop
Make a Difference
Save the Date for GVC's 30th Anniversary on the Water! Show your customers that you care about clean water in Baltimore County and beyond! Sponsorship opportunities for our annual fundraiser are now available online . GVC offers a variety of levels of support and your donation is tax-exempt.
Don’t just recycle. Recycle properly!
Come learn best practices from a Baltimore County Material Recovery Facility (MRF) speaker. Join the Jennifer Branch Conservation Association of the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy on May 17th for their talk on "How to Recycle in Baltimore County "

When : Friday May 17, 10:30 am
Where : Seven Oaks Senior Center (9210 Seven Courts Drive, 21236)
Maryland Department of Natural Resources is offering its Biological Stream Survey summer training at Howard Community College (May 28 - May 31). Registration deadline is May 1. This training is designed for professionals but is open to anyone.
Help get kids out into nature! Baltimore County Public Schools is looking for chaperones to assist 5th graders visiting Marshy Point Nature Center and Patapsco Valley State Park. The students will be exploring the parks as part of a BioBlitz , an outdoor field study that involves learning how to identify plants and animals. Volunteers should be comfortable outdoors, walking on/off trails and available from 9 am - 12:45 pm on weekdays. Volunteer opportunities available through June. Interested? Email Tom Melito .