Stewardship Starts at Home

CMM Green Team
The CMM Green Team is dedicated to finding ways that the museum can reduce its footprint and practice good stewardship of our resources. The team members come from many different areas in the museum and have donated their time to develop and implement plans for recycling – both everyday items like paper, cardboard, and plastics, as well as the huge quantities of recyclables generated by our concerts, festivals, and events. The museum has also installed many energy saving devices to conserve water and electricity throughout its operations. The team was assisted in its efforts by the Patuxent Small Craft Guild, which constructed sturdy and attractive recycling containers to be placed on the grounds. They also received grants from Walmart and the Chaney Foundation. To spread the word about our efforts in this area, the CMM Green Team has a display board which is available for community events.

Composting at CMM

Have you wondered what those square bins full of dying plant material at the side of the museum building are for? You may be surprised to learn that they are there to help you save the Chesapeake Bay and improve the gardens on the grounds of the Calvert Marine Museum.

The Calvert Marine Museum is located on Back Creek in Solomons, Maryland, and is host to many events and activities. During the events participants consume food and drink - some of which can be used for composting. The compost bins at the museum shown above are now available for disposal of many acceptable food items that would normally be thrown away. Paper bags and cardboard containers can also be added to the compost bins as well as items in the chart below.
Click here to download instructions on how to make your own compost bin.
The materials from the compost bins will also be used on site by CMM Garden Guild members, who plant and care for the landscaping at the Calvert Marine Museum. The use of the compost bins will keep garbage and trash out of Back Creek, a tributary to the Patuxent River, and reduce the amount of garbage and trash that gets dumped in a landfill. Composting is one way the guests of the Calvert Marine Museum can support stewardship of our property and the surrounding waterways.

Composting has been around for thousands of years. It is an efficient and organic way of reducing waste going into landfills and improving soil for growing plants. What is compost? It is the good brown earthy-smelling material that comes from decomposition of organic waste such as: grass clippings, fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, newspaper, sawdust, raked leaves, and other debris from our daily activities. When the waste has broken down into good compost and is distributed around plants or worked into the soil, it reduces the need for fertilizer. Composting is one of the best ways to recycle nutrients.
Bay-Wise Landscape Management
"Better water quality through smarter gardening"
CMM is awarded Master Gardener Bay-Wise Certification! The MD Bay-Wise Program is designed to encourage property owners to follow management practices that enhance water quality here in Maryland. 
Baywise Logo
Using the Bay-Wise “yardstick” land management practices are evaluated based on controlling stormwater runoff, encouraging wildlife, protecting the waterfront, proper mowing techniques, using integrated pest management practices, recycling yard waste, fertilizing wisely, and good planting management. The goal is to achieve at least 36 inches, or points on the scale. The museum earned 74 points! Credit goes to the Garden Guild, CMM’s gardening club, for their hard work and leadership in this effort.
Rain Gardens

Click here for a brochure on Rain Gardens by the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Click here for a Rain Gardens Technical Guide by the Virginia Department of Forestry.
Rain Garden Sign-1