Together, what can 83 volunteers accomplish on a Saturday
morning? In just four hours on Saturday, September 24, these
volunteers, along with the Aquarium Conservation Team (ACT!),
removed 23,839 pieces of debris from the Fort McHenry Wetland in
support of National Public Lands Day and the International
Coastal Cleanup. “Before I went through this experience, I never
knew there was so much trash out there,” was one volunteer’s
response to the overwhelming sight of the Patapsco River
shoreline. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine is
a well-visited piece of history for both Baltimore residents and
out-of-town visitors. The Fort McHenry Wetland, located adjacent
to the Fort, can be seen from the popular walking path. As one
of the very few living shorelines in Baltimore City, the 8-acre
Fort McHenry Wetland is well functioning, doing exactly what
it’s meant to do: remove excess nutrients from the water;
provide habitat for local wildlife; and filter the marine debris
that is carried in from the ti