Skip site navigation
University of Maryland Division of Research
Who We Are Capabilities Partnerships Resources News
Analytical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Service & Research Center Biomolecular Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Facility Biosciences Cores: Genomics, Imaging, and Flow Cytometry BioWorkshop Brain & Behavior Institute - Advanced Genomic Technologies Core CALCE Test Services and Failure Analysis Laboratory Center For Innovative Biomedical Resources (CIBR) Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center Daikin Energy Innovation Lab DLAR Imaging Core Exposome Small Molecule Core Facility Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy KIT-Maryland MEG Lab Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI) Maryland NanoCenter Maryland Neuroimaging Center Mass Spectrometry Facility Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility (NBRF) Surface Analysis Center The Laboratory for Biological Ultrastructure The University of Maryland Center for Health Equity The University of Maryland Prevention Research Center X-ray Crystallographic Center (XCC)
Africa Through Language and Area Studies (ATLAS) Anti-Black Racism Initiative Effective and Equitable Weather Forecasting in a Changing Climate with Machine Learning Encuentros: A University-Community Partnership to Mitigate the Mental Health Crisis for Latino Immigrant Youth Fostering Inclusivity through Technology (FIT) Helping Our Bodies Clear Respiratory Infections The Maryland Safe Drinking WATER Study Modeling the Evolution of Avian Influenza Viruses Music Education for All Through Personalized AI and Digital Humanities Observing Wildfires Through UAVs and Fire Imaging Technologies Programmable Design of Sustainable, All-Natural Plastic Substitutes Racial and Social Justice Research-Practice Partnership Collaborative Remediation of Methane, Water, and Heat Waste Seizing Opportunities: Social Capital, Businesses, and Communities Using Machine Learning to Measure and Improve Equity in K-12 Mathematics Classrooms Water Emergency Team
Accurate, Equitable, and Transparent Genetic Ancestry Inference Advancing Environmental Justice By Evaluating Climate-Ready Urban Street Trees In Historically Redlined Neighborhoods AFTER: A Hospital Violence Intervention Program For Youth Victims of Gunshot Injury An Innovative Intervention to Help Asian American Families Cope with Racism and Mental Health Difficulties Bridging the Gaps in Satellite Observations of Earth Systems to Support Climate Monitoring and Prediction Climate Change and Political Conflict Climate Mitigation and Land-Use Digital Equity Mapping Research and Training Program Establishing a Role for Psilocybin in Frontal Lobe Function Fetal Mammary Stem Cell Programming and Hormone Dysfunction Forecasting Acute Malnutrition for Anticipatory Action Genetic and Lifestyle Risk Factors of Accelerated Brain Aging in Severe Mental Illness How Does Statistical Learning Interact with Socioeconomic Status to Shape Literacy Development? Human Rights Politics and Policies: Lessons from Latin America Increasing Sustainability, Accessibility, and Equity in Urban Mobility with A Self-driving E-Scooter Increasing Participation of Minorities and Women In STEM Through Sports Performance Analytics Research Market Design, Energy Storage, and Interconnection to the U.S. Power Grid On-board Energy Harvesting for Long-endurance Earth Observation UAVs Promoting Youth Mental Wellbeing in Rural Honduras by Engaging Teachers as Catalysts Relating Attitudes on Democracy to Attitudes on Race and Ethnicity An Innovative Approach to Remove Emerging Organic Contaminants from the Environment Role of Mitochondria Dynamics in Opioid Addiction Towards an Early Warning System for Increased Probability of Community Infection by SARS-Cov-2 Variants Understanding the Impact of Wind on Fire Dynamics in Mass-Timber Compartment Visualizing Urban Flooding Due To Climate Change
Search
Who We Are Capabilities Partnerships Resources News

UMD Sparks Partnership with Pepco on Green Projects

Environmental Stewardship, Community Resiliency the Focus of $125K in Grants from Utility

January 27, 2023

Mt. Rainer Community Garden

 

An overgrown alleyway blooms into an oasis for walkers and cyclists, city parks shed creeping invasive species and solar lighting illuminates neighborhood pathways. These are among the 11 projects set to receive a portion of $125,000 from Pepco and the University of Maryland’s Sustainable Maryland program as part of the Sustainable Communities Grant Program, a new partnership between the D.C.-area utility and UMD’s statewide “greening program” to advance local sustainability projects.

“When it came time to identify a partner on this program, Sustainable Maryland stood out,” said Ralph Bolton, senior corporate citizenship specialist for Exelon Group, the parent company of Pepco. “Our hope with this initiative is to roll money out into the community so that our stakeholders can really create change. Sustainable Maryland’s team is so aligned with our mission and already a valued community partner; it was a perfect fit.”

Housed at UMD’s Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Maryland is a statewide certification program to help local governments obtain funding, resources and training for projects to promote vibrant and healthy communities. Since 2011, Sustainable Maryland has engaged over half of Maryland’s municipalities, including the state’s 10 most populous cities. A state law that takes effect this month provides $500,000 in annual funding to expand the no-cost program’s impact and reach.

Pepco’s new, ongoing partnership with Sustainable Maryland capitalizes on the UMD program’s longstanding partnerships with municipalities across the region to develop action plans that meet their sustainability goals, from better walkability and energy savings to improving resident health outcomes and managing stormwater runoff.

"All of the communities and organizations benefiting from this grant are right in the university's backyard," said Sustainable Maryland Program Manager Mike Hunninghake, who has been working with several of the grantees for years through UMD's program. "This partnership with Pepco is critical to helping them push their sustainability goals forward."

This year’s round of funding supports seven projects in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties and four projects in Washington, D.C. Maryland projects include new generators in Upper Marlboro, a flood zone study in College Park, a weather alert system for Prince George’s Parks and Recreation and a green roof and educational programming for the cultural arts hub Joe’s Emporium in Mt. Rainier, Md.

Mt. Rainier’s ongoing work with Sustainable Maryland, said Mayor Celina Benitez, has allowed Prince George’s County’s most densely populated city to hit sustainability goals and add assets, like green space and a city garden that have helped bring her diverse community together. The recent $10,000 grant received through the Sustainable Communities Program will pay for improvements to the community garden, including a new tool shed and compost bin.

“For small cities like ours, we need these grants to expand, and they allow us to do so much more and in real time,” she said.

Original news story by Maggie Haslam