Spring Cleanup of Historic Bread and Cheese Creek 4/14/12

Initiative Objective

Thank you for your interest in volunteering to help clean up Bread and Cheese Creek. We can certainly use all as many volunteers as possible of all ages and abilities and we look forward to the possibility of working with you and your group!

Anyone who is familiar with Bread and Cheese Creek thinks of it as a polluted eyesore. A stream that breaches above ground just East of Eastern Avenue then meanders a path roughly along Old North Point Road until it empties into Back River which in turn flows into the Chesapeake Bay. We are all aware of the importance the health of the Chesapeake Bay hold to all Maryland Residents. Those who grew up in this area remember a different creek entirely, one teeming with frogs, crayfish, and minnows – a place where many a child spent long summer days happily playing. It is our goal to bring back that stream, not for me, not just for the residents that live along it, but for everyone who reaps the benefits of the Chesapeake Bay. We are a group of volunteers working with the community, Baltimore County Environmental Protection and Sustainability, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay as well as other organizations to clean up Bread and Cheese Creek.

Please mark your calendars for our next event on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Rain or Shine, as the day and time we clean up the Merritt Boulevard section of the stream. This section of the stream is located between two shopping centers and Merritt Boulevard causing both its waters and banks to be choked with trash and debris. View photos of this section of the creek here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjyhkC5x. ANY time you can give to helping us out is more than appreciated. If you are interested in getting involved sooner, please check out our FaceBook page to learn of other cleanups in the area we are assisting with.

Our cleanups are part of an ongoing effort clean the entire stream by 2014 in preparation for the War of 1812 Bicentennial Celebration. (Bread and Cheese Creek will be receiving two historic plaques on the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail) The creek played a rather significant part in the Battle of North Point which took place on September 12, 1814. Both the American and British Troops camped along its banks, the American troops using is as a rallying point. It is rumored that the young heroes Daniel Wells (19) and Henry McComas (18) used the stream channel to sneak up on British General Robert Ross killing him with their muskets before being killed in return fire. This important part of our history should not be left the eyesore it currently is.