You’ve heard it before but we’ll say it again: every day is Earth Day, and every month is Earth Month here at Zerra & Co. But in the same way that you’re special everyday but just a little extra special on your birthday, Earth Month is the perfect opportunity to give our home planet some extra attention.

This year, we are paying some extra attention to Zerra & Co.’s hometown waterways by donating to our 1% for the Planet partner, Blue Water Baltimore. Through 1% for the Planet, we donate 1% of our profits to Blue Water Baltimore all year long, but in celebration of Earth Month, we are donating 5% of our Solid Skincare sales for the entire month of April.

Who is Blue Water Baltimore?

Blue Water Baltimore was created back in 2010 when 5 local organizations realized they could accomplish more together than apart, and teamed up to form what is now known as Blue Water Baltimore. Now, they are one of the largest environmental nonprofits in Baltimore.

Blue Water Baltimore’s mission:

“To restore the quality of Baltimore’s rivers, streams and Harbor to foster a healthy environment, a strong economy and thriving communities.”

What They Do

Protecting Baltimore’s waterways takes many different forms, such as:

• Monitoring water quality: Blue Water Baltimore routinely monitors water quality in the rivers, streams and harbor of the Patapsco River watershed. Using the data they collect, they can calculate scores for the health of Baltimore’s waters according to Mid-Atlantic Tributary Assessment Coalition (MTAC) protocol.
• Holding polluters accountable: they advocate at the local, state and federal level to ensure that water pollution laws are enforced, that emerging pollution issues are addressed with new enforceable laws, and that clean water regulatory programs are funded and implemented effectively.
• Planting trees and replacing hard surfaces with gardens: their Restoration Team plants and cares for new trees across Baltimore watersheds in streets, yards, parks, schools, stream buffers, residential properties and private institutions.
• Educating residents and students on how to help protect local waterways: Blue Water Baltimore offers educational programs for all age ranges, preschool to senior. 

They set up many volunteer events throughout the year too, such as helping out at the Herring Run Nursery, trash cleanups, and more.

What They’ve Achieved

Since beginning operation in 2010, Blue Water Baltimore continues to approach their mission from many avenues. In 2021 alone, they investigated 100 pollution reports, collected 1,500 water samples, removed 11,000 of impervious surface, and collected 2,480 pounds of trash. 

Blue Water Baltimore collects and synthesizes tens of thousands of individual data points each year to score Baltimore’s regional waterway health.

The data collected from 2013 through today is then used by academic institutions, state regulators, local law-makers, and members of the public to make more informed decisions about healthy waterways. They have 49 monitoring sites where they’ve collected 141,000 readings of Baltimore’s watershed health.

How You Can Help

If you’re local to Baltimore (hi, neighbor!) check out all of Blue Water Baltimore’s volunteer opportunities or explore how to advocate locally for better policies and legislation.

You can also support them every single time you make a purchase from Zerra & Co. as we continue to donate 1% of our profits to them all year long, and 5% of sales from our newest launch, Solid Skincare, for the entire month of April.

Explore all our eco-friendly and zero waste Makeup and Skincare and be sure to follow us on Instagram to stay updated on all our new launches and environmental updates!

xoxo,

Brittney Kiera

Content Curator - Zerra & Co.