Local news covering the Oldtown area
Blessings from the Laurel Community
Old Town resident Mike Mondy, a real estate agent with Keller-Williams, hosted the second annual Blessing Baskets event on November 20. The event lasted five hours and included a buffet, coffee bar, raffle, and craft table. Individuals and businesses came together to fill laundry baskets with donated food themed for Thanksgiving. The baskets were then given to seven area elementary schools to distribute to families struggling with food insecurity. The schools included Laurel Elementary, Scotchtown Hills, Bond Mill, Montpelier, Oaklands, James H. Harrison, and CMIT Academy North. Mondy is the founder and administrator of a Facebook Group called Laurel MD Connect!, which played a key role in the event’s success. By the end of the evening, a total of 220 baskets had been filled.
City of Laurel Certified at Silver Level by Sustainable Maryland, Hosts Maryland Secretary of the Environment
On November 8, the City of Laurel received recertification by Sustainable Maryland, a program operated by the University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Center. This is the first time since the program’s inception that Laurel achieved a silver-level certification. In 2015, 2018, and 2021, Laurel achieved the bronze level. Certification is renewed every three years. While the program has no gold medal, Takoma Park is the 2024 Sustainability Champion.
Michele Blair, Sustainability Manager for the City of Laurel, said Sustainable Maryland gives her a framework for where the city needs to focus its efforts. Some of the projects documented in this year’s recertification were ones have been in place for some time. But with this round of recertification, the city added several new programs, notably its composting program and certification of the Farmer’s Market with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Electronic Benefit Transfer. Through a grant from Maryland Money Market, families enrolled in SNAP (previously called Food Stamps) can now receive a match up to $30 at the Laurel Farmer’s Market.
Sustainable Maryland awards certification based on an accumulation of points earned through various projects or “certified actions.” A threshold of 400 points is required for the silver level; Laurel was awarded 465 points, according to sustainablemaryland.com. Blair’s goal for the future is not only to recertify at that level again, but also to ramp up Laurel’s acquired points. She highlighted the city’s goal of releasing an official sustainability plan next year, based in part on residents’ input communicated through focus groups. A party celebrating and presenting the sustainability plan will be held at Joseph R. Robison Municipal Center on January 30 at 6:00 pm.
Even prior to the recertification, Laurel’s efforts toward sustainability did not go unnoticed by state officials. At a 2023 luncheon with Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, Laurel officials showed a video documenting Laurel’s progress in sustainability. Miller was so impressed that she called Serena McIlwain, Maryland Secretary of the Environment, and told McIlwain that she should visit Laurel.
On November 21st of this year, McIlwain did visit Laurel and viewed Blair’s prepared boards that gave a “virtual tour” through Laurel’s sustainability journey. Blair noted that the visit was scheduled for an hour, but McIlwain stayed for two hours. McIlwain ended her visit by trying out one of the City’s electric vehicles.
Looking ahead to recertification in 2027, Blair particularly wants all residents of Laurel to participate in the composting program, utilizing the organic landfill. Even one resident, she noted, can have an impact on reducing methane gas emissions. Blair spoke glowingly of Sustainable Maryland as a “wonderful resource” in the City’s journey toward a greener future.
Caitlin Lewis holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Covenant College. She worked as a high school English teacher both in the U.S. and Greece, but currently works at home raising her four children and writing her column.
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