County Department of Environmental Protection Announces a Video Challenge to Celebrate Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week

Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week is taking place from June 5-13. In joining this year’s celebration, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is challenging all residents to create a video to show support and enthusiasm for clean water and the beauty of the Bay. Residents are being challenged to create a video on Instagram or TikTok based on a daily theme.

Submissions for the Video Challenge will be accepted from June 5-13. Participants must be 18 years or older to enter and must reside in Montgomery County. Winners will be selected by the public. Each day, the Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week video with the greatest number of likes on social media will be determined as the winner. Winners will be announced at the end of the week and prizes will be awarded by DEP.

This year’s Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week themes are:

• Saturday, June 5: On the Water
• Sunday, June 6: Parks and Trails
• Monday June 7: In Your Backyard/Neighborhood
• Tuesday, June 8: In Your Home
• Wednesday, June 9: Community Service
• Thursday, June 10: Connecting with Cooking/Food
• Friday, June 11: Museums and Historic Locations
• Saturday, June 12: Volunteering and Community Engagement
• Sunday, June 13: Environmental Stewardship

The videos should demonstrate how people connect with the Bay and explain why the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is important to Montgomery County. Ideas could include experiences people have had enjoying the Bay, inspirational places in Montgomery County or along the Bay or actions people can take to help clean up our streams and the Bay.

All creeks and streams in Montgomery County eventually flow into the Chesapeake Bay, which means residents have a great impact on the conditions of the Bay. Everyday activities like using reusable bags and reusable bottles and not using plastic straws can make a big difference in keeping local waters and the Bay clean and free from these types of single-use plastics.

“It may not feel like we touch the Bay here in Montgomery County but, the Bay is all around us,” said DEP Director Adam Ortiz. “All of our streams in Montgomery County are part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed that flows into the Bay. No matter where you are in the County, you are connected to this beautiful resource.”

Videos for this year’s challenge can be posted on the DEP Instagram page or emailed to DEP.contests@montgomerycountymd.gov. And videos will be shared on DEP’s social media and website. Residents can also tag the department in a post @MyGreenMC.

For more information and contest rules go to www.mygreenmontgomery.org.