Riviera Beach Cleanup Gets Boost From Chesapeake Bay Trust Grant

By Judy Tacyn

When the neighborhood’s motto is “where the bay, river and creek meet,” it’s certain there is a lot of waterfront to maintain. Riviera Beach resident Mike Vaccarino passed an overgrown community lot on Stony Creek on Carroll Road every day for years and knew the property had a lot of potential, but the cleanup would require time and money.

Members of the voluntary River Bea homeowners association held ongoing fundraising events, but they were never able to raise enough money to adequately tackle the decades of neglect on the Beehive Cove lot.

In spring 2018, Vaccarino and his wife, Erin, were researching native Maryland vegetation and habitats when they found the Chesapeake Bay Trust website. According to the site, the Chesapeake Bay Trust awards more than $10 million in grant funding each year to hundreds of nonprofits and community organizations throughout the region for hands-on projects that ensure a cleaner, greener, healthier Chesapeake watershed for years to come.

Grants are offered for projects that educate Marylanders about the environment, include demonstration-based restoration, and are grassroots, community-driven endeavors.

“We had no idea that there might be money available for projects like ours,” Vaccarino said. “When I called for information, I was asked to prepare a budget. Erin wrote the grant request. It took us about a month to prepare everything. We submitted the paperwork, and within two weeks, we heard from the CBT that we were accepted.”

A survey was performed and work on clearing the lot began in earnest in October 2018. Since that time, neighbors and small businesses have jumped in to help. To date, Vaccarino said the project is about 60% complete.

Skip Hegarty and his son, John, are part of the volunteer contingent working on the cleanup.

“We have so many great neighbors and volunteers in our community who are happy to serve,” said Dawn Hegarty, Skip’s wife. “Getting our kids involved and passing on the desire and willingness to make this community even better is very important to us. The expression ‘it takes a village’ is just so very true.”

Himmel’s Landscape and Garden Center is one of the Pasadena-based businesses helping with the project by either offering discounted products, services or even manual labor. Vaccarino’s employer, Commercial Contractors Group, has offered equipment use and provided trash hauling. He also said that Jeff Popp at the CBT has provided invaluable support throughout the process.

“Long-term, we know that we will have to manage the weeds and make sure we remove invasive plants and nurture the native ones,” Vaccarino said. “We also hope to add a kayak launch, benches and event picnic tables. It’s such a nice and quiet spot under a canopy of trees.”

Volunteers started adding plants acquired from Himmel’s in early June. Vaccarino believes the lot will be completely rehabbed by the end of this summer. He said there are plans for a community gathering.

“I plan on relaxing with a cold beer and watching our amazing Riviera Beach sunset,” Vaccarino said. “I hope the entire community comes down to join me.”

To learn more about the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the projects it funds or how to find a grant opportunity, visit www.cbtrust.org.