Collage with blocks, recycle and kids exploring a creek.


Welcome to the Conservation Montgomery Kids Page


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Building Blocks:   Basic facts every kid should know about Montgomery County, Maryland

  • Montgomery County, Maryland covers 316,800 acres directly to the north of Washington, D.C. 


  • About 29% of the county is forested. Most of our forests are in the Up County or north end of the county.    


  • Montgomery County has over 400 beautiful parks.  These are great places for us to play and get exercise.  Almost everyone who lives in Montgomery County lives within walking distance from a park.


  • About 1/3 of Montgomery County is set aside just for agricultural use.  The county “Agricultural Reserve” is 93,000 acres of land.  It is known as “rural.”  Parts of the county closer to Washington, D.C. are known as “urban” areas. Urban areas have more buildings and concrete and fewer trees. Urban places are more like cities.


  • There are 577 farms in Montgomery County and 350 businesses that do horticulture.  Together, these industries produce more than $251 million dollars’ worth of products.  Hooray! We get to grow a lot of our own food in Montgomery County.


  • Montgomery County has a very cool Recycling Center and a Transfer Station in Derwood, MD. This is where you take all kinds of things to recycle that you can’t put into your blue recycling bins at home.


  • In just one year, the county recycling center can take in almost 100,000 tons of recycled items and paper.


  • The county government can sell recycled things and make money for the county.  In 2008, the county made a little over $3 million dollars by selling things sent to the recycling center.  Those used recycled items were sold and then made into brand new things that could be used again.   How cool is that?   


  • The recycling center offers tours.  In 2008, they had over 5,000 visitors who wanted to learn more about how the county recycles.


  • Every year, the county removes about 2,100 trees and plants about 1,700 trees with a planting budget the government has for trees along our streets in our neighborhoods.  This year, the budget got cut so no more trees will be planted this year along our streets. 


  • Montgomery County has its very own laws to try and solve the climate change problem we hear so about in the news.  Our county was the first county in the nation to start what is called a “carbon tax.” Any business in Montgomery County that adds to the problem of climate change or global warming will have to pay an extra tax to help clean up the environment.


  • A watershed is an area from which the water above and below the ground drains to a particular stream, river, lake, bay, or ocean.  Montgomery County is in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.


  • Watersheds affect how well we can live in our communities.  We use them for boating, catching fish, having picnics by the water,  or just taking off our shoes and wading in creeks and streams in the summer.


  • The Chesapeake Bay is very beautiful and special.  It is the nation’s largest estuary.  An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.


  • The Chesapeake Bay needs help!  It has become very polluted over the years.   If we pollute our water in Montgomery County, then it drains to the Anacostia River and Potomac River.  Then those rivers drain to the Chesapeake Bay.  If we keep our streams and creeks clean in Montgomery County, we can do our part to help save the Bay.   Can you find the Chesapeake Bay on a map and then trace the streams and rivers on the map that lead to it from our county?


  • There are days when the air quality is not so good in Montgomery County.  When the air is bad and polluted, our health can suffer. Polluted air can make you cough.  It can make someone with asthma really sick.


  • When the air quality is good and the air seems clear, it is great to get outdoors!  It makes us healthier and stronger when we play outdoors in the fresh air.  Hiking with our parents is especially fun, like at Sugarloaf Mountain in Montgomery County.  That is FUN hiking!


  • Montgomery County is in what is called a “non-attainment” zone along with other counties around us, in Virginia nearby and Washington, D.C.  This means our air quality is not at a healthy level.  There is an air quality index that is good to know about.  It’s in the newspaper every day where you find the weather report and on websites. On bad air quality days, it’s better not to mow your lawn with a gas-powered lawn mower.  That just adds to the bad air problem.  If you can avoid driving a car on those days, that helps the environment.  But remember to get outside and enjoy the day when the weather is good and the air is clear.


  • In Montgomery County Public Schools, kids in the 6th grade get to go to a big school sleepover called “Outdoor Education” or “Outdoor Ed.”  It is a great time to get outside with teachers and friends from school and learn more about the environment.  You get to have a campfire, sing songs, have fun and be silly at night before bedtime at Outdoor Ed.   Even your teachers get to act a little silly there.

 

     

Julia

Nurturing nature. Sligo Middle School student Julia Madsen puts a screen around a young cedar tree in the Reddy Branch Stream Park on Sunday. Madsen was among a group of students who put screens around 60 trees to protect them from deer damage while they grow. The project was sponsored by the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission and WSSC.

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Montgomery County kids stop for a break during a hike around Sugarloaf Mountain

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Hiking at Sugarloaf Mountain


Here are some free environmental games you can play to learn more:

Michael, Michael, go recycle!
http://resources.kaboose.com/games/michael-recycle.html

Clean Up Your World
http://funschool.kaboose.com/globe-rider/earth-day/games/game_clean_up_your_world.html

Planet Pals games:
http://www.planetpals.com/games.html

EPA Environmental Kids’ Club:
http://www.epa.gov/kids/game.htm

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If you have questions about the environment or want to learn more:

Kids’ Club Question Page:
http://epa-kids.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/epa_kids.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php
Puffy the Puffer:  http://www.yoto98.noaa.gov/books/puffy/puffy.html


National Wildlife Federation “Ranger Rick” and more:  http://www.nwf.org/Kids.aspx


Here are some interesting websites for teachers and parents:

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Learning about stream conditions at the Smith Environmental Center in Montgomery County

Remember to check www.ConservationMontgomery.org regularly to find new information that will help us live better in Montgomery County.