Cape Conservation Corps: 2025 Year in Review

Cape Conservation Corps: 2025 Year in Review

Cape Conservation Corps (CCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Cape St. Claire. Founded in 2015, CCC proudly celebrates a decade of promoting healthy, native ecosystems.

Our mission is to restore native habitats by replacing invasive plants and trees, preventing erosion, and enhancing the natural beauty of Cape St. Claire’s public spaces. We aim to ignite community pride, foster environmental stewardship, and support swimmable, fishable waters.

In 2025, our Conservation Crew and Weed Warriors dedicated 810 hours to ecological restoration at Serene Ravine (Lake Claire) and Little Magothy Beach Park. Their efforts resulted in the removal of 8,775 square feet of invasive plants and the planting of over 1,600 native plants and 200 native trees and shrubs. A total of 271 adults and 119 youths participated, many of whom were our core crew members.

CCC engaged the community through outreach events, including hosting a booth at the Strawberry Festival where we distributed 150 milkweed plants and educated attendees about pollinator-friendly gardening. At the Goshen Farm Open House and Cape ViBES music event, we promoted mosquito-safe practices by giving away 100 Mosquito Bucket of Doom kits, with 25 buckets generously donated by Cape Ace Hardware. Our Mosquito Bucket Challenge was a community favorite, complete with a photo contest and prizes.

Our Annual Native Plant Fest and Sale drew hundreds of attendees—from seasoned gardeners to curious newcomers. Visitors took home native plants to support pollinators, increase biodiversity, and cultivate healthy ecosystems. Experts were available to guide plant selection and placement.

To further promote native planting, we launched our First Flower Boxes initiative—spring ephemerals available for pre-order to support early-season pollinators. Our Free Tree Giveaway distributed 62 native trees to 32 Cape St. Claire residents.

Board member Larry Jennings continued to offer free consultations through our Garden Advisory Program, helping residents transition to native landscapes. This year, we honored Broadneck High School, and residents Jamie Whilhelm and Karen Mullin, as Habitat Heroes for their exemplary habitat restoration efforts. Christ Our Anchor Church was also noted for their ongoing restoration work on their property.

Our Educational Speaker Series featured two engaging presentations. In March, author and marine scientist Dr. Ellen Prager and meteorologist Dave Jones delivered an entertaining and informative session on weather, climate, and ocean science. In November, author and advocate Dr. Joan Maloof spoke passionately about the importance of preserving old-growth forests.

Supporting youth engagement is central to our mission. We awarded two scholarships to graduating Broadneck High School students pursuing environmental science and collaborated with local schools and Scouts on service projects and award initiatives.

Oyster Nursery and Marylanders Grow Oysters 2025-2026 Season Recap: We enjoyed a robust 2025 kickoff, were blessed with multiple volunteers, and look forward to a bountiful 2026 growing season. As always, we love to see the kids and Capers come by to see the oysters and engage us with questions and kudos. We are truly blessed to have our ace weekly maintenance teams, Rachel Hicks, Mike Gauthier, Rob Corletta, Herb Keating and Ryan Perry. Thanks folks!

We began the new Maryland Grow Oyster season late, due to a setback at the hatchery, so in mid-October we received 172 bags of oyster spat on shell! Good thing we had a large crew of grower/helpers to load them in!

Just when we thought the oyster nursery was failing, with a support leg sinking into the mud, Cape resident Grayson Kershner answered our cry for help and stepped up! He fixed it masterfully, with floor jacks, reinforcement and skill. We are surely grateful!

When our wonderful cleaning teams needed a better work surface, Eagle Scout candidate Kellen Moore and Family stepped up and built our beautiful new, very sturdy cleaning table perfectly to spec. They are now working on a rehab for our aging sign board. 

The Broadneck High School Environmental Literacy class, headed by Allison Davis under Stacy Roth, with professional guidance by Coastal Conservation Association’s David Sikorski, and hands on help from Cape Conservation Corps and Magothy River Association members, built reef balls for Noah’s reef again this year. Recently, Allison’s class helped us build new wire mesh trays for the nursery. Next, they are looking to build us a new wood and wire mesh cover for the nursery as a student Capstone project. Go team!

All of CCC’s work is made possible by the generous support of our community. From memberships and donations, to fundraising events like Cape ViBES and the St. John’s Block Party (which raised over $2,000), we are deeply grateful. Special thanks to our 2025 Corporate Sponsors for their invaluable contributions.

To learn more about CCC and explore all the different opportunities to sponsor, donate, volunteer, or get involved, please visit our website: capeconservationcorps.org