Blogger Jamie Alberti
December 30, 2025
As I reflect over the nine years that I have served on the Board of Directors of the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC), I realize how thankful I am to have been a part of such an amazing organization. And although I am rotating off of the board after three terms of service, you better believe that I’m still going to be very involved in promoting the good work that CCLC does!
Some members of the 2025 CCLC Board enjoying a boat tour on the Anacostia River.
CCLC is now 22 years old, the same age as my daughter, Emily. As my daughter has brought so much joy and value to my life, CCLC has inspired many and made a lasting impact, particularly through the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional certification and trainings.
I’d like to share with you a few examples of how CCLC has made a meaningful difference for so many individuals.
Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Maintenance Program in DC
For the last four years, this program, led by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, has provided meaningful, year-round employment for returning citizens (those recently incarcerated) and District residents to maintain public green infrastructure practices in Washington, DC. As part of this program, CCLC provided CBLP-Crews training and three customized trainings for landscape contractors within the program.
Beth Ginter and Jason Swope provide maintenance instruction to GSI Maintenance Program crew members.
These customized trainings were conducted at sites that the contractors were maintaining and focused on specific challenges facing the crews at each location. This approach was instrumental in the overall success of the program. Immediate improvements were seen in the quality of the maintenance work and crews grew more confident in their skills. Crews enjoyed engaging with local community members and sharing what they were doing – you could tell they were proud of their work.
Many wonderful, heart-warming stories also came out of this GSI Maintenance program. Stable and meaningful work enables some returning citizens to save up and purchase a vehicle to visit family; purchase a home and obtain custody of their children; and earn additional licensures to go on to other well-paying careers.
For this work, CCLC and partners were awarded a BUBBA award in the category of Stormwater Program Pioneers earlier this year. The Best Urban BMP in the Bay Awards contest (BUBBAs), a program of the Chesapeake Stormwater Network, recognizes the best practices and programs across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The BUBBAs shine a light on local innovators using creative approaches to protect and restore local watersheds. All of the partners are very proud of this accomplishment.
Dwight Willford
I was listening to Shereen Hughes give a presentation about CBLP back in 2021 and one of the success stories she shared really stuck with me. The CBLP team is always willing to provide extra support through mentoring and coaching when needed. One recipient of that additional support, Dwight Willford, said that CBLP training and the Level 1 certification earned him a promotion from a standard landscape maintenance “mow and blow” crew job to a stormwater BMP maintenance crew manager. It opened his eyes to all the possible ways to convert areas from traditional to conservation landscapes at Old Dominion University. On CBLP-A Field Days for Portsmouth High School Students held at ODU, he now shows up to talk to and inspire high school kids earning their CBLP-A certificate. I remember Shereen saying during her presentation that Dwight was unhappy with the monotony of his work that he was ready to quit, but CBLP gave him a new outlook on his work and he is loving it!
Dwight participating in CBLP training.
Dwight inspiring high school students at a CBLP-A Field Days training at Old Dominion University.
Zsuzsanna Cooke
Zsuzsanna joined READY (Restoring the Environment and Developing Youth), a Howard EcoWorks summer program that provides conservation education, employment, and career development to young adults, in 2018 as a crew member. She progressed to assistant crew leader and crew leader, was one of the first CBLP-A participants, and was the first person to advance from CBLP-A to CBLP Levels 1 and 2. Excited to be back with Howard EcoWorks, Zsuzsanna now serves as a Natural Resources specialist. This is a great example of how CBLP courses have assisted individuals in their career advancement.
Zsuzsanna has worked her way through the CBLP trainings to really advance her career doing work that she loves.
I would like to leave you with one testimonial that sums up how supportive and encouraging the CCLC and CBLP community is:
I encourage you to actively participate in this amazing CCLC/CBLP network by serving as stewards, educators, and ambassadors. Share new ideas and lessons learned with any and all. Incorporate what you have learned from CBLP training, field days, and each other to advance conservation landscaping. And together, we will achieve a healthy and resilient Chesapeake Bay, one landscape at a time!
Jamie Alberti
Jamie currently serves as the Green Infrastructure Program Director on behalf of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, working to help communities throughout the Chesapeake watershed reduce stormwater runoff by implementing conservation landscaping practices that improve water quality and support healthy landscapes.
