The South River Federation won a $4,500 grant for its work cleaning up a dump site along Beards Creek last April.

The grant came courtesy of the Interlux Yacht Paint Co., which has a Waterfront Challenge initiative that gave out grants totaling $50,000.

The challenge was announced in February, when Interlux officials said they wanted to offer grants of $4,500 to $20,000 to groups of three or more people who spend at least two days improving their local waterfront.

The South River Federation, established in 1999, works to protect, preserve, restore, and celebrate the South River, which is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.

Federation officials knew there was an area along Beards Creek that had been used as a community dumping site since the 1960s.

"Many things were dumped into the ravine from engines to tires to everyday trash," SRF said in a news release to the media. "Even five bus seats were pulled from the ravine. Unfortunately there were also metals and batteries that were dumped and leaked contaminants such as lead, mercury, and arsenic.

"This area was chosen because it is important to prevent pollutants and toxins from entering the headwaters of Beards Creek, as it will make its way into the South River and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay."

The SRF organized the event with help from Constellation Energy's Risk Management Team and the property owner who donated time and the use of farm equipment to remove heavy items.

There were two components to the day:

1. Clean out the area so that nature could work to restore the riverbank.
2. Have a team-building day for Constellation Energy employee.

In April 2011, the 90 volunteers removed 8.43 tons of trash and 4.34 tons of metals from the waterfront of Beard’s Creek. As an added environmental bonus, Anne Arundel County was able to recycle a large portion of the debris removed from the site.

Winning the grant will allow the SRF to continue to improve waterfronts in the area.

The judges for the event included:

• Thom Dammrich (NMMA),
• Fred Daoust (Interlux and Awlgrip® Yacht Coatings),
• Dan Pingaro (Sailors for the Sea),
• Susan Shingledecker (Boat US Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water),
• John Kelly (International Paint) and
• last but not least — the public — the boating community who supported the Waterfront Challenge by voting on Facebook.