As the year draws to a close Montgomery Countryside Alliance gives heartfelt thanks to our members and supporters. With your invaluable help, we have led many initiatives this year. Here are a few:
As we have for the past 15 years, MCA will continue to take on threats to the Reserve and local water supplies- whenever they come. We have had our ear to the ground and our shoulder to the issues in Montgomery County. However, as a small nonprofit, we depend on County residents' tax-deductible contributions.
Please join us. Membership starts at just $25/year. Add your voice to our growing membership to protect our water, farms and open space right here in Montgomery County.
P.S: We are proud to be honored a second time as “One of the Best” small nonprofits in the DC region by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. It is your support that makes us the effective local organization we have become. Thank You!
- MCA, along with partners in the Farm Bureau, Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation and Ag Services, successfully launched a new state of the art staffed Mobile Ag Lab that will visit every Montgomery County elementary school, providing hands on instruction that will expand students’ knowledge of and appreciation for how good food and fiber are grown locally. The lab has already been hosted at several County schools.
- We’ve been taking our award-winning short film, “Growing Legacy,” on the road to help educate students and community groups outside the Ag Reserve about its value to area citizens (GrowingLegacyMovie.com)
- Our Land Link program continues to grow- matching farmers with landowners — leading to the addition of over 400 acres of new or expanded local farm businesses (MoCoLandLink.org).
- We led the charge to maintain and build on protections for Ten Mile Creek and the backup water supply for the 4.3 million area residents it feeds. The organization we founded - Friends of Ten Mile Creek and Little Seneca Reservoir- is already proving to be tenacious guardians of our watershed.
- We are standing firm against antiquated transportation projects that cause sprawl and other non-solutions to traffic issues – such as the Virginia Outer Beltway and the new proposal for a Potomac River bridge south of Poolesville. We understand that there are moneyed interests in the Reserve that support the proposed bridge.
- We are connecting neighbors at all income levels with local food and reducing food waste by partnering with Manna Food Center’s Community Food Rescue initiative and working to connect local farmers with acreage in partnership with the Crossroads Community Food Network.
- We are building a strong local rural community- including promoting full County high speed internet connectivity and defending against conflicting land uses that emerge through lack of zoning enforcement or loopholes in County regulations.
As we have for the past 15 years, MCA will continue to take on threats to the Reserve and local water supplies- whenever they come. We have had our ear to the ground and our shoulder to the issues in Montgomery County. However, as a small nonprofit, we depend on County residents' tax-deductible contributions.
Please join us. Membership starts at just $25/year. Add your voice to our growing membership to protect our water, farms and open space right here in Montgomery County.
P.S: We are proud to be honored a second time as “One of the Best” small nonprofits in the DC region by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. It is your support that makes us the effective local organization we have become. Thank You!
