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The Aquarium piloted a zero-waste catered event in partnership with SSA Group, our food service providers. We diverted 90% of the event's waste—which included 102 pounds of recycling, 116 pounds of compost and 11 pounds of aluminum cups we saved for reuse—and kept 229 pounds of waste out of landfills. Efforts like this are just one small piece of the Aquarium's Conservation Action Plan.
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The Aquarium advocated for limiting single-use plastic at the local and national levels. Locally, Baltimore County's Bring Your Own Bag Act passed, prohibiting single-use plastic carryout bags and incentivizing reusable bags in many retail businesses. Nationally, the Department of the Interior shared plans to stop using single-use plastic in all U.S. National Parks, which the Aquarium and other Aquarium Conservation Partnership members pressed for.
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At the Naval Air Station Oceana Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach, Virginia, we planted 30,500 grasses and shrubs with 230 volunteers to restore dune habitat and improve coastal resilience. Closer to home, we planted 4,500 Atlantic white cedar trees at Nassawango Creek Preserve with students from Maryland schools and other community volunteers. To further combat climate change, National Aquarium and Maryland Zoo staff also came together to plant 40 trees in Leon Day Park in Baltimore City.
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The Maryland General Assembly passed the bipartisan POWER Act, setting a goal of 8.5 gigawatts of offshore wind power for Maryland by 2031. Working with the National Wildlife Federation, the Aquarium ensured the new law requires considerations for wildlife and ongoing monitoring during the construction and operation of the facilities. This act will also improve offshore wind energy labor standards while helping the state reduce emissions and reach its ambitious climate goals.
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To help clear Maryland's waterways and wetlands of plastic debris, we hosted several shoreline and community cleanups. In addition to Masonville Cove and the Fort McHenry wetland, we hosted a cleanup in Ocean City, Maryland, with our Animal Rescue partners for the first time. In total, volunteers removed 68,866 pieces of plastic debris from waterways. This accounted for 96% of all debris collected. Bottle caps, drink bottles and food wrappers accounted for 25% of the trash collected.
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To educate Baltimore residents about the importance of biodiversity, the National Aquarium once again served as the Baltimore metropolitan area's regional coordinator for City Nature Challenge. We hosted a public BioBlitz event where nearby community members, Patterson Park Audubon Center staff and Aquarium youth exhibit guides documented nearly 600 observations. Overall, during the four-day challenge, 570 community scientists recorded 7,785 observations of 1,305 different wildlife species.
