Teen Promotes Watershed Stewardship

Brighid Barry is a Severna Park High School junior with two passions: business and conservation. The 17-year-old owns a jewelry business and makes earrings from recycled aluminum cans. She became dedicated to environmentalism after realizing her customers were drawn to sustainable businesses.

“I took AP Environmental Science … I cared so much,” Barry said. “I did a program at the Columbia Climate School under professionals in the field about how to promote this sustainability.”

In January 2025, Barry started training with the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy (WSA), a program usually reserved for adults due to its rigorous requirements. But Barry’s passion and experience convinced WSA Director Suzanne Etgen to admit her. Barry graduated as a steward on May 6, although she will finish her capstone project, a native pollinator garden, this fall at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis under the supervision of Terryl Acker-Carter.

Barry praised the WSA program, saying, “(They) made it easy to learn with in-depth classroom instruction and by being shown onsite how to better understand the geography of river degradation.”

In addition to her capstone project and her field work analyzing river runoff in local neighborhoods, Barry has served on a team constructing a conservation garden for a Cape St. Claire resident. She also helped conduct a site clean-up at Christ Our Anchor Presbyterian Church in Annapolis. Barry was especially glad to give back to the church as “they’d given us a place to meet and host important events, and we were happy to work with them.”

The WSA has also taught Barry leadership and management skills. The program helps the stewards grow as public speakers, workshop providers, and as individuals capable of engaging communities.

“Becoming a person in our community who can lead others to a sustainable solution is a big part of this … creating opportunities for communities to come together, especially for underprivileged communities to also be included, since they’ve often been left out of these discussions,” Barry said.

Ever busy, Barry throws herself into the coursework and projects required for WSA training, as her mother, Eileen Wold, noted. “As an observer, I watch her juggle her schoolwork and a lot of responsibility with WSA, and she’s doing a great job,” Wold said.

Barry admitted, “By budgeting time for the WSA, I’ve been able to make the most of this opportunity.”

She shared advice for Severna Park residents who want to live more sustainable lives. Barry recommends planting native species, ones local to this part of Maryland, in home gardens. She also encourages people to reduce daily consumption by using less water, recycling, buying fewer products, and by shopping secondhand from thrift shops. In addition, she wants other community members to “get their hands dirty” and volunteer for the WSA.

Next year, along with finishing her pollinator project, Barry will apply to college. So far, she’s interested in William & Mary and the University of Vermont.

Wherever she attends college, it’s clear that Barry is passionate about the environment. “A lot of teenagers are scared we won’t have a future because of climate change, but things will get better because we care,” Barry said. “We’ll do something. I have faith in humanity.”

To learn more about the WSA program, visit www.aawsa.org/watershed-stewards.