Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) @ MANTS

Landscape Professional Certification
The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) is a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to researching, promoting and educating professionals and the public about conservation landscaping to protect the Chesapeake Bay. We believe that landscape professionals have a unique opportunity to effect positive change, and we are laser-focused on providing the training and tools they need to protect and improve our environment. Our goal is to advance conservation landscaping practices that have significant ecological benefits for local waterways as well as the Chesapeake Bay.



Our signature program, the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional certification training, provides comprehensive instruction on the design, installation, and managment of sustainable landscaping and green infrastructure practices for the Bay region. We also offer topic-focused workshops and certificate courses on riparian buffers and BMP maintenance, and entry-level programs for young people. Get CBLP-certified and join the community this winter!

Address:   PO Box 3399 Silver Spring, MD 20918 Email:  beth@cblpro.org     Contact:   Beth Ginter Phone:  410-386-3580   FAX:

CBLP Level 1 Certification Training CBLP is a voluntary, regional credential for professionals who design, install, and maintain sustainable landscapes in the Bay watershed.

CBLP offers two levels of training:  Level 1 is a baseline certification in design, installation, and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, emphasizing proper management of stormwater best management practices (BMPs).  Level 2 is an advanced credential in design or installation, focusing on stormwater BMPs.
CBLP’s active learning program engages participants to develop critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative practice skills. We focus on the unique ecology and regulatory environment of the Bay region.

CBLP course attendees may earn continuing education credits from numerous professional organizations including ASLA, APLD, MNLGA, PLNA, VNLA, VSLD, VA DEQ SWM/ESC Inspectors and VA UNM.

A searchable, online directory of certified professionals is available online.
Level 1 candidates must have a degree, certificate, or certification in a related field, or have professional experience. 

 Visit https://cblpro.org/get-certified/ for information, and to apply. 

Vision

Throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, a general public that fully embraces and employs land stewardship practices.

Mission

The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council is a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to promoting conservation-based landscaping practices to benefit the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Council is committed to educating and supporting professionals to implement best practices that result in a healthier and more beautiful environment that benefits residents and the region’s biodiversity. (Rev. 10/2014)

Guiding Principles

The Council will work to advance the following principles (Rev. 10/2014):

• build a diverse and broad coalition of public and private sector groups and leaders and homeowners
• reach a broader market to strengthen the macro-economic benefits of conservation landscaping
• influence the setting of standards that define good conservation landscaping practices
• inform and educate public policy decision makers to advance conservation landscaping activities
• promote the Council’s goals and activities without seeking to promote or endorse any single member organization

Goal

The long term goal of the Conservation Landscaping Council is to advance conservation landscaping practices that have significant ecological benefits for communities throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. To achieve larger-scale conservation landscapes, the Council will consider a range of strategies and advance those deemed most desirable to achieve its goal. Strategies may range from public outreach campaigns, to advancing progressive public policies, to developing model best practices to demonstrate the benefits of conservation landscaping on small and large scales, to encouraging landscaping retailers to carry and promote native plant material and conservation practices.

Strategic Planning Priorities

The Council has organized itself into committees to achieve its goals and mission. The committees are:

• Development
• Finance
• Outreach (formerly Events and Promotions)
• Training and Standards
• Governance

Each committee will develop Work Plans to advance the specific strategies identified below. Each strategy will be supported by initiatives and approaches that can be carried out to promote and advance conservation landscaping throughout the watershed.

Strategies may change over time based on new resources or information that benefit the goal and mission of the organization or new partnership opportunities. The Council will focus on the following priorities:

1.  Promote conservation landscaping practices and approaches
2. Refine standards of practice for conservation landscaping
3. Offer professional development and education for the landscape community
4. Create a regionally unified approach to conservation landscape professionals certification
5. Build a sustainable organization

In Summer 2003, representatives of non-profit organizations, businesses, governmental agencies, and committed individuals from throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed convened at a summit in Annapolis, Maryland. The participants had in common a dedication to the principles of conservation landscaping, and a desire to see it become more widely used in the Chesapeake Bay region. As a result of that summit meeting, the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council was formed.

CCLC Timeline

2002-2003 – Representatives from Adkins Arboretum, Chesapeake Bay Trust, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Chesapeake Bay Field Office, and other organizations discuss forming an organization of like-minded individuals that would promote conservation landscaping to landscape professionals, homeowners, and the business community in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

July 2003 – A Conservation Landscaping Summit is held at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to formally create the CCLC and discuss the mission and goals of the organization. Adkins Arboretum staff become the first chairs of the CCLC. Committee work begins in Fall 2003.

2004 – Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay chairs the CCLC. Committees work to gather data on the ecological and economic value of Conservation Landscaping, to promote the CCLC and Conservation Landscaping, and to write CL Guidelines.

2005 – Adkins Arboretum takes over the chairmanship of CCLC from the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. A memorandum of understanding is signed, giving Adkins Arboretum oversight of the financial affairs of CCLC. This arrangement is to remain in effect until CCLC obtains independent nonprofit status.

February 2, 2005 – A Steering Committee retreat is held at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, to review accomplishments to date, refocus on CCLC’s goal, and develop a list of activities for 2005 and beyond. A logo is selected from a number of ideas submitted; the final version is created by a designer contracted by Adkins Arboretum.

May 2005 – Britt Slattery completes a chapter written by the Standards Committee for the Certified Professional Horticulturist Training Manual of the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association.

Nov. 2, 2005 – Fall Lecture held at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation: “Conservation by Design” is presented by Dr. Russell Brinsfield, Mayor of Vienna, MD and head of the University of Maryland Agro-Ecology Center.

2006 – CCLC brochure, web site, and pull-up display are created.

November 2006 – First “Turning a New Leaf” Conference held at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Church, Bethesda, MD, with 193 participants (203 registered). The list and summary of the elements/ concepts of conservation landscaping are distributed.

November 2007 – Completion of Draft Conservation Landscaping Guidelines: The Eight Essential Elements of Conservation Landscaping.

November 2007 – Second “Turning a New Leaf” Conference held at the Ernst Cultural Center at the Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA. 274 participants.

February 12, 2008 – A second Steering Committee retreat is held at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna, VA to review progress and develop goals for sustainability. Deciding to pursue nonprofit status; the Steering Committee makes a transition to a Founding Board of Directors.

May 2008 – Demonstration Rain Garden installed by CCLC at the U.S. Botanic Gardens (USBG), Washington, DC as part of the “One Planet – Ours!” summer exhibition.

May 2008 – Conservation Landscaping Contest opens.

August 2008 – Presentation by CCLC speakers Marcy Damon and Zora Lathan at the US Botanic Garden

September 2008 – Field Days, with tours of sites with conservation landscaping practices, held in Annapolis, Maryland (44 participants) and Northern Virginia (42 participants.)

November 2008 – Conservation Landscaping Contest winners announced.

November 2009 – 501(c)3 nonprofit status approved.

December 4, 2009 – Third “Turning a New Leaf” Conference held at George Washington University, Washington, DC. Conference co-sponsored by the George Washington University Landscape Design School. 258 participants.

March 23, 2009 – Founding Board retreat held at Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis Maryland. Focus on developing sustainability for CCLC and program development.

June 1, 2010 – Second Conservation Landscaping Contest opens.

August 2010 – Field Day tour of sites with conservation landscaping practices, held in Williamsburg, Virginia area (26 participants).

November 2010 – CCLC leads a conservation landscaping workshop at Chesapeake Watershed Forum in Shepherdstown, WV. Revised and updated version of Conservation Landscaping Guidelines: The Eight Essential Elements of Conservation Landscaping is presented at the workshop.

November 15, 2010 – Conservation Landscaping Contest winners announced.

April 29, 2011 – Field day tour of sites with conservation landscaping practices held in Baltimore, MD (29 participants).

December 2, 2011 – Fourth “Turning a New Leaf” conference held in Lancaster, PA (238 participants).

October 10, 2012 – Field day tour of sites with conservation landscaping practices held in Washington, DC (26 participants).

May 19, 2013 – Rainscaping garden tour, Annapolis, MD.

June 29, 2013 – Field Day tour of sites with conservation landscaping practices held in central Virginia.

August 23, 2013 – Field Day tour of sites with conservation landscaping practices held in York County, PA (42 participants).

November 2013 – First Marcy Damon Conservation Landscaping Award presented to founding Board member and Environmental Educator Britt Slattery.

November 15, 2013 – Celebration of CCLC’s 10th Anniversary in Shepherdstown, WV.

November 16, 2013 – Fifth “Turning a New Leaf” conference held in Shepherdstown, WV (206 participants).

December 2013 – Revised and updated version of Conservation Landscaping Guidelines: The Eight Essential Elements of Conservation Landscaping made available as a printed document for purchase online.

June 1, 2014 – RainScaping Garden Tour, Severna Park, Maryland (18  participants).

July 2014 – Board Retreat and Strategic Planning Session at Wye Research and Education Center, Queenstown, MD.

August 21, 2015 – Field Day tour of sites with conservation landscaping practices held in PA.

November 12-13, 2015 – Sixth “Turning a New Leaf” Conference held in Towson, MD.

April 23, 2016 – Field Day on Sustainable Landscaping held at the US National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. (24 participants).

August 26, 2016 – CCLC and Penn State Extension partnered to offer a Field Day at The Trails and Trees Environmental Center in Mechanicsburg, Tour of sites with conservation landscaping practices held in the Harrisburg region of PA (24 participants).

September, 2016 – Launch of Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) Program Pilot.

September – December, 2016 – CBLP program training, webinars, review workshops, maintenance practicums and exams offered in the Washington D.C. metro area to the professional community for Level 1 certification (116 participants).

January 2017 – CCLC hosts a booth at the MANTS conference in Baltimore MD.

May 2017 – CCLC hosted a viewing event of the documentary Hometown Habitat at the Penn State Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center. This included a panel discussion with local experts and the opportunity to tour a rain garden, flower trials, and more on site. (about 20 attendees)

November 2-3, 2017 – Seventh “Turning a New Leaf” conference held in Herndon, Virginia.  (198 registered) Marcy Damon Conservation Landscaping Award presented to Adele Ashkar.

October 2018 – CCLC and Lancaster County Clean Water Consortium jointly held a Native Meadows workshop in Manheim, PA, with 25 attendees.