Subject a week ago of a Talbot Spy interview, Jim Brighton epitomizes a nature lover who has undertaken a project that has created a first-time inventory of plant and animal species in Maryland. And he’s done this on a part-time basis.
A boat-builder during the week at Campbell’s Boatyard in Oxford, Brighton has become the fifth recipient of Horn Point Laboratory’s Chesapeake Champion award. He will receive this award on Friday, June 23 at the former Maryland National Guard Armory in downtown Easton, now owned by Waterfowl Chesapeake.
I’m lost in nature, appreciating the beauty but having no earthly idea about the species surrounding me. The Maryland Biodiversity Project (MDP), founded five years ago by Brighton and his fellow nature-loving associate, Bill Hubick of Pasadena (Anne Arundel County), removes the mystery. Its website comprises a catalogue of more than 17,000 species in checklists, more than 9,000 with photographs, more than 73,000 total photos and more than 323,000 total records.
So, the question arises: what difference does it make that MDP has created a web-based record of plant and animal life in the small but diverse State of Maryland? And another query comes to mind: how do the state’s residents benefit from this inventory?
More inartfully, I wanted to ask “so what?” when I met with the affable Jim Brighton. He was very persuasive.
What I learned during an hour-long conversation with him for an article in another publication is his determined mission to create a sense “of wonderment and stewardship” among his neighbors, friends and website users. To my way of thinking, Brighton, aided by a slew of volunteers throughout the state, wants to motivate people to feel they have an ownership interest in our natural environment.
That’s an admirable and difficult task.
We can easily overlook plants and animals and perhaps take them for granted. We might see no need to preserve the environment in which a diverse spectrum of species lives and survives. We might think that the beauty surrounding us during walks in the woods or strolls n our neighborhoods is eternally stable.
We should know better. We just need to ponder the poor health of our beloved Chesapeake Bay and understand that the riches inherent in this estuary require serious and science-based stewardship.
A Dorchester County native whose grandfather, Jim Richardson, was a well-known Cambridge boat builder, Brighton understands the need to preserve and treasure our piece of the planet.
As hard as I try to ignore the absurd announcements emitted too often by the Trump White House and their connection to life on the Eastern Shore, I simply cannot. Specifically, I wonder what impact withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord and its implicit denial of global warming bear on the venues in which plants and animals survive.
This senseless decision by our fact-challenged president might, just might, underscore the long-term importance of Jim Brighton’s and Bill Hubick’s Maryland Biodiversity Project. With the federal government seemingly abdicating its role in abating climate change, the work done to capture the incredibly diverse and numerous species in our state is a step in the right direction to propel all of us to care about the environment that sustains these plants and animals.
It would be far too easy to devote this weekly column to the daily outrage that spews ever so recklessly from the people’s White House. For the sake of readers and my personal well-being, I will continue to try to refrain from too-frequent observations and criticism.
For readers and their friends who want to attend Horn Point Lab’s fifth annual Chesapeake Champion award presentation on Friday, June 23, 2017, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Waterfowl Chesapeake Building, you may call Liz Freedlander at 410-829-9913 or email her at [email protected]. For full disclosure, Liz is my wife and development director at Horn Point Lab.
Jim Brighton and Bill Hubick deserve credit and commendation for creating a project that promotes awareness and ownership.
Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.
For readers and their friends who want to attend Horn Point Lab’s fifth annual Chesapeake Champion award presentation on Friday, June 23, 2017, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Waterfowl Chesapeake Building, you may call Liz Freedlander at 410-829- 9913 or email her at [email protected].
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