Straughan Environmental, Inc.

Tomorrow is World Honeybee Day! Honeybees play a vital role in maintaining the health of our environment and ecosystems. Did you know that using local honey, pollinated by native bees, can potentially help reduce your seasonal allergy symptoms? Let’s celebrate World Honeybee Day by recognizing all the great benefits that they provide to us and the environment! 1. Pollination: Honeybees are responsible for pollinating about 1/3 of the food we eat, including many fruits, vegetables, and nuts. 2. Biodiversity: Honeybees contribute to biodiversity by pollinating a wide range of plants, ensuring a balanced ecosystem that allows for many different species to thrive. 3. Environmental Health Indicators: Trends in bee populations can reflect changes in the health of our environment. 4. Ecosystem Support: Through pollination, honeybees create habitats and food for other species. 5. Plant Health: Honeybees are essential to the health and reproduction of plants we rely on to release oxygen, sequester carbon, purify water, prevent soil erosion, produce crops, and more! Check out this page from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to learn more about bees and how you can contribute to bee conservation at home! https://lnkd.in/g4yA_Yqr

Congratulations to the Carroll County Government, MD on receiving the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award from Esri for innovative mapping/analytic software use and leadership in the Technology Services field! Your innovative use of GIS technology to help underserved communities through initiatives like the Homelessness Point-In-Time Count and the Map of Carroll County Broadband is truly inspiring. We’re proud to see Maryland achieving such great things in the GIS field. Keep up the great work! Check out this article from Esri to find out how GIS is helping to transform the Homelessness Point-In-Time-Count! https://lnkd.in/ehYkZ-fY #SAGAward #GIS #esri #geospatialtechnology #congrats

The Maryland Whole Watershed Restoration Partnership recently published the first list of watershed criteria to help local governments, project sponsors, and non-governmental organizations evaluate local watersheds for proposed restoration and funding. This proposed restoration and funding comes as a result of the Whole Watershed Act, passed earlier this year. Using existing state funds, the legislation aims to create a Whole Watershed Fund in support of a five-year pilot initiative targeting the restoration of five watersheds across Maryland that best represent the state’s diverse landscapes and communities. The initial projects will strive to deliver a range of conservation and restoration benefits to various areas of concern, including climate resiliency, environmental justice, water quality, wildlife habitat, increased public access, and improvements to fisheries. A request for proposals will be issued by October 1, 2024. Head over to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ website to learn more and see the list of watershed criteria! https://lnkd.in/eEcgSNqh #WholeWatershedAct #watershedrestoration #ecologicalrestoration #watersheds #environmentaljustice

That’s a wrap on TUgis! Our GIS team had a great time learning, sharing, and connecting with fellow industry professionals who attended this year’s conference. Thank you to everyone who attended our presentations and stopped by our booth – we hope you enjoyed the cookies! Special shoutout to our incredible presenters Christina G., Sarah Ripy (Bergstresser), Jay Sullivan, and Elizabeth O'Keefe Markham, GISP. We are so proud of you all and grateful to have you on our team! #TUgis #TUgis2024 #GIS #geospatialtechnology

The fun continues! It’s day two of TUgis and Straughan’s GIS team is excited for another day of learning and connection! Christina G. kicked things off for us yesterday with a great presentation for emerging professionals in the Career Readiness SIG. Today, we have Sarah Ripy (Bergstresser)’s lightning talk and a presentation from Jay Sullivan and Deputy Director Elizabeth O'Keefe Markham, GISP. You don’t want to miss it! #TUgis #TUgis2024 #GIS #geospatialtechnology

Happy Professional Engineers Day! Today, Straughan would like to honor all the talented PEs that we have on our team! Thank you for your dedication, passion, and commitment to the field of engineering. Your hard work is essential in helping us advance the Straughan mission and create a more sustainable future! We are proud to have you all on board! Drew Altland | Joe Arrowsmith, PE | John Bishop, P.E. | Michael Blose, P.E., MBA | Phillip Capon | Shellie Demoss, P.E. | Iyad Isaac, PE | Kathryn L. | John Martin, PE | Andrew Sankowski, PE | Tracy Seymour, P.E., Assoc. DBIA, LEED GA | John Shen, PE, Ph.D. LEED AP | Serena Stafford, P.E. | Emily Steenkamer, PE | Larry Trout | Paul M "Pablo" Valdez | James Wade, PE #LicensedPEday #ProfessionalEngineers #Engineering #EnvironmentalEngineering #PE

TUgis Day 1 has arrived! Straughan’s GIS team is ready to go, and can’t wait to see everyone! Be sure to stop by the Career Readiness Special Interest Group today to meet the newest member of our GIS team, Christina G., who is presenting. Tomorrow, we will have a Lightning Talk by Sarah Ripy (Bergstresser), along with a presentation from Jay Sullivan and our Deputy Director of GIS, Elizabeth O'Keefe Markham, GISP. Don’t forget to visit our booth to chat with Director of GIS Julie Spangler and the rest of the team – did we mention we have cookies? #TUgis #TUgis2024 #GIS #geospatialtechnology

August is National Water Quality Month! Clean water is essential for our communities, ecosystems, and overall public health. This month, it’s important to remember that access to clean water is a large environmental justice issue. Underserved and marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by water pollution and are more likely to struggle accessing clean drinking water. Poor water quality can be the result of many things from agricultural runoff to untreated sewage and wastewater. A large portion of our work at Straughan focuses on efforts to maintain and improve local water quality. Our skilled team of water resources engineers have a ton of experience with hydrology studies, watershed assessments, and stormwater/wastewater management designs. Check out this project we did for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to help enhance water quality in Washington, DC! https://lnkd.in/eTm-QAZ8 #NationalWaterQualityMonth #waterquality #environmentaljustice #cleanwater

Will you be at TUgis next week? If so, swing by the Straughan booth for some cookies and conversation! We’re excited to be participating in this amazing conference once again, and are eager to both make new connections and catch up with previous ones. If you can’t attend, check out Straughan’s GIS services on our website! https://lnkd.in/eF_uMUzs #TUgis #TUgis2024 #GIS #geospatialtechnology

Yesterday was World Nature Conservation Day! Celebrated annually on July 28th, this day is a time for us to reaffirm our commitment to conserving and protecting our natural environment for the generations to come. Here at Straughan, we honor this commitment by providing a ton of services dedicated to nature conservation, restoration, and preservation. Our talented team of scientists and engineers are well versed in forest conservation planning, stream restoration, invasive species management, mitigation banking, and more! Check out our other services on our website! https://lnkd.in/eWRDcWTp Want to get involved? Head over to the National Park Service’s website to find out how you can help conserve at home! https://lnkd.in/eTi7P8ja #WorldNatureConservationDay #conservation #restoration #preservation