Environmental Health Action Team
The Environmental Health Action Team of the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership is dedicated to improving environmental health outcomes in St. Mary’s County. Environmental Health includes factors in the natural environment such as air quality, water quality, and exposure to toxic substances as well as the built environment, including transportation, access to healthy food, and all of the physical parts of where people live, work, and play. Maintaining a healthy environment is key to increasing quality of life and years of healthy life.
Get involved – New members are always welcome to join the Environmental Health action team! To be notified of upcoming events and meetings, please sign up for membership in the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership and indicate “Environmental Health” as your interest!
Example Objectives and Indicators
While numerous environmental health topics are being addressed in the Healthy St. Mary’s 2026 Plan, two objectives with associated indicators are presented here:
- The health of local bodies of water such as the Potomac River, Patuxent River, and the Chesapeake Bay, as well as drinking water quality for communities in St. Mary’s County, are important factors of environmental and overall health. Increasing the implementation of what are known as Best Management Practices (BMPs) will help to treat, prevent or reduce water pollution in local surface and groundwater (Figure 1).
- Food insecurity is linked to negative health outcomes in children and adults (Figure 2). Many of the team’s evidence-based strategies address increased food security for all St. Mary’s County residents.
Figure 1. Number of Department of Public Works Stormwater Best Management Practices
Figure 2. Percentage of Population Considered to be Food Insecure
