Annapolis Green Announces Its Closing
end of an era of environmental awareness in Anne Arundel County

Thank you for 18 years, Greater Annapolis!

Annapolis Green co-founders Elvia Thompson and Lynne Forsman announced that the nonprofit ceased operations as of December 31, 2024.

A final, celebratory Green Drinks Annapolis took place on December 18 at The Graduate Hotel’s Trophy Room. It was a packed house and a bittersweet farewell.

“What a ride it’s been! Since our grassroots beginning in 2006, Annapolis Green has motivated residents, organizations, and businesses to stand up for Nature with formidable initiatives that informed, inspired, and incited real change,” said Lynne.

“Our work over the past 18 years has been an extraordinary privilege and pleasure. We are tremendously grateful to our dedicated volunteers, supporters, sponsors, and donors,” said Elvia. “None of the deep inroads we’ve made would have been paved without them. It has been a community effort to benefit the community.”

Lynne and Elvia said that a friend described Annapolis Green as “the conscience of the community” and added that those words will serve as the organization’s legacy, empowering everyone to continue the powerful momentum the organization achieved toward becoming a more responsible, environmentally sustainable, and thriving community.

Annapolis Green began its work 18 years ago with a mission to educate the public about steps they could take to reduce their environmental impact. It began with Green Drinks, a local manifestation of an international movement to gather environmentalists together in person for the social synergy this creates over a drink.

For nearly two decades Annapolis Green consistently drew an average of 100 people to local venues thus supporting small businesses. Green Drinks themes echoed the projects Annapolis Green engaged in from reduction of plastic use to gardening to focus on native plants and food production to the positive environmental impact of electric vehicles. Annapolis Green has been the only consistent voice advocating for electric vehicle adoption in this area.

Annapolis Green became a cornerstone of environmental awareness in Annapolis and surrounding areas by promoting and supporting the work of other environmental nonprofits while turning hearts and minds to a lifestyle in concert with Nature. A list of achievements is below.

Annapolis Green is closing due to not being able to garner the level of support from the public and local government to make the organization sustainable. Its founders are moving on to retirement and other projects. Its founders are looking to continue its legacy by working with other organizations who might want to take on its impactful programs.

With community support and enthusiasm, Annapolis Green moved the needle on environmental sustainability in Maryland’s Capital City and beyond. Specifically, it:

• Brought together eco-minded people throughout the Greater Annapolis environmental and business communities to get to know one another, collaborate, and learn about critical issues at Green Drinks Annapolis
• Educated drivers since 2012 on the environmental and financial benefits of electric vehicles at its annual Kick Gas Annapolis EV shows
• Started with a Straw as the Don’t Suck, #Sip Responsibly initial plastic reduction campaign engaging more than 30 local restaurants to replace petroleum-based plastic straws with alternatives made from paper or plants
• Partnered with the City of Annapolis to create Plastic Free Annapolis, an initiative designed to educate and support residents and businesses about how to significantly reduce their use of plastic products by replacing them with reusable and compostable alternatives
• Deployed the NAPTOWN TAP outdoor portable water refill stations starting in 2017 to eliminate thousands of single-use plastic water bottles, hitting a record each year with 2024’s totals equaling the equivalent of 24, 902 bottles at over 72 events at many locations. They are sponsor-branded Billboards with Benefits
• Brought sustainable events to the community as The Green REF (Responsible Events & Festivals), now Bay Responsible Zero Waste Events. Starting with Red Right Recycle at the Annapolis Boat Shows in 2013 to its record-setting Zero-Waste Annapolis Rotary Crab Feast, composting more than 15 tons of organic material otherwise destined for landfill. Through the years Annapolis Green assisted many partners in accomplishing Zero-Waste events and will wrap up 2024 with a Win for Sustainability at the Military Bowl
• Initiated Butt it’s Plastic to draw attention to cigarette litter waste. This led to No Butts in the Bay encouraging the disposal of plastic-laden cigarette butts in any of the 15 branded receptacles the nonprofit helped obtain and install throughout the City of Annapolis
• Provided ongoing opportunities for residents to recycle everything from holiday lights to wine corks, giving these a second life as a different product
• Launched Here We Grow, an initiative designed to encourage people to connect with Nature by installing or updating home gardens to provide beauty, food, and pollinator habitat
• Hosted a weekly radio show, Living Green on WNAV, informing and educating listeners on key environmental issues affecting the community
• Provided the community with the only local, comprehensive environmental events calendar
• Formed Green Reads, a book club about the environment, that sparked intellectual conversations about a wide range of global issues
• Provided legislative testimony at the state and local level and op-ed pieces for publications about environmental issues
• Gave the community a home for environmental action at the Annapolis Green House on historic Maryland Avenue (Home for Beautiful and Delicious, Christmas Crab and Pumpkin Spice Compost!)

It is Lynne and Elvia’s wish that the Greater Amnapolis community continue Annapolis Green’s legacy by living sustainably and protecting the natural world that sustains us all.