Climate and environment

Untold Stories: Illustrated Interview with Chelsea Anspach of Waterfront Partnership

Coral Yang

Published 12/26/2022 6:00 p.m. EST, Updated 12/26/2022 6:00 a.m. EST

Chelsea Anspach, Communications Manager at Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. When I go to the aquarium with my kids, we notice the benches are facing away because they didn't want people to look at the trashy water. We want to change that perception, so people acknowledge this beautiful thing that we have. I do a mix of communications, but now I run many of our environmental programs as well, like the oyster partnership. I have the trash wheel, which in my mind is a community art project. It's a sculpture that's functional and does something for the environment.
(Coral Yang for The Baltimore Banner)
Mr. Trash Wheel is a trash interceptor in the Baltimore Harbor. His belly is a dumpster on a floating barge. They can pull it out of him and then float that trash off. Sometimes they also need to turn the dumpster [around] because a lot of trash will build up on one side. If it hasn't rained for a while and then a rain comes, you'll see a lot of trash come down the Jones Falls. Then Mr. Trash Wheel will be eating a lot of food.

How was Mr. Trash Wheel born? John Kellett, who works for Clearwater Mills, designed and made a prototype of a trash wheel. Waterfront Partnership supports him financially, and decided to slap googly eyes on it and give it a Twitter account and a personality. The eyes came from comments on social media. He has a huge fan base.

The Oyster Program. We grow oysters in the harbor yearly. In the fall, we get all these baby oysters from a hatchery and then bring them to the harbor. I train volunteers, too. Meeting those willing to give up their Saturday mornings to help me put oysters in the water is the best part.

Coral Yang is a Baltimore-based illustrator and fine artist. To read more of her work, visit her website or find her on Instagram @coralhyangart.