Where We Sail
CBF Brings Environmental Education Home During COVID-19 Pandemic
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By A.J. Metcalf
uring a typical spring, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) scientists, educators, and other staff would be fanning out across the watershed, firing up overwintered boats, welcoming students, and continuing ongoing environmental restoration projects. But this has not been a typical spring. In the face of school closures, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing directives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBF is adapting. CBF has launched several new initiatives to bring
##CBF Pennsylvania educator Doug Walters explains how to evaluate freshwater stream health in a new video produced by CBF.
the latest Chesapeake Bay science and outdoor education to adults and students throughout the watershed. Scientists have hosted live webinars on dolphins, aquaculture, and freshwater mussels, with more planned each week. Ongoing “Ask the Expert” videos provide snapshots of key Bay subjects such as the importance of oysters and an explainer on regenerative agriculture. For students, CBF educators are creating instructional videos as part
##CBF student leadership coordinator Megan Fink discusses how the State of the Bay relates to neighborhoods as part of CBF’s new educational video series.
of the Learn Outside, Learn at Home perience, will still be able to learn outside educational series. The videos are paired using this new series.” with written investigations that enAll the new webinars, videos, and educourage kids to explore their backyards cation content are free and accessible on and neighborhoods to learn about the CBF’s website at cbf.org/bringhome. surrounding environment and how their CBF’s work during the pandemic local decisions impact the Bay. extends beyond the educational series The series enables students to learn and new digital content. The nonprofit’s about freshwater streams, oysters’ natural attorneys are continuing to hold policyfiltering abilities, and riparian buffers. makers accountable. In April, CBF filed Other videos and investigations cover a new lawsuit with ShoreRivers over spring peepers, water quality testing, the Trump administration’s decision to nutrient pollution, and other subjects narrow the definition of wetlands and that relate to the ecosystem and health of streams protected under federal law. The the Bay. federal lawsuit seeks to block the change, Educators filmed the videos at locawhich CBF believes would lead to more tions they could access while following pollution entering the Bay from intermitsocial distancing requirements. Viewers tent streams and wetlands that would no will find educators in a wooded freshlonger be protected by federal pollution water stream, reaching into a compost regulations. pile, and up to their knees in the Bay’s CBF is also organizing Walk the brackish water. The series emphasizes Watershed, a new fundraising effort to everyone’s connection to the Bay and its encourage people to walk a combined 64,000-square-mile watershed. 200 miles—the approximate length of “We know how challenging this the Chesapeake Bay. Participants will pandemic has been for parents, children, create virtual teams to set a fundraising teachers, workers, and others who are goal and work together to log miles until juggling multiple new responsibilireaching 200. CBF is encouraging walkers ties,” said Tom Ackerman, CBF’s vice to pickup litter and maintain safe social president of education. “At CBF, we’re distancing guidelines during their walks. feeling the same way. We’ve designed The money raised during Walk the the Learn Outside, Learn at Home series Watershed will be directed to watershed to provide students fact-based environcommunities through local restoration mental education investigations that will and education efforts. # challenge them to safely explore their environment on their own. ##CBF educator Liz We are disappointed we won’t be Yocom describes the importance of riparian seeing the thousands of learnbuffers in a new CBF ers that we’d typically take out educational video. on CBF boats and canoes this spring. But we’re encouraged those students, and others who aren’t able to attend a CBF ex-
Learn more at cbf.org 36 May 2020 SpinSheet.com