ChesapeakeBayFoundation (CBF) educators are excited to welcome teachers and students back to the outdoor education programs this fall. The outdoor class program was suspended in March 2020 with the start of the pandemic.
Since the early 1970s CBF’s award-winning outdoor educational program has taken over a million students from Chesapeake Bay schools to forests, rivers and the bay to teach them the largest estuary in the country.
- Students examine fish collected from the Potomac River aboard the Bea Hayman Clark as part of a student guidance masterclass in Washington, DC
CBF instructors conducted a canoeing expedition with adults and youth from My Chesterfield Academy, a program that helps welcome and establish immigrants in central Virginia. We spent a sunny morning exploring Swift Creek Lake outside of Richmond watching turtles, herons, sunfish and water lilies. Together we discussed ways to improve our community and the health of the Virginia waterways. Many people went eager to get involved in the coming CBF volunteer opportunities.
“Our educational program’s mantra has always been to study outdoors, so we’re excited to come back out into the bay and onto the rivers and trails of the watershed to teach, learn, and explore in person with students,” said Tom Ackerman, Vice President Education for the CBF. “We strive to catch up on the opportunities that the students have missed with us over the past 18 months, but our priority has always been the health of our participants.”
CBF is taking several steps to protect the health of students and faculty as outdoor education programs resume this fall for the first time since the pandemic began.
This year’s outdoor programs will be different from previous years due to pandemic precautions. All day excursion activities take place outdoors where Studies have shown The risk of Covid-19 transmission is much lower compared to indoor activities. Students are required to undergo a health checkup 24 hours prior to participating in a daytime program and wear masks when social distancing is not an option, such as being at home. B. on boats. To protect their own health and the health of others, all CBF educators have been vaccinated.
When students stay in housing programs at CBF facilities such as Smith Island or the Karen Noonan Center on the east coast, students and other participants must be vaccinated. In the residential centers, participants must also wear masks indoors, with the exception of eating and sleeping.
In Maryland, CBF offers educational programs for day trips at the Phillip Merrill Environmental Center and Arthur Sherwood in Annapolis as well as in the Port of Baltimore at Capital.
During these experiences, the students conduct water quality tests, fish for fish, examine plankton and learn about the history and ecology of the bay, its tributaries and the catchment area.
Study of outdoor educational classes found that students are more engaged and through their participation develop key skills such as perseverance, self-efficacy, and leadership. Students report that they feel safer and more connected to nature after studying outdoors.
Teachers wishing to enroll their class for a fall program can visit The KBF education website. This year’s field experience in autumn will take place from the end of September to the beginning of December. The teachers can choose between canoe, boat or land experiences.
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