Field Studies
Field studies coupled with classroom activities are an integral part of Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences. Find a field study program that gets your students' feet wet and hands dirty.
Find a Program Near You
Begin by choosing the criteria for your search. Matching field study programs will be displayed as pin-points on the map below. Click on a pin-point for details about each program. Be sure to scroll through all your results using the "next" button at the bottom of the page.
If you know of a great field study not included in the Bay Backpack let us know by suggesting a field study.
Create Your Own Field Study
Learn how to create your own field study at a local park or on your school grounds.
Theme
Level
- All Levels
- Early Learning
Elementary School- Middle School
- High School
Length
All Lengths- Day Trips
- Multi-Day Trips
Organization
All Organizations- Abbott's Mill Nature Center
- Accokeek Foundation
- Adkins Arboretum
- Alice Ferguson Foundation
- Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring
- Amry Corps of Engineers
- Anacostia Watershed Society
- Anita C. Leight Estuary Center
- Annapolis Maritime Museum
- Apple Ridge Farm
- Aquatic Resources Education Center
- Arlington Echo
- Audubon Naturalist Society
- Black Hill Nature Center
- Blackbird State Forest Education Center
- Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
- Brandywine Valley Association
- Cacapon State Park
- Calvert County Parks
- Calvert Marine Museum
- Carbon County Environmental Education Center
- Carroll County Outdoor School
- Casey Trees
- Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
- Chesapeake Bay Field Lab
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation
- Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
- Churchville Nature Center
- Clearwater Nature Center
- Delmarva Discovery Center
- Discovery Creek
- Echo Hill Outdoor School
- Environmental Concern
- Fair Hill Nature Center
- Fairview Outdoor Education Center Facilities
- Frederick County Outdoor School
- Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center
- George Washington Carver Outdoor School
- Gifford Pinchot State Park
- Great Valley Nature Center
- Greenwood Furnace State Park
- Harford Glen Environmental Education Center
- Hawk Mountain
- Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
- Hickory Environmental Education Center
- Hoffler Creek Wildlife Foundation
- Horn Point Laboratory
- Howard B. Owens Science Center
- Howard County Conservancy
- Indian Springs WIldlife Management Area
- Irvine Nature Center
- Jamestown 4-H Educational Center
- Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum
- Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary
- King's Gap Environmental Education and Training Center
- Lancaster County Environmental Center
- Lathrop E. Smith Environmental Education Center
- Little Buffalo State Park
- Little Pine State Park
- Living Classrooms Foundation
- Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region
- Locust Lake State Park
- Mariners' Museum
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources
- Maymont
- Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary and Visitor's Center
- Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
- Millbrook Marsh Nature Center
- Montour Preserve
- Mt. Pisgah State Park
- National Aquarium in Baltimore
- National Arboretum
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Nauticus
- Nixon County Park Nature Center
- Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center
- North Bay Adventure
- Northumberland County Conservation District
- Oregon Ridge Nature Center
- Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm
- Parker Dam State Park
- Pemberton Park
- Phillips Wharf Environmental Center
- Pickering Creek Audubon Center
- Prince Gallitzin State Park
- R. B. Winter State Park
- Renfrew Institute for Cultural and Environmental Science
- River & Trail Outfitters
- Rock Creek Park
- Rogers Environmental Education Center
- Saturaday Environmental Academy
- Shaver's Creek Environmental Center
- Shenandoah National Park
- Sideling Hill Exhibit Center
- Sizerville State Park
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
- Strawberry Hill Nature Center
- Stroud Water Research Center
- Sultana Projects
- Susquehanna Riverlands
- The Schuylkill Center
- The Watermen's Museum
- The Wildlife Center of Virginia
- Thorpewood
- Tuckahoe State Park
- Tuscarora State Park
- Valley Falls State Park
- Virginia Living Museum
- Virginia National Estuarine Research Reserve at VIMS
- Wildwood Lake Sanctuary
- William Schmidt Environmental Center
- York County Solid Waste Authority
Keywords
- All Keywords
- adaptation
- agriculture
- aquatic grass SAV
- beaver
- biodiversity
- blue crab
- boats, canoes and kayaks
- culture and watermen
- development
- dissolved oxygen
- economics
- ecosystem and biomes
- erosion
- experiments and investigations
- fish
- food web
- forest
- geocaching (GIS/GPS)
- green development
- habitat and niche
- identification
- invasive species
- John Smith and colonial times
- land use
- litter, trash and recycling
- Native American
- nitrogen and carbon cycle
- non-point source
- orienteering
- oyster
- photosynthesis
- point source
- pollution
- population growth
- predator prey relationships
- renewable resource
- restoration
- salinity
- schoolyard habitat
- sediment, soil and rocks
- smart growth
- stormwater
- stream study
- student action
- water and energy conservation
- water cycle and movement
- water quality
- water testing
watershed- weather
- wetland
- wildlife
Project WET and Project Wild Aquatic
Teachers discover an educational methodology for water resources through hands-on, investigative and easy-to-use activities. A curriculum guide of water and aquatic resources activities that is correlated with national educational standards is provided to all teacher workshop participants. We adapt activities to include content relevant to local resources. Teachers can receive re-certification credits for completing a workshop. Students benefit because their teacher will have the skills to guide aquatic investigations and discoveries that will hopefully lead to environmentally responsible behaviors. Students learn how to think, not what to think.
Organization(s): Aquatic Resources Education CenterLocation: Anacostia Park Washington, DC 20020 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration
Level(s): Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips Multi-Day Trips
Keywords: watershed, water quality, water testing
Stormwater Education
Stormwater pollution is one of the leading non-point source pollution causes of stream health degradation in Pennsylvania and in the nation. Our local stream that runs through Carlisle, the LeTort Spring Run, is no exception. In 2007, ALLARM commenced a partnership with the Borough of Carlisle to collaboratively achieve the public education and public participation requirements of the Borough’s MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) permit. This partnership has resulted in a dynamic campaign that has grown to include Cumberland Valley Trout Unlimited and LeTort Regional Authority to carry out two goals: 1. Educate the Carlisle community about stormwater runoff and its effects on the Letort Spring Run; and 2. Promote stream-conscious behaviors or healthy stream habits. To achieve these goals ALLARM has designed and disseminated educational material including posters, fact sheets, and theater advertisements. ALLARM also engages in several community-based events that focus on direct stormwater education including an annual festival, stormdrain marking events, and rain barrel construction workshops.For details on stormwater, please see LeTort Connection. For other resources on stormwater, click Stormwater resources
Organization(s): Alliance for Aquatic Resource MonitoringLocation: Dickinson College - Environmental Studies Dept. College & Louther Streets Carlisle, PA 17013 (Map It)
Theme(s): Pollution and Pressures, Restoration
Level(s): Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: watershed, stormwater, water quality
K-12 Aquatic Resource Programs
ALLARM partners with greater Carlisle elementary, middle, and high schools as well as youth-based organizations to teach students about aquatic ecosystems and connect students to their local environment. Our programs are developed for different age groups and are tailored to meet the goals of partnering organizations. In our K-12 program ALLARM works together with teachers on an individual basis to design presentations to fit seamlessly within their lesson plans. ALLARM currently has longstanding partnerships with a dozen local teachers but will also respond to ad-hoc requests throughout the year.
Organization(s): Alliance for Aquatic Resource MonitoringLocation: Dickinson College - Environmental Studies Dept. College & Louther Streets Carlisle, PA 17013 (Map It)
Theme(s): Pollution and Pressures, Restoration
Level(s): Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Multi-Day Trips
Keywords: pollution, water cycle and movement, watershed, stream study, water quality, water testing
VIMS Discovery Labs
The monthly Discovery Lab series provides fun, family-friendly experiences and lifelong learning. Each lab focuses on a specific topic through a series of stations that provide hands-on activities for kids and adults. Participants look through microscopes, observe live animals, partake in crafts and games, and view research posters.
Organization(s): Virginia National Estuarine Research Reserve at VIMSLocation: Gloucester Rd Gloucester Point, VA 23062 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: pollution, land use, watershed, blue crab, experiments and investigations, habitat and niche, restoration, water quality, wildlife, fish
Susquehanna Watershed Education Program (SWEP)
The Susquehanna Watershed Education Program (SWEP) is a hands-on mobile watershed education program that enables students to explore local rivers and streams in central Pennsylvania, monitoring the effect of agriculture and other land uses on water quality. Traveling by canoe on a local creek, river, or lake, students investigate the local flora and fauna, perform water quality tests and biological surveys, and explore local issues, history, and geography.
Organization(s): Chesapeake Bay FoundationLocation: 14 North Front Street, Suite G Harrisburg, PA 17101 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: pollution, land use, watershed, development, ecosystem and biomes, habitat and niche, restoration, water testing
Karen Noonan Study Center Residential Program
The Karen Noonan Memorial Environmental Education Center is situated on 20 acres of marsh in southern Dorchester County, Maryland. Participants explore pine forests, underwater grass beds, and native oyster reefs that surround the center. The nearby Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest tidal wetlands on the East Coast, also provides opportunities from which to investigate this ecosystem. Once one of the great Chesapeake hunting lodges, the Karen Noonan Center was completely renovated in 1995 to create an environmentally sound, state-of-the-art residential center. Participants in our program can see how a “green building,” with its alternative energy sources and composting waste facilities, can function not only as a learning tool, but also as a home.
Organization(s): Chesapeake Bay FoundationLocation: 1304 Phillips Gunning Club Rd. Crocheron, MD 21627 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Multi-Day Trips
Keywords: pollution, wetland, watershed, water and energy conservation, green development, habitat and niche, renewable resource, restoration, stream study, water quality, water testing, wildlife
Virginia Watershed Education Program
The Virginia Watershed Education Program (VWEP) gives participants an exciting new perspective on their own local tributary and its connection to the Bay. While paddling freshwater, non-tidal rivers and streams, students and educators examine the relationship between human activities and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Hands-on activities encourage sensitivity and knowledge of local ecosystems, giving relevance and greater understanding to classroom curricula. Our program staff provides opportunities for careful observations, data collection, analysis, and synthesis of information gathered during the field study experience. They encourage participants to explore the complexity of the watershed, and to see themselves as part of the solution. Serving, Charlottesville and Virginia west of Interstate I-95.
Organization(s): Chesapeake Bay FoundationLocation: 1108 East Main Street, Suite 1600 Richmond, VA 23219 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: boats, canoes and kayaks, nitrogen and carbon cycle, pollution, land use, watershed, agriculture, ecosystem and biomes, habitat and niche, water quality, water testing
Virginia Canoe Program
From Northern Virginia to Richmond to Virginia Beach, the mobile Virginia Canoe Program travels to a river or stream near you. Trip participants probe the Bay's biologically diverse flat water to learn about the effects of creekside land uses and study the area's plants and wildlife. CBF staff travel to many Virginia rivers to investigate some of the most scenic waterways in the watershed. While paddling these tidal rivers and streams, students and educators examine the relationship between human activities and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay
Organization(s): Chesapeake Bay FoundationLocation: 1108 East Main Street, Suite 1600 Richmond , VA 23219 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: boats, canoes and kayaks, nitrogen and carbon cycle, pollution, land use, watershed, agriculture, ecosystem and biomes, habitat and niche, restoration, water quality, water testing
Merrill Center Education Program
This program makes use of an exceptional location between the shores of the Bay, the woods of Bay Ridge, the tidal marsh of Black Walnut Creek, and the local fields of tall native grasses. While experiencing the natural surroundings, students will survey the flora and fauna that make up an ecosystem's biodiversity. The Merrill Center building itself is a model of green architecture and has won a Platinum Award from the U.S. Green Building Council. It is an exemplar of the minimal impact that even large-capacity office buildings can have on the environment.
Organization(s): Chesapeake Bay FoundationLocation: 6 Herndon Avenue Annapolis, MD 21403 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: population growth, wetland, land use, watershed, development, stormwater, water and energy conservation, green development, habitat and niche, renewable resource, restoration, water quality, wildlife
Watershed Field Investigation
Take your students outdoors! Examine how the health of their schoolyard affects the entire Chesapeake Bay Watershed by using GPS units, taking soil samples and testing for nutrient pollutants.
Organization(s): NauticusLocation: 1 Waterside Drive Norfolk, VA 23510 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: nitrogen and carbon cycle, pollution, land use, watershed, geocaching (GIS/GPS), sediment, soil and rocks, stream study, water quality, water testing
Watershed Mapping Walk Program
Students learn about non-point source pollution and then take a walk in the neighborhood of their school to look for examples of pollution. Returning to the classroom, students will discuss what they found and brainstorm ways to improve water quality through changing human behavior.
Organization(s): The Schuylkill CenterLocation: 8480 Hagy's Mill Road Philadelphia , PA 19128 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: pollution, land use, watershed, geocaching (GIS/GPS), stream study, water quality
Chesapeake Champions and Teasure Our Waters
During the 30-minute program each week, students meet people who work on, work with, or are inspired by the Chesapeake Bay and together they explore the natural and cultural history of the Chesapeake Bay through hands-on experiences and exploration opportunities not available in school. The first six weeks have included a boat ride, an in-depth exploration of oysters and terrapins, meeting a working waterman, and writing their own Bay-inspired song with singer-songwriter Janie Meneely.
Organization(s): Annapolis Maritime MuseumLocation: 723 2nd St Annapolis, MD 21403 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, History and Culture, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips Multi-Day Trips
Keywords: boats, canoes and kayaks, pollution, watershed, oyster, habitat and niche, water quality, wildlife, fish
Explore Hoffler Creek
Programs teach students about native wildlife habitat in the preserve through grade specific courses.
Organization(s): Hoffler Creek Wildlife FoundationLocation: 4510 Twin Pines Road Portsmouth, VA 23703 (Map It)
Theme(s): Habitats and Critters, Pollution and Pressures, Restoration, Land Use and Agriculture
Level(s): Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Length(s): Day Trips
Keywords: pollution, land use, watershed, habitat and niche, restoration, stream study, water quality, wildlife
