Experts Focus on Improving Environmental Literacy in the Mid-Atlantic

In Annapolis, Maryland, the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Environmental Literacy Summit (December 2-3, 2013) is bringing together environmental education experts, representatives from federal and state governments, and decision makers from around the watershed to discuss how federal, state, and local partners can be more effective and efficient at developing and implementing environmental literacy programs.

Since 1983, the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership has coordinated and conducted the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, and in 1998 it launched a federal-state partnership in support of environmental education, recognizing that:

“The future well-being of North America’s largest and most productive estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, its thousands of tributaries, and its 64,000 square miles of watershed will soon rest in the hands of its youngest citizens. These citizens, three million strong in kindergarten through 12th grade, are tomorrow’s leaders. They also will be the stewards of the Bay’s precious resources including its fish, crabs and oysters, forests and wetlands.” - Directive 98-1 of the Chesapeake Bay Program

This statement remains as true today as the day it was written, and the regional commitment to advancing environmental literacy efforts throughout the watershed remains strong as the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Education Workgroup, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and Chesapeake Bay Trust convene the 5th biennial Environmental Literacy Summit.

This year, summit participants will explore how environmental literacy can be achieved using existing and emerging standards and practices and will work together to better connect and align federal programs and grantees with efforts at the state level. On the second day of the Summit, a smaller group will participate in working sessions designed to review the new education best practices and metrics under development for the Chesapeake Bay Program and to discuss specific strategies for advancing environmental education at the state and regional level.

For more information about the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Environmental Literacy Summit, please refer to the meeting webpage: www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/calendar/event/21098/

Additional information about the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Education Workgroup is available here: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/groups/group/education_workgroup