Twenty-five community educators from Virginia Cooperative Extension and the VA Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts participated in a 3-day leadership program April 11-13, 2017. The workshop, Living in Your Watershed, was held on the James River at the Jamestown 4-H Center, and prepared agents and district educators to conduct meaningful watershed educational experiences (MWEEs) in their localities.

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) 13th annual National Environmental Education Week (EE Week), sponsored by Samsung, is taking place April 23-29, 2017. Nationwide, environmental education events and projects will take place across the country in classrooms, after-school clubs, parks, aquariums, museums, and other formal and informal educational settings. Join formal and informal educators to celebrate achievements and support ongoing progress.

Jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed recognize the importance of green, healthy, and sustainable schools to students, teachers, and the environment. The Green Schools National Network works with thought leaders to gather, synthesize, generate, and report evidence-based resources that include practical tools, news, and commentary for the green, healthy, and sustainable schools community. Their goals align with those in the Sustainable Schools Outcome under the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. The outcome aims to continually increase the number of schools in the region that reduce the impact on their buildings and grounds on their local watershed, environment and human health through best practices, including student-led protection and restoration projects.

The 2015-2016 Bay Barometer, generated by the Chesapeake Bay Program, gives a snapshot of the monitoring that has taken place to indicate the health of the Watershed and intended best management practices for protection and restoration moving forward.

Are you interested in finding out more ways you can be a citizen scientist? Observe your favorite plants and animals while contributing to a global biodiversity index. It requires nothing more than a camera, internet, and willingness to go outside!

Do you like catching fish while enjoying a beautiful view of Baltimore’s cityscape and learning about restoration activities currently being implemented in the Inner Harbor? On Friday, October 28th, I had the delight of accompanying Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and the Baltimore Lab School on CBF’s Snow Goose workboat for a journey down the Patapsco River. CBF’s Baltimore Harbor Program offers kids a unique opportunity to see Baltimore’s Inner Harbor from a different viewpoint. From observing mechanisms that pick up trash to trawling for secret critters that roam the seafloor, we encountered both pleasant and disturbing sites.

Interested in learning more about the how oyster castles are built or the science behind why they are so effective? Well I did some investigative research at a restoration event so you can see what your getting into the next time you volunteer or organize an oyster castle build.

Apply today for the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) program promotes awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encourages positive community involvement, through recognizing outstanding environmental projects by K-12 youth. The award celebrates student leadership in protecting the environment and building a livable, sustainable global community. Or if you know or are an excellent Environmental Educator the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators has been extended until May 31, 2016. This program recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for learning for their students.

After two years of renovations the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery reopened with their newest exhibit WONDER this fall. These supersized art installations definitely not only live up to the promised WONDER of their name, but also impart a flare of nature’s wonder. Through the use of natural materials, stated and unstated themes, the gallery left me WONDERing more about the connections between nature and art.

Chiefs of Education from each jurisdiction as well as representation from the U.S. Department of Education gathered to discuss the importance of creating and sustaining high-quality environmental literacy programming as part of their ongoing education reforms across subject areas.