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The Chesapeake Conservation Corps

by
Bill Whorton

This past November, sixteen bright young adults were inducted into the inaugural Chesapeake Conservation Corps class. They were placed with environmental and conservation/community based host organizations throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, from the DC Metro area out to the Eastern Shore. It has been six months, and the halfway point of the yearlong term of service. I am one of those sixteen corps members, here to give you just a small taste of what I have been working on and working towards with my host organization.

I was placed with the Alice Ferguson Foundation (AFF), a leading environmental education nonprofit within the Potomac River Watershed, located on a beautiful farm in the D.C. Metro area. I could go on and on about the great things AFF is doing (including litter cleanups, field science trips, and farm field trips) but you can check out their website, fergusonfoundation.org for more information. Through my position as the Trash Free Schools Intern, I was assigned the task of creating a project based on waste reduction and education, and had to create a pilot to implement in local schools. Currently I am working with four Prince George’s County pilot schools by facilitating waste assessments, formulating goals, and developing action plans to help reduce, reuse, and recycle within their schools. This is the first specific program designed to address the issue of trash for schools located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. I hope my project will empower students to create visible changes within their own lives, and raise awareness for the need for improved waste management and education within schools.

This is the first project that I have ever created in a professional sense; and I feel a great sense of ownership and pride in the steps I have made in the short six months I have been here. I am quickly learning the ways of the public school system, as well as education in general; my background lies mainly in science and field-based conservation work, and I jumped at the opportunity to be able to gain experience in the environmental education field. In addition to my Trash Free Schools project, I also aid with Bridging the Watershed, our high school field science program; as well as Hard Bargain Farm, our elementary/middle school program, not to mention many other side projects.

I am lucky to be a part of the Chesapeake Conservation Corps; it has provided me with valuable lessons and experiences that are making a difference not only for my future, but for the future of the Chesapeake Bay community as well.


The Chesapeake Bay Trust, in partnership with the State of Maryland and Constellation Energy, established the Chesapeake Conservation Corps in 2010 to provide service-learning opportunities and green job training for young people through environmental and energy conservation projects.

If you know any up and coming recent high school or college graduates that would like to participate in hands-on environmental, leadership and technical training opportunities, the Trust is soliciting applications for Corps Volunteers for 2011. All applications are due by 5 p.m. May 20, 2011, and with questions, contact Dr. Jana Davis at 410-974-2941, ext 101.