The Countdown to National Green Week is On!

January 28th, 2013 by Molly Hislop

Get ready for National Green Week!

With National Green Week 2013 kicking off February 4-8, now is the time to join the movement and start planning your Green Week! Green Week is Green Education Foundation’s (GEF) flagship program and has grown to become the largest K-12 sustainability education movement in the nation.  It’s a time for educators and youth group leaders to discuss sustainability topics with students and identify the ways we can each make a difference.  GEF offers six sustainability themes to choose from for Green Week, and each includes free lessons and resources.  Don’t forget – you can choose any week to be your Green Week between February 4 and April 30.

Getting involved is easy! First, sign up for National Green Week by becoming a member on GEF’s website. Then, start thinking about which sustainability theme is right for you this year. You can choose from:

Next, pick your week (or day if you’re tight on time) between February 4 and April 30 to participate and spread the word to get your colleagues and students excited! Hint: Schedule your Green Week lessons and activities around your Earth Day celebrations for a double whammy! Now the fun part – decide how you want to participate. Browse GEF’s lessons in the Clearinghouse or in the curriculum section of your sustainability theme. You’ll also find activities, audits, tips and recommended reading for each theme. If you’re feeling fun and innovative, come up with an event or project for your students or school. Hint: these events and projects can lend to a great Green in Action award application! For example, you could organize a school yard clean-up, a waste free snacks week, walk or bike to school day or a turn-out-the-lights campaign. The possibilities are endless!

Also, be sure to explore the fun contests available to Green Week participants. There are lots of great prizes and national recognition to be won!

  • Green in Action awards – win $250 for your class or school by submitting a chronicle of your Green Week activity, event or lessons!
  • Water Audit Raffle – win $250 and 500 water bottles for your school by conducting one of GEF’s audits (or your own audit if you have one) and submitting their results.
  • Green Classroom Pledge – win 20 Green Packs (reusable water bottles, shopping bags and snack packs) for your class by signing the pledge and sending it to GEF.
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Molly Hislop is the Director of Programs and Marketing at Green Education Foundation (GEF).

Bay Backpack is at the MAEOE Youth Summit Today!

June 1st, 2012 by Sarah

Come learn about Bay Backpack!

The 2012 MAEOE Maryland Green School Youth Summit is taking place from 9am – 3pm today at Sandy Point State Park near Annapolis, MD. This event will feature a MAEOE Maryland Green Schools Award Ceremony, an Environmental Literacy Bazaar with over 50 learning stations for all ages, youth leadership development presentations, and a Go For The Green celebration with games.

Bay Backpack has an exhibit booth at the MAEOE Youth Summit, so come join us in celebrating environmental education.  Be sure to visit our exhibit booth in the Cottontail Pavilion!

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

Celebrate Great Outdoors Month by Getting Your Class Outside!

June 13th, 2011 by Sarah

Inspire your students by showing them beautiful sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, such as Great Falls. Photo courtesy of Chris Spielmann.

“For generations, America’s great outdoors have ignited our imaginations, bolstered our economy, and fueled our national spirit of adventure and independence. The United States holds a stunning array of natural beauty — from sweeping rangelands and tranquil beaches, to forests stretching over rolling hills and rivers raging through stone-faced cliffs. During Great Outdoors Month, we rededicate ourselves to experiencing and protecting these unique landscapes and treasured sites.” – President Barack Obama, May 31, 2011 excerpt from the Great Outdoors Month Presidential Proclamation.

There are numerous treasured landscapes within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  This month, get your class outside to learn about your local estuary and celebrate Great Outdoors Month! In addition to the Presidential Proclamation, there are many state proclamations supporting Great Outdoors Month. Use the National Park Service’s Views Chesapeake Bay website to find an educational site and plan your class’s trip into the Great Outdoors.  Many field programs also offer the opportunity to do just that.  You can use Bay Backpack’s Field Studies page to find an outdoor education program near your school, or take a look at these featured programs:

  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Student Field Programs: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation offers a variety of single and multi-day field programs in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Celebrate Great Outdoors Month on a working farm, a river, or the Chesapeake Bay with these programs.
  • Irvine Nature Center: The Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills, MD offers 10 different field trip programs.  During most trips, students work in small groups to make observations, collect data, compare and classify organisms, and draw conclusions.
  • Delaware Nature Society School Programs: The Delaware Nature Society offers field trips for students from PK to high school.  Teachers may want to select their class’s field program this helpful list that alignments each trip with Delaware curriculum.
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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

June 8th is World Oceans Day

June 6th, 2011 by Alyssa

Celebrate World Ocean's Day this June 8th! Image courtesy of The Ocean Project.

This year is the best yet for your classroom to participate in the globe’s biggest celebration of our shared ocean. The theme is Youth: the Next Wave for Change and it’s a great opportunity to have fun while teaching and inspiring the next generation of the ocean’s guardians. You’ve probably heard of Earth Day, but 70% of the Earth’s surface is the ocean! Take a day (or a whole week) to teach your class about why the ocean is so important.

If you are working with a very young class, consider having a Dr. Seuss-themed ocean celebration. Keep the lesson informational and upbeat, while emphasizing that the ocean needs to be protected just as much as the land does. Keep in mind that young children can be frightened by environmental problems if they aren’t also presented with solutions. Many give up altogether because the challenges seem far too great. This is why World Oceans Day education should have a positive spin despite the serious problems the ocean faces—love and fond childhood memories of nature are the best determiners of pro-environmental action in adults.

For classrooms inland, one of the most meaningful concepts you can teach about is watersheds. Watersheds connect people from around the world to one of our greatest shared resources: the ocean. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is the largest in the United States, and is a great case study for your class!  Watersheds are a complex teaching challenge but are necessary for inland students to understand how the ocean is relevant to them. Older kids can learn about how pollution from their town ends up in the ocean, but strive to keep the lesson positive. A fun and effective way to teach about watersheds is to make a model: click here for an easy guide.

Additional Resources:

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Alyssa Isakower is the World Oceans Day Coordinator for The Ocean Project.

Is Your Class Ready for Endangered Species Day?

May 16th, 2011 by Sarah

The Delmarva Fox Squirrel, image courtesy of U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region via Creative Commons.

The Bog Turtle, image courtesy of USFWS/Southeast via Creative Commons.

That’s right Backpackers: this Friday, May 20th is Endangered Species Day!  Endangered Species Day, which was started by the United States Senate, is held every year on the third Friday in May.  The day is held to encourage people, both young and old, to learn about species that are facing the possibility of extinction, about the conservation issues that impact their species survival, and about what we can do in our everyday lives to make a difference.

When asked about endangered species many of your students will instantly be able to identify well known species such as lions and tigers and polar bears (oh my!).  While this knowledge is a great thing for them to have and expand on, another fun way to engage your students in learning about endangered species is to “bring it local.”  Panda bears and gorillas may look adorable, but sometimes the large geographic distance between these animals native habitats and your school may leave students with a disconnect between the idea of what and endangered species is and their own actions.

This year, why not spend Endangered Species Day teaching about endangered plants and animals that live right here in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed?  Here are a few species you could feature in your lesson, or have your students write a research paper on:

  • Bog Turtle – This small, semi-aquatic species of turtle is currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and is classified as endangered in some states.
  • Delmarva Fox Squirrel – The Delmarva Fox Squirrel is a large, endangered squirrel species that live in small, isolated populations on the Delmarva Peninsula, which represents a fraction of its historical geographic range.
  • Shortnose Sturgeon – Shortnose Sturgeon became endangered species as a result of drastic population declines primarily due to environmental factors such as dams and pollution in the rivers and streams where they spawn.
  • Maryland Darter – This two to three inch long species of fish is possibly extinct.  The last confirmed sighting of the species was in 1988.

For additional information on endangered species in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, please refer to the following sources:

Here are some resources that have been developed through a partnership with the Endangered Species Coalition’s (ESC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that can help you teach about endangered species in your classroom this Friday:

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

Celebrate Earth Day All Month Long

April 4th, 2011 by Sarah

Earth Day is a great opportunity to engage children in learning about their environment. Photo courtesy of US FWS via Creative Commons, photographer Rick L. Hansen.

Earth Day was founded by Unites States Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin as a “national teach-in on the environment,” and was first held on April 22, 1970. It became a global event in 1990 with environmentally focused events taking place in 141 countries.  This April, don’t just celebrate Earth Day on the 22nd, make it a month long celebration!  Here are some resources and events to help you get started:

National Environmental Education Week: In 2011, National Environmental Education Week (EE Week), the nation’s largest environmental event, will be held from April 10-16.  Here in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed we will be celebrating the 2011 EE Weeks’s focus on Ocean Connections in the nation’s largest estuary!

National Park Week: Celebrate National Parks Week from April 16-24, 2011 in one of our 364 national parks! This year’s focus, Healthy Parks, Healthy People, highlights the connection between human and environmental health and the vital role America’s national parks play in both.

International Year of the Forest: The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. Learn more on their website!

US EPA Earth Day Website: This website contains information on how to find and get involved in local Earth Day Activities. It also provides teachers with links to EPA environmentally focused lesson plans

Tools to Reduce Waste in Schools: Use this resource to help your school and school district reduce the amount of waste you generate. This detailed resource will guide you through how to conduct a waste assessment and tell you how to start a waste reduction program or expand an existing one.

The Quest for Less: Activities and Resources for Teaching K-8: The Quest for Less is designed for teachers to use as one of the many tools in the development of lesson plans. The activities and concepts in this resource can be used to commemorate Earth Day through their focus on Natural Resources, Products, Waste, Source Reduction, Recycling, Composting, Landfills and Combustion, and Putting it all Together.

Bay Backpack Teacher Resources: Use our Teacher Resources section to find an activity or lesson plan related to the Chesapeake Bay for your Earth Day event!

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

Environmental Education Week Webinar: Teaching Ocean Connections from Watersheds to Reefs

March 21st, 2011 by Sarah Kozicki

Celebrate "Ocean Connections" by participating in a Teacher Webinar to help prepare for National Environmental Education Week! Photo courtesy of Suchana Chavanich/Marine Photobank.

The ocean covers nearly three quarters of our planet’s surface, provides 70 percent of the oxygen in the atmosphere and houses about 20 percent of the known species on Earth. It regulates climate and weather and provides food and energy resources for humans worldwide. Water in every stream or river on the planet eventually ends up in the ocean, and all life on Earth is dependent upon its health. More than half of all Americans live within 50 miles of the coast, but whether near or far our lives are inextricably linked to the ocean.

In 2011, National Environmental Education Week (EE Week), the nation’s largest environmental event, will be held from April 10-16.  Here in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed we will be celebrating the 2011 EE Weeks’s focus on Ocean Connections in the nation’s largest estuary!

Registered EE Week participants are invited to participate in a free educator webinar hosted by the National Environmental Education Foundation.  The Teaching Ocean Connections: Watersheds to Reefs Webinar will be held on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from and interact with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) experts Rob Ferguson, Paulo Maurin and Cathy Sakas, who will share their knowledge and ideas for compelling classroom activities on watersheds and introduce participants to NOAA’s Rivers to Reefs Program. This webinar should be a great chance to learn about watershed lessons that can be connected back to the Chesapeake Bay and can be used in your own classroom!

Register for 2011 EE Week to participate in this online professional development experience. Registration is free, and registered participants will receive login information via email prior to the webinar.

Click this link to learn more about the Teaching Ocean Connections: Watersheds to Reefs Webinar, and be sure to check out Bay Backpack’s watershed lesson plans for more fun ideas on how to teach about watersheds!

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Sarah Kozicki is an Education Program Coordinator for National Environmental Education Week.

Horn Point Laboratory Lecture Series: Bay 101

February 28th, 2011 by Sarah

You can arrange for a tour of the Horn Point Laboratory facilities by contacting tours@hpl.umces.edu. Photo courtesy of Horn Point Laboratory.

Horn Point Laboratory will be offering a lecture series for anyone interested in learning more about current science research and the Chesapeake Bay.  Seven free presentations, addressing topics from Estuaries to Oysters, will be offered on consecutive Thursdays from mid March to late April.  Sessions will be held from 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM at the Horn Point Aquaculture and Restoration Ecology Laboratory (AREL) Lecture Hall.  Life in the Chesapeake Bay by Alice and Robert Lippson has been suggested as a text book for outside reading during the series.

Mike Roman, the Horn Point Laboratory Director, will launch BAY 101 lecture series on March 17. Photo courtesy of Horn Point Laboratory.

This is an excellent opportunity for students, teachers, and members of the local community to interact with Horn Point scientists. Getting up-to-date information on the Chesapeake Bay is a great way for teachers to start planning Bay-related lessons for their own classes!  The following topics will be covered in the Bay 101: Science of the Chesapeake for Non-Scientists lecture series: 

  • March 17: “Research and Education Programs at the Horn Point Laboratory” –  Mike Roman, Laboratory Director
  • March 24: “History of Land Use and Water Quality in the Choptank Basin” – Tom Fisher
  • March 31: “Seagrasses: What Are They and Why Should I Care?” – Laura Murray
  • April 7: “Why Do We Need More Oysters In Chesapeake Bay?” – Roger Newell
  • April 14: “Sea Level Rise and Marsh Loss in the Blackwater Refuge” – Court Stevenson
  • April 21:  “Oyster Restoration and the Horn Point Hatchery” – Don ‘Mutt’ Meritt
  • April 28: “How an Estuary Works” – Bill Boicourt

To register for the lecture series or an individual lecture, please contact Linda Starling, the Volunteer Coordinator at Horn Point Laboratory.  Linda can be reached at 410-221-8381 or 301-802-1587 or starling@umces.edu or by mail Linda Starling, PO Box 775, 2020 Horns Pt. Rd, Cambridge, MD 21613.

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

The 2011 MAEOE Conference: Educating for Sustainability

February 21st, 2011 by Sarah

Participants in the “Building Oyster Reef Balls as Habitat in the Chesapeake Bay” session at MAEOE's 2011 Conference actually built an Oyster Reef Ball! Photo courtesy of Sandy August.

This past weekend, I attended the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Conference to promote Bay Backpack.  The conference was not only a great chance to encourage teachers to use the Bay Backpack website, but a great learning opportunity for me.

Conferences that bring environmental educators together are a great opportunity to learn something new.  With Friday sessions describing how to build and teach about Oyster Reef Balls, Schoolyard Habitats, Rain Gardens, and more, it was impossible not to come away excited about all of the ways to incorporate environmental education into a classroom setting.  Saturday sessions truly had something for everyone.  They addressed everything from Natural Play Spaces and Things that Go “Ribbit” in the Night (Amphibian Call Identification) to Your School and the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order and the Maryland No Child Left Inside and Children in Nature movements.

MAEOE will be posting many of the power points that were presented on their website, so if you would like to learn more about one of the topics that was discussed at the conference, but were unable to attend, be sure to keep checking their website for more information.

Networking is also a key aspect of this type of conference.  I know I met a lot of very nice people who are implementing some very innovative programs in their classrooms.  Making connections, sharing ideas, and learning new things are all an important part of the conference experience.

Next year’s MAEOE Conference will be held February 9 -12, 2012 at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau in Ocean City, Maryland.  I hope to see you there, and in between you may want to check out some of these conferences for some great environmental education networking:

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

National Environmental Education Week Celebrates Ocean Connections

February 14th, 2011 by Sarah Kozicki

Celebrate "Ocean Connections" as part of National Environmental Education Week, April 10-16, 2011!

Join teachers and students in exploring our Ocean Connections as part of National Environmental Education Week, April 10-16, 2011!

We might have divided it up and given the different areas different names, but there really is only one ocean. And it is the dominant feature of our planet. No matter how far we live from the coast, we are all connected to the ocean, sometimes in nearly invisible ways. For those in the Chesapeake Watershed, this connection is very strong.  In Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, and the District of Columbia, we live a 64,299 square miles drainage basin that flows into the largest estuary in the United States of America: the Chesapeake Bay! 

From the vast network of streams and rivers that make up the major watersheds on Earth (all of which, including the Chesapeake Bay, drain into the ocean) to the ingredients in products we use every day, there is no escaping our dependence on the ocean. The ocean supplies us with food and medicine, cycles our water, generates most of the oxygen we breathe and balances our climate. Recognizing the vital importance of the ocean to all life on Earth, National Environmental Education Week’s 2011 theme is Ocean Connections.

National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) is the nation’s largest environmental education event held each year the week before Earth Day – this year, April 10-16. EE Week inspires environmental learning and stewardship among young people by connecting educators with environmental resources to promote K-12 students’ understanding of the environment. The goal of EE Week is to assist educators in incorporating more high-quality environmental education across the curriculum. In 2010, over 2,000 schools and organizations across the country organized EE Week events. Collectively these organizations reached millions of students with environmentally themed lessons and activities. 

This year, EE Week will celebrate the ocean by offering resources and curricula for teaching about the ocean and oil spills, facts about our ocean connections in English and Spanish, online Ocean Bee quizzes for students (created in partnership with National Ocean Sciences Bowl) and a series of educator webinars. The first Educator Webinar: Teaching about the Gulf Oil Spill will be held Feb. 23, 2011 at 7 p.m. EST. Register for EE Week to participate.

Registration takes only seconds but has many benefits. Registered EE Week participants receive grade-appropriate toolkits for each school day during EE Week, with outstanding lessons and activities on prevalent ocean subtopics created in partnership with Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence.

Learn more about EE Week by visiting  EEWeek.org and register your school or organization to participate and join a national network of educators dedicated to increasing the environmental literacy of students.

Do you have a successful environmental education project to tell us about? We’d love to hear about it. Contact EEWeek@neefusa.org and info@baybackpack.com to share your story.

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Sarah Kozicki is an Education Program Coordinator for National Environmental Education Week.
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