Environmental Education

Poplar Island and Port Isobel

Photos of our 1st field trip in 4th grade - Poplar island to release our terrapins! (slide show may take a few moments to load)

 

Port Isobel - Fourth graders spent 3 days and 2 nights immersed in the culture, history, and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay. Situated between Tangier Sound and the Chesapeake Bay is the Port Isobel Island Study Center. The island was donated to CBF in the late 1980s and renovated to become CBF's largest residential education center. Port Isobel has more than 220 acres of land, including extensive salt marshes, beaches, and a pine forest. Where footpaths end, canoes and workboats are available to take participants to observe and study the abundant wildlife found in local waters. Nearby Tangier Island's watermen's community plays a large part in the Port Isobel educational experience. These experiences connect both the natural and social systems of the Chesapeake. (slide show may take a few moments to load)

Bay Grasses in Classes

4th graders have begun another BIG project in their Bay Studies class. They have received two trays of parent plants of red head grasses, a species of SAV that grows in mid-range salinity in the Chesapeake Bay. This project is a partnership with the Department of Natural Resources and is designed to teach the function and importance of submerged aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay. Students are responsible for monitoring water quality and propagating the parent plants every 4 - 6 weeks. In mid May, students will combine a day of canoeing with planting the grasses in the Choptank River watershed near Cambridge.

 

 

 

Schoolyard Habitat

This spring 3rd graders will be organizing a restoration of the old wildflower meadow near the volleyball pit. A successful proposal to the Chesapeake Bay Trust has given us
much needed funds to create a native garden on the site. We hope the garden will become certified as a Monarch Waystation and provide the much needed habitat for the migrating
butterflies. The children have already planted a number of shrubs which will provide a screen to both block the wind and prevent the over spraying of pesticides from the farm
field.

 

 

 

 

 

Scales and Tales

Little School and Lower School were treated to a special guest in early February. Jessica Conley, a Park Naturalist from Tuckahoe State Park, brought a number of special
visitors with her to share with the children. Scales and Tales, an environmental education program of the Maryland Park Service, affords people the opportunity to see
live wildlife, mostly native to Maryland, up close and personal. This informative and entertaining program uses live non-releasable birds of prey and reptiles to promote
stewardship of our wildlife and other natural resources. Through the stories, or "tales" of how these animals come into the care of the program, Scales and Tales naturalists
discuss very important environmental issues, such as loss of habitat, environmental pollution, resource management and biodiversity.