Value Added- Chesapeake Bay Foundation

While attending the ACES conference I was able to attend and engage in a professional development event on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Throughout the professional development event I was able to engage in hands-on and team building activities. I learned about the current state of the bay and how to educate students about how they can make a positive influence on the bay in the future.

In the state of Pennsylvania educators have a lot of room to grow in the education of environmental issues like the Chesapeake Bay issue. Through the professional development event I was given resources to aid in the education of the Chesapeake Bay issue. One resource I was given was the MWEE. The MWEE is an educator's guide to the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience. This resource helps guide educators on getting started, planning, evaluating, and continuing support towards the Chesapeake Bay project.

The Chesapeake Bay project is working on the water quality issue occurring. The main factor causing an issue in water quality is through pollution. The high amounts of Nitrogen and Phosphorus found in water through (run-off) pollution, which then causes dead zones. Dead zones kill natural organism found in the ecosystem of the bay. Some of the organisms that can die in these dead zones are fish because the oxygen in the water is depleted from algae- blooms that grow from the excess of nitrogen.

To reduce creating these dead zones each person can be a part of this task. As John F. Kennedy once said, "One person can make a difference, but every person should try." By educating the youth we will be able to preserve our environment and stop issues like the Chesapeake Bay from occurring. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation are great leaders in environmental education. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with an organization like this as both a student and an educator.

To learn more visit: http://www.cbf.org