Join us for a five-day adventure on the Chesapeake Bay or one of its tributaries in summer 2013. CBF is offering more than 30 courses that will explore the mountains of Virginia, the rivers of Pennsylvania, the islands of the Bay, and many places in between. Learn how to integrate the environment into your classroom and to help your students achieve environmental literacy success.
June Course Schedule
These five- and six-day summer immersion courses provide an experience that equips teachers with the knowledge, tools, skills, and confidence to use the local environment in their classroom. Teachers explore the watershed and examine the connection between land use and water quality through hands-on investigations, standards-based activities and assessments, and action projects.
If you have questions, please contact chesapeakeclassrooms@cbf.org.
Note about online registration: Payment of course fees is required with online registration. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express are accepted. If you do not wish to register online or if you will be paying by check, please see our registration options.
Maryland Teachers
Environmental Literacy: the Bay to the Schoolyard
(subtitle) Maryland's Treasure: the Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed
June 23-28
This course is only open to elementary educators from Montgomery County Public Schools.
Join the MCOEC and CBF for a 6-day investigation of Montgomery County and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools. Explore schoolyard habitats, water quality, food webs and food chains, and natural resources. Acquire resources, new lessons, and techniques to develop environmentally literate students who are excited to learn outside. The group will learn new activities and project-based learning ideas across the elementary curriculum.
Length & Location: 6 days total—3 nights at CBF's Port Isobel Island Education Center/2 local day trips
Cost: There is no course fee but participants need to pay $60 for food.
To Register: Contact the L.E. Smith Center at 301-924-3123
Bay Academy 
June 24-28
This course is open to all educators but it will take place in Virginia.
The Bay Academy will focus on the coastal portion of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed and will be held in Tappahannock, Virginia, and the Port Isobel Education Center near Tangier Island, Virginia. Topics covered will include natural systems, water quality, and field investigations of Bay habitats (including wetlands, oyster reefs, and underwater grass meadows). Special emphasis will be given to provide instructional resources that support the science standards related to watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay in sixth-grade science, Life Science, Earth Science, Biology, Environmental Science, and Oceanography. Participants will learn how to lead a meaningful watershed educational experience with their students.
Length & Location: 5 days total—2 nights at St. Margaret's School in Tappahannock, VA, 2 nights at CBF's Port Isobel Island Study Center
Cost: $350 payable to CBF. Three optional VCU graduate credits in science are available for an additional $390 payable to St. Margaret’s School on the first day of class (total cost of $740).
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Human Impact on the Bay
June 24-28
This course is only open to educators from Harford County Public Schools
Investigate the changing landscape of Harford County and learn how it can apply to your students. Your local ecosystems, from streams to farms to homes, can be valuable teaching tools. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land use practices, and STEM integration using the environment. This professional development opportunity will give you many new tools and lessons to use in the classroom.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: No charge—grant funding covers the course fee
To Register: Register through the Harford County ERO system (course # coming soon)
STEM in the Urban Environment
June 24-28
This course is designed for middle and high school teachers from Baltimore City Public Schools but others are welcome
Join us for a five-day, hands-on course that focuses on urban land use issues and how our decisions affect the rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will use inquiry-based teaching techniques to explore Baltimore city schoolyard habitats and land-use issues. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of interdisciplinary activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $50 resource fee (the fee will be refunded upon completion of the course) or $300 for non-BCPS teachers
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Environmental Literacy for Anne Arundel County Teachers
June 24-28
This course only open to middle school teachers from Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
Join the AACPS Outdoor Education Program and Chesapeake Bay Foundation for a 5-day investigation of Anne Arundel County and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools. Explore schoolyard habitats, water quality, and land use. Acquire resources and techniques to teach your students about watershed dynamics and how life upstream affects ecosystems downstream. Earn credit by helping to develop the new environmental literacy Project-Based investigations for the AACPS Middle School Curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips plus a mandatory orientation session on May 29th from 4:30-6:30pm at Arlington Echo
Cost: No charge—grant funding covers the course fee
To Register: Register through the Anne Arundel County ERO system (course #3361413003)
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Pennsylvania Teachers
Two-day courses available for individual schools.
Learn to connect your school and community with local rivers and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. This two-day course will include scientific and social studies about our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a whole. Participants will do hands-on activities and take home interdisciplinary lessons that integrate the environment and Common Core with classroom curriculum.
To Register: Contact Chesapeake Classrooms at chesapeakeclassrooms@cbf.org with questions or if you are interested in scheduling a course for your team of teachers or your entire staff.
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Virginia Teachers
Bay Academy
June 24-28
This course is open to all educators.
The Bay Academy will focus on the coastal portion of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed and will be held in Tappahannock, Virginia, and the Port Isobel Education Center near Tangier Island, Virginia. Topics covered will include natural systems, water quality, and field investigations of Bay habitats (including wetlands, oyster reefs, and underwater grass meadows). Special emphasis will be given to provide instructional resources that support the science standards related to watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay in sixth-grade science, Life Science, Earth Science, Biology, Environmental Science, and Oceanography. Participants will learn how to lead a meaningful watershed educational experience with their students.
Length & Location: 5 days total—2 nights at St. Margaret's School in Tappahannock, VA, 2 nights at CBF's Port Isobel Island Study Center
Cost: $350 payable to CBF. Three optional VCU graduate credits in science are available for an additional $390 payable to St. Margaret’s School on the first day of class (total cost of $740).
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Virginia Beach Systemic Environmental Literacy
June 24-28
This course is only open to middle school educators from Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
This five-day field course is designed to connect Virginia Beach City Public School middle-school teachers to the Chesapeake Bay. Using the Lynnhaven River and the Chesapeake Bay as the backdrop, teachers will learn about their connection to the Bay and its watershed. We will use CBF canoes and workboats to learn about this national treasure. Field activities may include water quality testing, crabbing, fishing, marsh exploration, canoeing, and oyster dredging. We will also explore the creeks and marshes around Lynnhaven Inlet and participate in various other outdoor activities to learn how to integrate the Bay and its watershed into our classrooms.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: This course is funded by a grant. There is no fee for participants.
To register: Contact Melani Loney melani.loney@vbschools.com to register.
Explore the Chesapeake: a Project-Based Learning (PBL) Approach
June 24-28
This course is only open to educators from Elizabeth Davis Middle School in Chesterfield County, VA.
Get your feet wet canoeing and sampling water quality while you connect your school with the local community. Learn how the environment can be a resource to build essential elements of your 21st century classroom skills: collaboration, communication, critical-thinking, and creativity. We will do hands-on investigations as we practice new lessons and activities to increase the rigor of classroom curricula that includes project-based learning.
Length & Location: 5 days total— 3 days/2 nights at CBF's Smith Island Education Center followed by 2 days in Chesterfield County
Cost: This course is funded by a grant. There is no fee for participants
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Other Registration Options
If you do not wish to register online, you may print the 2013 Chesapeake Classrooms Registration Form (pdf) and mail or fax it to the address below. Remember to include the course fee with your registration form.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Attn: Chesapeake Classrooms
6 Herndon Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax: 410-268-6687
To pay with a credit card, you may also contact our office at 410-268-8816.
If you have additional questions please contact chesapeakeclassrooms@cbf.org
July Course Schedule
These five- and six-day summer immersion courses provide an experience that equips teachers with the knowledge, tools, skills, and confidence to use the local environment in their classroom. Teachers explore the watershed and examine the connection between land use and water quality through hands-on investigations, standards-based activities and assessments, and action projects.
Note about online registration: Payment of course fees is required with online registration. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express are accepted. If you do not wish to register online or if you will be paying by check, please see our registration options.
Maryland Teachers
Environmental Literacy: the Bay to the Schoolyard—Our Water, Our Watershed
July 7–12
This course is only open to middle school educators from Montgomery County Public Schools.
Join the MCOEC and CBF for a 6-day investigation of Montgomery County and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools. Explore schoolyard habitats, water quality, and human impact on the land around us. Acquire resources, new lessons, and techniques to develop environmentally literate students who are excited to learn outside. The group will learn new activities and project-based learning ideas across the middle school curriculum.
Length & Location: 6 days total—3 nights at CBF's Port Isobel Island Education Center/2 local day trips
Cost: There is no course fee but participants need to pay $60 for food.
To Register: Contact the L.E. Smith Center at 301/924-3123
Teachers on the Bay
July 8–12
This course is open to all teachers.
The weeklong course provides learning experiences for elementary, middle and high school science teachers that are designed to closely support the implementation of the 2010 Science Standards of Learning. Special emphasis is being given to provide instructional resources that will support the science standards related to watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay in sixth-grade science, Life Science, Earth Science, Biology, environmental science, and oceanography. The course will provide instruction that integrates classroom and field teaching, and models meaningful field investigations. Printed materials and hands-on resources supporting the content and skills in the science standards will also be included. Field work will be on the freshwater and brackish tidal portion of the Rappahannock River and on Great Fox Island near the center of the Bay. Participants may be eligible to receive up to 45 points for licensure renewal from their school division and also will have the option of attaining graduate credit (3 graduate credits from Virginia Commonwealth University) at an additional cost to the participant.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights—2 nights in St. Margaret's, 2 nights at CBF's Fox Island Education Center
Cost: $350, 3 VCU graduate credits available for an extra $390
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Investigating Your Urban Schoolyard STEM Style
July 8–12
This course is designed for teachers from D.C. public and charter schools but others are welcome.
Join us for a hands-on course that focuses on urban land use issues and how our decisions affect the rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based learning techniques for both inside and outside the traditional classrooms. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: No charge—grant funding covers the course fee
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
STEM in Southern Maryland Schoolyards
July 15–19
This course is designed for educators from St. Mary's, Charles, and Calvert Counties.
Join us for a hands-on course to learn about local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based learning techniques for both inside and outside the traditional classrooms. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 days total—3 days local, 2 days/1 night at CBF's Smith Island Education Center
Cost: $300
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Environmental Literacy for Maryland's Teachers of the Year
July 15–19
This course is restricted to teachers who have been a Maryland teacher of the year for their county between 2009-2012.
Do you keep thinking about the feeling of mud between your toes? Are you still brainstorming how to get your students excited to learn outside? Join us for a continuation of your field experience with the Maryland Teachers of the Year at CBF's island education centers. No matter what subject you teach, this 5-day experience will send you back to school with new ideas, new lessons, and a rejuvenated sense of dedication to environmental literacy (and a better idea of what that looks like). Maryland teachers are leading the way with STEM and CCSS, so let CBF show you how to use the Bay to integrate those topics with the curriculum. We will spend 2 days looking at schoolyards and watershed issues in addition to 3 days at a CBF island center.
Length & Location: 5 days total— 2 days in the Annapolis/Baltimore area and 3 days/2 nights at CBF's Fox Island Education Center
Cost: $300
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Teaching STEM in the Local Environment
July 22–26
This course is designed for teachers from Frederick County Public Schools.
Join us for a hands-on course to learn about local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based learning techniques for both inside and outside the traditional classrooms. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $300
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Environmental Literacy for Allegany County
July 22–26
This course is designed for educators from Allegany County Public Schools but others are welcome.
Investigate how your school and community are connected to the Chesapeake Bay while paddling, hiking, fishing, and sampling water quality in Western Maryland. Focusing on your local area, this five-day course designed for Allegany County Public School teachers will include studies about the human impact on our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a whole. Participants will do hands-on activities and can take home an array of interdisciplinary activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the school curriculum. The Evergreen Heritage Center is the course sponsor and is working with Allegany County Public Schools and Frostburg State University.
Length & Location: 5 days total—3 days in Allegany County, 2 days/1 night at CBF's Philip Merrill Environmental Center
Cost: Allegany County Public School teachers receive a full $1800 scholarship; $300 all other educators
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
STEM—Science, Teaching, and the Environment in Maryland
July 29–August 2
This course is open to any educator in Maryland.
What does real-world science look like in Maryland now that Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards are on the scene? CBF can help you address the new curriculum items with local material that is interactive and engaging for students of any age. Join us for a hands-on course to learn about local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based learning techniques for both inside and outside the traditional classrooms. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the state curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $300
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands - all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan and Fox Island education centers
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Pennsylvania
Because of a unique recertification credit situation, CBF is designing customized two-day courses for Pennsylvania teacher teams.
We welcome you to request a high-quality, transdisciplinary professional development course focused on using the environment for instruction. The course will be an interactive "meaningful watershed education experience" that integrates STEM concepts and aligns with Common Core and Pennsylvania State Standards. Teachers will use their schools as a model to learn about their communities' connection to our local waterways. The course involves field investigations you can do with your students, content from expert speakers, and guidance from master teachers familiar with outdoor instruction. Inquire about creating a course for your school or district, or joining other exciting opportunities,, by sending an e-mail to Tom Parke tparke@cbf.org or Pete Secka psecka@cbf.org, CBF's stellar Pennsylvania educators.
Bringing the Watershed into Classroom - Lewisburg, PA
July 10-11
This course is open to all Pennsylvania teachers.
Learn to connect your school and community with the local creeks and rivers. This two-day course will include scientific and social studies about our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a whole. Participants will do hands-on activities and take home interdisciplinary lessons that integrate the environment and Common Core State Standards with classroom curriculum. The course involves exciting activities like canoeing on the Susquehanna River and investigating the Union County Conservation District as a local resource to use with students. In-service credit will be available.
Length & Location: 2 days—one on the Susquehanna River and one in the Union County Conservation District (Lewisburg area)
Cost: $55.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Bringing the Watershed into the Classroom - York, PA
July 16-17
This course is open to all Pennsylvania teachers.
Learn to connect your school and community with the local creeks and rivers. This two-day course will include scientific and social studies about our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a whole. Participants will do hands-on activities and take home interdisciplinary lessons that integrate the environment and Common Core State Standards with classroom curriculum. The course involves exciting activities like canoeing on Cordorus Creek and investigating the York Conservation District as a local resource to use with students. In-service credit will be available.
Length & Location: 2 days—1 on Cordorus Creek and 1 in the York Conservation District
Cost: $55.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Bringing the Watershed into the Classroom - Harrisburg, PA
July 18-19
This course is open to all Pennsylvania teachers.
Learn to connect your school and community with the local creeks and rivers. This two-day course will include scientific and social studies about our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a whole. Participants will do hands-on activities and take home interdisciplinary lessons that integrate the environment and Common Core State Standards with classroom curriculum. The course involves exciting activities like canoeing on the Susquehanna River and investigating Harrisburg's ecosystems as a local resource to use with students. In-service credit will be available.
Length & Location: 2 days—1 on the Susquehanna River and 1 in the Harrisburg riverside area
Cost: $55.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Bringing the Watershed into the Classroom - Bald Eagle State Park, PA
July 30-31, 2013
This course is open to all Pennsylvania educators.
Students blossom when they can immerse themselves in the material they are learning. This two-day course will show you how scientific and social investigations about your local streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a whole can help your students blossom and soar. Participants will do hands-on activities and take home interdisciplinary lessons that integrate the environment and Common Core State Standards with classroom curriculum. The course involves exciting activities like canoeing Bald Eagle Creek and investigating the Bald Eagle State Park as a local resource to use with students. In-service credit will be available.
Length & Location: 2 days—1 in Bald Eagle State Park and 1 on Bald Eagle Creek
Cost: $55.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands - all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan and Fox Island education centers
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Virginia Teachers
Adding Rigor Using Your Schoolyard
July 8–12
This course is designed for teachers from the Charlottesville/Albemarle region but others are welcome.
Acquire the knowledge, skills, and inspiration that are relevant to your local schoolyard, your curriculum, and your students. Learn about nearby ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching resources to address the SOL’s. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based teaching techniques to integrate the environment into your classroom. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with an interdisciplinary approach.
Length & Location: 5 days local
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Teachers on the Bay
July 8–12
This course is open to all educators.
This five-day residential course provides learning experiences for elementary, middle and high school teachers that are designed to closely support the implementation of the 2010 Science Standards of Learning. Special emphasis is being given to provide instructional resources that will support the standards related to watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay. The course will provide instruction that integrates classroom and field teaching, and models meaningful field investigations. Printed materials and hands-on resources supporting the content and skills in the science standards will also be included. Fieldwork will be on the brackish and freshwater tidal portion of the Rappahannock River and on Great Fox Island VA near the center of the Chesapeake Bay. Participants are eligible to receive up to 45 points for licensure renewal from VA school divisions or 3 Maryland Continuing Professional Development Credits. Participants also will have the option of earning 3 graduate credits from Virginia Commonwealth University at an additional cost to the participant
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights—2 nights in St. Margaret's, 2 nights at CBF's Fox Island Education Center
Cost: $350, 3 VCU graduate credits available for an extra $390
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Investigating Your Urban Schoolyard STEM Style
July 8–12
This course is designed for teachers from D.C. public and charter schools but others are welcome.
Join us for a hands-on course that focuses on urban land use issues and how our decisions affect the rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based learning techniques for both inside and outside the traditional classrooms. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: No charge—grant funding covers the course fee for DCPS teachers, $300 for others
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Explore the Chesapeake: a Project-Based Learning (PBL) Approach
July 15–19
This course is only open to educators from Elizabeth Davis Middle School in Chesterfield County, VA.
Get your feet wet canoeing and sampling water quality while you connect your school with the local community. Learn how the environment can be a resource to build essential elements of your 21st century classroom skills: collaboration, communication, critical-thinking, and creativity. We will do hands-on investigations as we practice new lessons and activities to increase the rigor of classroom curricula that includes project-based learning.
Length & Location: 5 days total—2 days in Chesterfield County followed by 3 days/2 nights at CBF's Smith Island Education Center
Cost: No charge—grant funding covers the course fee
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Virginia Beach Systemic Environmental Literacy
July 15–19
This course is only open to high school educators from Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
This five-day field course is designed to connect Virginia Beach City Public School middle-school teachers to the Chesapeake Bay. Using the Lynnhaven River and the Chesapeake Bay as the backdrop, teachers will learn about their connection to the Bay and its watershed. We will use CBF canoes and workboats to learn about this national treasure. Field activities may include water quality testing, crabbing, fishing, marsh exploration, canoeing, and oyster dredging. We will also explore the creeks and marshes around Lynnhaven Inlet and participate in various other outdoor activities to learn how to integrate the Bay and its watershed into our classrooms.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: Course fee is covered.
To register: Contact Melani Loney melani.loney@vbschools.com to register.
Environmental Literacy in Northern Virginia
July 22–26
This course is open to any Virginia teacher.
Acquire the knoledge, skills, and attitude to incorporate the local environment into your curriculum. Learn to engage your students in individual collective action by investigating the changing landscape of Virginia. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students environmental literacy with an interdisciplinary approach.
Length & Location: 5 days total—2 days in the Fairfax area followed by 3 days/2 nights at CBF's Karen Noonan Education Center
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Using STEM in a Norfolk Schoolyard
July 22–26
This course is designed for teachers from Norfolk area public schools but others are welcome.
Join us for a 5-day investigation of the changing landscape of Virginia. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools while we cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based teaching techniques to integrate the environment into your classroom. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Adding Rigor Using Your Schoolyard
July 29–August 2
This course is designed for teachers from the Hampton Roads region but others are welcome.
Acquire the knowledge, skills, and inspiration that are relevant to your local schoolyard, your curriculum, and your students. Learn about nearby ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching resources to address the SOL’s. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based teaching techniques to integrate the environment into your classroom. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with an interdisciplinary approach.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands—all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan and Fox Island education centers
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Washington, D.C. Teachers
Investigating Your Urban Schoolyard STEM Style
July 8–12
This course is designed for teachers from D.C. public and charter schools but others are welcome.
Join us for a hands-on course that focuses on urban land use issues and how our decisions affect the rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based learning techniques for both inside and outside the traditional classrooms. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: No charge—grant funding covers the course fee for DCPS teachers, $300 for others
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands - all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan and Fox Island education centers
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Other Registration Options
If you are registering for a CBF course and do not wish to register online, you may print the 2013 Chesapeake Classrooms Registration Form (pdf) and mail or fax it to the address below. Remember to include the course fee with your registration form.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Attn: Chesapeake Classrooms
6 Herndon Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax: 410-268-6687
To pay with a credit card, you may also call our office at 410-268-8816.
If you have additional questions please contact chesapeakeclassrooms@cbf.org
August Course Schedule
These five-day summer immersion courses provide an experience that equips teachers with the knowledge, tools, skills, and confidence to use the local environment in their classroom. Teachers explore the watershed and examine the connection between land use and water quality through hands-on investigations, standards-based activities and assessments, and action projects.
Note about online registration: Payment of course fees is required with online registration. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express are accepted. If you do not wish to register online or if you will be paying by check, please see our registration options.
Maryland Teachers
STEM—Science, Teaching, and the Environment in Maryland
July 29–August 2
This course is open to any educator in Maryland.
What does real-world science look like in Maryland now that Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards are on the scene? CBF can help you address the new curriculum items with local material that is interactive and engaging for students of any age. Join us for a hands-on course to learn about local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools in order to cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based learning techniques for both inside and outside the traditional classrooms. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach. Participants will take home an array of activities and lessons that can be incorporated into the state curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $300
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands—all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan and Fox Island education centers
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Our Land and Water: Environmental Literacy Connects STEM and Social Studies
August 4-9
This course is only open to science and social studies high school teachers from Montgomery County Public Schools.
Join the MCOEC and CBF for a 6-day investigation of culture, sociology, and science in Montgomery County and the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools. Explore schoolyard habitats, water quality, the built environment, and community as you acquire resources, new lessons, and techniques to develop environmentally literate students who are excited to learn outside. The group will learn how to infuse new activities and project-based learning ideas across the high school curriculum.
Length & Location: 6 days total—3 nights at CBF's Port Isobel Island Education Center/2 local day trips
Cost: There is no course fee but participants need to pay $60 for food.
To Register: Contact the L.E. Smith Center at 301-924-3123
Data and the Estuary - in partnership with the National Estuarine Research Reserve
August 5–9
This course is open to Maryland middle and high school educators.
This five-day program is designed to provide middle and high school teachers with the resources, knowledge, and experience necessary to facilitate the integration of estuaries and their related issues into the classroom. The program accomplishes this through hands-on field-based investigations carried out in the diverse environments of the Delmarva Peninsula and the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Teachers will have the opportunity to gather authentic data on land use, water quality, biotic communities and other parameters, analyze that data, and ultimately use this information to develop action projects that will have a positive impact on the natural systems of the Chesapeake Bay.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights at CBF's Karen Noonan Education Center
Cost: $50 non-refundable resource fee. The course fee is covered through a partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Teaching STEM in the Local Environment
August 5–9
This course is only open to teachers from Howard County Public Schools.
Investigate the changing landscape of Howard County and learn how it can apply to your students. Your local ecosystems, from streams to farms to homes, can be valuable teaching tools. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land use practices, and STEM integration using the environment. This professional development opportunity will give you many new tools and lessons to use in the classroom.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $300
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Pennsylvania Teachers
Bringing the Watershed to Your Classroom
August 14 - 15
This course is open to all Pennsylvania teachers.
Learn to connect your school and community with the local creeks and rivers. This two-day course will include scientific and social studies about our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a whole. Participants will do hands-on activities and take home interdisciplinary lessons that integrate the environment and Common Core with classroom curriculum. The course involves exciting activities like canoeing on Cordorus Creek and investigating the York Conservation District as a local resource to use with students. In-service credit will be available.
Length & Location: 2 days—one on the Susquehanna River and one in the Union County Conservation District
Cost: $55.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands - all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan Center and Fox Island
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Virginia Teachers
Adding Rigor Using Your Schoolyard
July 29–August 2
This course is designed for teachers from the Hampton Roads region but open to others.
Acquire the knowledge, skills, and inspiration that are relevant to your local schoolyard, your curriculum, and your students. Learn about nearby ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching resources to address the SOL’s. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based teaching techniques to integrate the environment into your classroom. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with an interdisciplinary approach.
Length & Location: 5 local day-trips
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands - all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan Center and Fox Island
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Environmental Literacy for Loudoun County
August 5–9
This course is only open to teachers from Loudoun County Public Schools.
Join CBF for an investigation of how Loudoun County's regional resources and the Chesapeake Bay can be ideal teaching tools. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as you integrate the environment across subjects and grade levels. We will explore schoolyard habitats, water quality, and land use types. Acquire resources, new lessons, and techniques to develop environmentally literate students who are excited to learn outside. Participants will learn how to infuse new activities and project-based learning ideas across the county curriculum.
Length & Location: 5 days total - 2 days in Loudoun county and 3 days/2 nights at CBF's Fox Island Environmental Education Center
Cost: The county is covering the course fee for LCPS teachers
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
Environmental Literacy for Fairfax County
August 5–9
This course is only open to teachers from Fairfax County Public Schools.
Join us for a five-day investigation of the changing landscape of Virginia. Learn about your local ecosystems and how to use them as valuable teaching tools while we cover STEM material. We will explore schoolyard habitats, land-use issues, and inquiry-based teaching techniques to integrate the environment into your classroom. This professional development opportunity will give you the tools to build your students’ environmental literacy with a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach.
Length & Location: 5 days total - 2 days in Fairfax county and 3 days/2 nights at CBF's Port Isobel Environmental Education Center
Cost: The county is covering the course fee for FCPS teachers
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Washington D.C. Teachers
Islands Ecology & Geography
July 29–August 2
This course is open to all educators.
Join us for an adventurous course focused on professional and personal growth amidst the island communities of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn activities that will investigate the culture and the habitat of a watermen's town surrounded by pristine brackish wetlands - all while developing lessons that address core curriculum standards among similarly passionate peers. Teachers will acquire skills and resources that enable them to bring multidisciplinary and experiential education back to their classroom. The inspirational environment of the islands is bound to produce a personally rejuvenating and professionally transformative experience.
Length & Location: 5 days/4 nights split between CBF's Karen Noonan Center and Fox Island
Cost: $300.00
To Register: Register online | Register by mail/fax
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Other Registration Options
If you are registering for a CBF course and do not wish to register online you may print the 2013 Chesapeake Classrooms Registration Form (pdf) and mail or fax it to the address below. Remember to include the course fee with your registration form.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Attn: Chesapeake Classrooms
6 Herndon Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax: 410-268-6687
To pay with a credit card, you may also call our office at 410-268-8816.
If you have additional questions please contact chesapeakeclassrooms@cbf.org