Why join CBF Student Leadership?
Learn Outside. Expand your knowledge of watershed issues through immersive outdoor field experiences and interaction with regional experts.
Action. Earn service-learning hours during hands-on restoration events and community engagement opportunities.
Advocacy. Promote watershed issues that are meaningful to you and support the legislative process by meeting with representatives and decisionmakers.
Awareness. Build leadership skills, access resources, and make positive change in your community with support from CBF.
How does it work?
- The program operates year-round and is open to high school students living within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
- Student Leaders gain a deeper understanding of watershed issues during virtual and in-person programming.
- Student Leaders engage with decisionmakers, scientists, industry professionals, artists, and regional experts to better understand environmental policy, protection, and conservation.
- Student Leaders select an issue impacting their community, then develop and implement evidence-based solutions using a Student Action Plan or SAPling.
Commitment to Include all Voices.
Whether you are just beginning your environmental stewardship journey or are well into your trek, we welcome all to join our coalition. We aim to bring emerging leaders from diverse backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, identities, and races to the decision-making space as we work to ensure all individuals have access to clean water, clean air, healthy communities, and a saved Bay.
Contact us using this form or call 410-268-8816.
Student Leadership Summer Expeditions
Each summer, CBF offers multi-day, overnight Student Leadership Summer Expeditions to rising 9th-12th graders. Registration begins each year in early January. Programs are open to both new and experienced student leaders. Prior participation in CBF's Student Leadership Program is not required.
Student Leadership Affiliates
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation Student Leadership Program combines two of CBF's organizational strengths: education and advocacy. Ultimately, our goal is to foster lifelong engaged, ecological citizens. We would like to honor and recognize the following programs and schools that do the same, allowing students to realize their connection to the environmental world and empowering them to act on its behalf. They are our CBF Student Leadership Affiliates.
Student Leadership Highlights
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“My Voice Was Really Heard”
February 25, 2025
Advocating for strong environmental legislation is an important part of protecting water quality and saving the Bay. Maryland student leaders took time to talk to their local legislators and encourage them to vote favorably on some of this year’s key environmental bills.
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Knocking on Virginia Lawmakers’ Doors
February 6, 2025
Clean Water Lobby Day in Virginia returns with new faces of a younger generation of Bay stewards fighting for living shorelines, trees, wetlands, and so much more...
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Planting Roots in the Bay
July 9, 2024
CBF Student Leader Brianna Akuamoah-Boateng reflects on her Bay experiences and looks to the future.
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One 'Really Empowering' Trip to Richmond
March 22, 2022
High schooler Jordyn Lewis meets with Virginia senators and delegates to urge support for environmental literacy.
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The Next Generation Speaks Up for the Bay
September 14, 2021
After a year apart, CBF Student Leaders came together this summer out of a shared passion for the Bay and the desire to make a difference.
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CBF Student Leaders Continue to Carry the Torch
May 11, 2021
A newly created Chesapeake Bay Club brings the spirit of CBF's Student Leadership program into college.
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Student Leaders: Where Are They Now?
February 26, 2021
Five recent graduates from CBF's Student Leadership Program reflect on their experiences with CBF and how they have led them to where they are today.
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Students to Maryland Legislators: We Need Climate Solutions Now!
February 3, 2021
CBF Student Leaders from across the state spoke up about the need for strong climate legislation.
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Why Environmental Literacy Should be Part of Pennsylvania’s Education Standards
January 29, 2021
Without these key topics included in our education program, we risk losing the opportunity to create well-informed students through environmental investigations and exploration.
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Testifying on Behalf of Clean Water
January 12, 2021
CBF Student Leader Connor Ransom reflects on his experience giving public testimony on an environmental amendment in Maryland.
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CBF Student Leaders Ask Congress to Save the Bay
January 11, 2021
As the 117th Congress is sworn in, a group of students has come together to share their thoughts on what the federal government needs to do to save the Bay.
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Bringing Clean Water to All in Baltimore
October 22, 2020
Trees and civic engagement are two things we need to ensure clean water for all, according to CBF Student Leader Kaitlyn Leitherer.
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CBF Student Leaders Draft New Chesapeake Bay Outdoor Bill of Rights
July 28, 2020
A group of Chesapeake Bay Foundation student leaders convened this month to try to answer a challenging question: What should a Chesapeake Bay Watershed Outdoor Bill of Rights include?
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Bringing the Planet to a Safe Place
April 29, 2020
Student leader Kallan Benson is tackling climate change and working to create positive change for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
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My Generation's Fear—and Hope—for the Future
December 5, 2019
Kallan Benson reflects on her time as a CBF Student Leader and her passion for climate action.
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Copy of High School Student Helps Oysters Flourish in Virginia
November 12, 2019
Laney Bonner has become a great promoter of CBF’s oyster gardening program, all while keeping up as a student at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Virginia.
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High School Student Helps Oysters Flourish in Virginia
November 12, 2019
Laney Bonner has become a great promoter of CBF’s oyster gardening program, all while keeping up as a student at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Virginia.
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Follow the Filter Feeders
August 22, 2019
CBF student leaders headed to the nation’s capital to explore the connections between federal policy and water quality.
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Virginia Beach Students OWN ITT!
July 16, 2019
Virginia Beach students recently participated in the Our Watershed Needs Identified for Today and Tomorrow (OWN-ITT) competition, making sustainability focused story maps.
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The Year of the Students
April 25, 2019
Students all across the watershed have played an active role advocating for our environment in state legislative sessions this year
Audio: The Beauty of the Bay a poem by Garrett Chiaramonte
Action: Hellbender Campaign CBF's Pennsylvania Student Leadership Council drafts legislation to make the Eastern hellbender the Commonwealth's state amphibian.
