Student Leadership

The mission of CBF's Student Leadership program is to offer students opportunities to expand their knowledge of Bay issues, improve their planning skills, focus on team building, and learn how to lead others to take action to improve water quality in their local communities.

Apply for CBF's Student Leadership Program

Three Tenets of Student Engagement

Students make up their own minds on issues.
Students feel empowered and possess a sense of accomplishment.
Students advocate using their own voice and personal experiences.

How CBF Increases Student Engagement in Environmental Issues

Students have an incredible ability and opportunity to help improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. A student's voice is powerful and when students speak in unison their message becomes amplified. Our goal is to inspire students to use their voices to speak for their generation and support them in advocating for issues that speak to them. We can't save the Bay without you!

Our Student Leadership program combines CBF's strengths in education and advocacy to

provide immersive field experiences that honor differing perspectives and demonstrate that solutions to ecological issues are often complex,
give students opportunities to work with scientists, elected officials, farmers, restoration experts, and educators,
teach students how to lead others in taking action to improve their local communities' environmental health,
assist students and their schools with their outreach to news media and social media.

The Five Core Components of CBF’s Student Leadership Program

Student Leadership Summer Expeditions: Explore to Learn. Learn to Lead.
These 5-day field experiences offer students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of watershed issues through immersive outdoor field experiences and engaging with regional experts. Applications for our summer 2023 programs are now being accepted.
Student Leadership Confluences: Creating a vision for advancing Bay advocacy, action, & awareness.
These are weekend strategic planning and skills development conferences for Student Leaders from across the watershed and take place during the school year.
Rally Your Reps Events
These are opportunities for Student Leaders to meet with their state or federal representatives to advocate for watershed issues that are meaningful to them or to say thank you for continuing legislative support of these clean water issues.
Professional Development
Training and opportunities that provide Student Leaders with skills development in fields such as public speaking, advocacy, civic engagement, community outreach, public awareness campaigns, etc.
Student Project Resources
Our student project resources page has activities and guides for students to lead environmental stewardship and civic action projects on their own. If you are planning a project or have already started one, let us know!