Today legislators in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates commended the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) environmental education program on its 50th anniversary with a joint resolution. The resolution by Senator David Marsden and Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg is available at this link.
CBF began its award-winning environmental education program in 1973 and has since provided hands-on outdoor experiences to more than 1.5 million people. Today, CBF’s program reaches more than 10,000 Virginia students and teachers a year through field trips, teacher training, curriculum materials, and restoration programs.
CBF’s outdoor education programs combine learning with nature to benefit both the environment and educational outcomes. Research shows that outdoor learning helps students develop resilience, problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork, and leads to higher test scores and stronger engagement in school.
CBF Vice President for Education Tom Ackerman issued the following statement.
“Environmental education connects students with the world that surrounds us. Hands-on learning, whether paddling a canoe, pulling up a crab pot, or investigating the health of a local stream, shows us how we’re all connected. This type of outdoor learning prepares students to solve the complex problems that face our society.
“Over the last 50 years, CBF’s environmental education program has helped transform 1.5 million students into the next generation of leaders. We’re honored by this recognition from the Virginia House and Senate and look forward to many more years of hands-on outdoor learning with Virginia students and teachers.”
