Virginia
Since opening the Virginia office in the early 1980s, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has been leading the efforts to Save the Bay in the Old Dominion through environmental advocacy, education, science, policy, litigation, and restoration.
About
Today, CBF boasts offices in Richmond and Hamtpon Roads; field staff in the Shenandoah Valley, Charlottesville, and the Eastern shore; a mobile oyster restoration center in the Lynnhaven River; and six outdoor environmental education programs across the state, plus a student leadership program. Our efforts are focused on advocating for strong legislation to protect water quality, educating thousands of students and teachers a year about Bay issues, restoring oyster reefs and stream buffers, and lobbying for resources to help farmers and communities combat stormwater runoff and restore water quality.
We envision a Commonwealth where all have safe access to healthy streams, rivers, forests, and air and where people from all walks of life are empowered to work together to conserve and maintain a thriving economy and ecosystem.
Our Hampton Roads office in Virginia Beach is located in our state-of-the-art Brock Environmental Center, which is has both LEED Platinum designation and full certification as a Living Building™, the most advanced measure of sustainable building. As a Living Building™, the center is an international model for green-building techniques, materials, energy efficiency, water use, and landscaping.
You don’t have to travel far in Hampton Roads before you see water. The region is home to several rivers and numerous creeks which have shaped one of the largest natural harbors in the world. As a result, sustainable fisheries and sea level rise are important priorities to our Virginia team.
Learn more about CBF’s legislative priorities for Virginia’s General Assembly session.
For the latest on what we’re up to in Virginia, check the current issue of our Virginia newsletter, Headwaters, or our Hampton Roads newsletter, Tidelines.
Interested in volunteering for CBF? Check out our upcoming events and don’t forget Clean the Bay Day, coming up the first Saturday in May!
Visit our “Contact Us” page for addresses, phone numbers, and hours of operation.
Our Virginia Facilities
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Brock Environmental Center
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation built the Brock Environmental Center at Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to engage, inform, and inspire generations about the environment and how we can all help Save the Bay.
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The Macon and Joan Brock Classroom
Virginia Beach City Public Schools and CBF are partnering on a unique environmental science program for high school students at CBF's Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach. The program uses the Brock Center and its natural surroundings to broaden students' understanding of sustainability and the environment.
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CBF’s Mobile Oyster Restoration Center
CBF's cutting-edge vessel will change how we bring back the Chesapeake Bay's native oyster population.
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Port Isobel Island Environmental Education Center
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Port Isobel Island Environmental Education Center is located on a 250-acre island, referenced on nautical charts as East Point Marsh, east of Tangier Island, Virginia.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Classes on how to become a Chesapeake steward, opportunities to grow oysters and plant trees, summer Eco-Camps and Student Leadership Expeditions--there are countless ways to join the save the Bay movement!
View All Events and OpportunitiesExplore Our Virginia Programs
The Bay Advocacy Institute (BAI) offers college students the opportunity to delve into Chesapeake Bay topics, gain real-world skills in advocacy, and develop environmental solutions for their local community and beyond. CBF provides the expertise, training, and resources for this next generation of Chesapeake advocates to engage and inspire action on the issues that matter to them.
At CBF, we believe that the best way to experience the Chesapeake Bay watershed is to immerse yourself in it.
Adventure into the heart of the Chesapeake during a five-day environmental education summer camp designed for middle school students and hosted at a CBF island education center.
CBF's Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards, or VoiCeS, program engages local volunteers and their communities and fosters a deeper understanding of the Bay watershed and the efforts to restore it.
Join us to learn about the most pressing issues facing our watershed and communities.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation's summer courses provide teachers with outdoor learning experiences that are aligned with local school system standards. Courses are open to educators throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
CBF's Chesapeake Leaders are a group of passionate Bay supporters who are leading the fight for clean water and a healthy Bay watershed.
Clean Water Captains are Bay ambassadors who make a big difference in their communities. They share information with neighbors, congregations, schools, elected officials, and more about policy initiatives that help restore the Bay while helping to create practical and effective local clean-up plans.
The Hampton Roads program offers students a floating classroom to explore local waterways and deepen their knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay.
Bring the watershed to life as you engage your students with curriculum-based investigations on the James River Environmental Education Program.
Don't miss these opportunities to learn more about the importance of and challenges facing "the most important fish in the sea."
A multi-state program supporting farmers interested in grazing their livestock.
In support of re-establishing this keystone species, CBF has established facilities and programs in Maryland and Virginia devoted to restoration of the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica.
Port Isobel is a 250-acre island east of Tangier Island and is home to two of CBF's residential island education programs.
While aboard the workboat Bea Hayman Clark, students will test water quality, perform plankton studies, trawl for fish, and learn about the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.
CBF’s Chesapeake Classrooms and School Leaders Environmental Leadership programs offer high-quality professional learning through field experiences and environmental education training that meet the needs of teachers and schools across the watershed.
Find out about oyster shell recycling then get involved. Drop off your empty oyster shells, volunteer to pickup shells and deliver them to CBF, host a recycling pickup, or encourage your local seafood restaurant to participate.
Join CBF for a personal outdoor learning experience and collaborate with school leaders from your district and around the region.
Invite CBF staff to your next meeting to educate your members about Bay and water quality issues.
CBF offers students and teachers the opportunity to learn outside while studying the Bay, its rivers, and streams during one-day and multi-day outdoor environmental education field trips. Programs are offered in DC, MD, PA, and VA.
CBF's Student Leadership program connects, educates, and inspires the next generation of environmental stewards to become critical thinkers and environmental problem solvers by advancing advocacy, raising awareness, and taking action to Save the Bay.
Hike, fish, wade, and paddle in the most inspiring natural areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, all while learning how to be an effective advocate for the world around you!
Help rebuild the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population by becoming an oyster gardener. Grow oysters alongside your dock and then help CBF plant them on sanctuary reefs.
CBF's mobile canoe rig travels to Virginia rivers to help students probe the Bay's biologically diverse flat water and study local plants and wildlife.
Students and educators attending CBF's Virginia Rivers & Streams West Environmental Education Program will examine the relationship between human activities and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Do you enjoy working with others to help restore the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams? Whether growing oysters, planting trees, or helping in our offices, there are plenty of ways you can contribute.
