Bringing the Bay to your backyard

From the shining headwaters of the Susquehanna River in New York to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay watershed spans more than 64,000 square miles and touches six states and the entire District of Columbia. Home to over 18 million residents and tens of millions of plants and animals, the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure. 

Every year, we celebrate the world’s third largest estuary in a week-long celebration known as Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week. First founded by the Chesapeake Bay Commission in 2016, this event encourages inhabitants and fans of the Chesapeake Bay to explore, learn and appreciate all there is about the Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay and its watershed may be wide-ranging but there are common connections that link all residents and visitors of the watershed. This year’s theme, “Bay in Your Backyard,” celebrates local streams, parks, gardens and other community connections that might be far from the Bay but are still connected to the larger watershed.  From June 7 to 15, we’ll be highlighting the aspects and features of the Bay that can be found in our backyards and communities. 

For this year’s Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, we asked staff and partners of the Chesapeake Bay Program to share their local connection to the Chesapeake Bay. Though the watershed may stretch for thousands of miles, we’re all interconnected.

Native gardening in Lancaster, PA

Adam Miller, Communications Director, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

My family and I have planted several native gardens at our home in York County, Pennsylvania. The gardens include river birch, ninebark, arrowwood viburnum, black chokeberry, purple coneflowers, splitleaf coneflowers, beardtongue, bleeding hearts, among others. Since installing the native plants, we have noticed a big difference in the bird and pollinator species around our home who visit the plants for nectar, pollen, food and shelter. We also installed rain barrels at each downspout, which feed the gardens with rainwater. One of our rain barrels is even hand-painted with a brook trout pattern. It’s been gratifying to use the gardens and rain barrels to educate our children, neighbors and people walking the street about where the water in our neighborhood flows, along with the importance of doing our part to create clean water for our streams and habitat for wildlife. 

Taking care of local rivers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore

Bethany Ziegler, Director of Communications, ShoreRivers

ShoreRivers' whole focus is on the rivers and creeks of Maryland's Eastern Shore—and the communities that live, work and recreate on them. Our riverkeepers regularly patrol these rivers and tributaries, advocate for strong clean water laws, educate our communities and serve as guardians for these living resources. We also work with homeowners, farmers, students and more who want to do their part to protect them on a local level. We know that no one can do everything to improve the health of our rivers, but we also believe that everyone can do something! Whether that's planting a tree in your yard, hanging an oyster cage off your dock, or installing a multi-acre project to keep nitrogen and phosphorus  out of our waterways—every bit makes a difference.

Strolling the Fort McHenry seawall

Kathy Stecker, Natural Resources Planner, Maryland Department of the Environment

Taking a stroll on the Fort McHenry seawall trail. The cherry blossoms and Patapsco River are Fort McHenry's backyard! Events like the Harbor Splash highlight improvements in the quality of this very urban river.

Having fun in the classroom

Kerri Barnes, Teacher, Greencastle-Antrim School District, Franklin County, Pennsylvania

The stream is a classroom! We had students walk the stream with us before, during and after the [restoration] project. One of them even changed their major! If you’re a teacher and you want to do something like this, network with the conservation specialists and involve the kids. They are residents and you want to show them how to use their resources for the future. 

Collecting shark teeth

Michael Augustin, Communications & Outreach Specialist, Chesapeake Conservancy

I have a collection of shark teeth on my desk that I’ve collected over the years while visiting the local beaches along the Chesapeake Bay. Though I may not live by the Bay anymore, these fossils remind me of my personal connections and history.

Do you have a local connection to the Bay or the outdoors in general? Let us know in the comments!