Education Workgroup

Upcoming Meetings

‍View Past Meetings View Group Calendar‍

Scope and Purpose

The goal of the Education Workgroup is to have every student in the region graduate environmentally literate having participated in meaningful watershed educational experiences in elementary, middle, and high school that were supported by teachers who have received professional development in environmental education and schools that are models of environmental sustainability. The Education Workgroup provides a forum for cross-jurisdictional coordination and support on all aspects of environmental education with an emphasis on:

  • Increasing Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE) and other place-based, outdoor education
  • Supporting training for teachers and environmental education professionals in content, pedagogy, and outdoor-learning techniques related to environmental topics
  • Encouraging green infrastructure and operations on school grounds
  • Supporting federal, state, and regional environmental literacy planning, including providing an ongoing forum to collaborate on the goals and objectives of the federal Executive Order and the nonprofit community Regional Roundtable.

The Education Workgroup is tasked with evaluating and recommending policies related to PK-12 bay education, maintaining the Bay Backpack website, and tracking state implementation of the MWEE in elementary, middle, and high school. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office also convenes a biennial Environmental Literacy Summit on behalf of the Workgroup to advance environmental literacy activities in the region.

Projects and Resources

Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT)

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT) was developed to monitor the capaciy and progress of public school distrcits toward meeting the Environmental Literacy Goal in the 2014 Watershed Agreement. The ELIT monitoris school districts' progress toward the Student, Sustainable Schools, and Environmental Literacy Planning Outcomes, collecteing data within four topics:

  • School district preparedness to implement a comprehensive and systemic approach to environmental literacy education;
  • Student participation in MWEEs during the school year;
  • Systainability practices at schools;
  • School district needs to support further improvements in environmental literacy education.

The ELIT is administered biennially to all local education agencies (LEAs) in six jurisdictions: the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Environmental Literacy Summit

The mid-Atlantic region is leading the nation in implementing sound policy that ensures our students will graduate environmentally literate citizens. To advance environmental literacy in the region, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office convenes a biennial Environmental Literacy Summit on behalf of the Workgroup. These summits provide an important forum for dialogue, collaboration, and coordination between federal, state, and non-governmental leaders about the future of equitable environmental education in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Environmental Literacy Forum

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office hosts training forums to build the skills of educators to plan and implement Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) and sustainable school programming at the classroom or school district level. This allows educators to better understand, advocate for, and deliver these important programs that contribute to the Environmental Literacy outcomes of the watershed agreement.

Publications

View All‍

Related Links

Bay Backpack

The Education Workgroup's teacher resource website is THE source for Chesapeake Bay and environmental education resources, lesson plans, field studies, trainings, and funding information

Visit link‍

Watershed Agreement

Members
Shannon Sprague (Chair), Education Workgroup Coordinator, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Address:
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  shannon.sprague@NOAA.GOV
Phone:  (410) 267-5664
Tom Ackerman (Chair), Vice President for Education, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Address:
Philip Merrill Environmental Center
6 Herndon Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21403

Email:  TAckerman@savethebay.cbf.org
Elise Trelegan (Coordinator), Chesapeake B-WET Program Coordinator, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Address:
904 South Morris St.
Oxford, Maryland 21654

Email:  elise.trelegan@noaa.gov
Jimmy Looper (Staffer), Stewardship Goal Implementation Team Staffer, Chesapeake Research Consortium
Address:
1750 Forest Drive Suite 130
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  looperj@chesapeake.org
Angel Burns, Chief of Interpretation, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Address:
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware 19901

Email:  Angel.Burns@delaware.gov
Anne Petersen, Science Coordinator, Virginia Department of Education
Address:
James Monroe Bldg, 101 N 14th St
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Email:  Anne.petersen@doe.virginia.gov
Ariel Trahan, Director of River Restoration Programs, Anacostia Watershed Society
Address:
The George Washington House
4302 Baltimore Avenue
Bladensburg, Maryland 20710

Email:  atrahan@anacostiaws.org
Phone:  (301) 699-6204 x113
Barbara McGuinness, Environmental Literacy Coordinator, U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
Address:
Northern Research Station
PO Box 267
Irvine, Pennsylvania 16329

Email:  barbara.j.mcguinness@usda.gov
Phone:  (814) 563-1040
Betsy Ukeritis, Inter-Regional Environmental Educator, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Address:
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233

Email:  Betsy.ukeritis@dec.ny.gov
Brittany Omoleye-Hall, Education Coordinator, National Park Service (NPS)
Address:
National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay
410 Severn Avenue, Suite 314
Annapolis, Maryland 21403

Email:  brittany_omoleye-hall@nps.gov
Bruce Lesh, Director of Social Studies, Science and Disciplinary Literacy, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
Address:
200 West Baltimore Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-2595

Email:  bruce.lesh@maryland.gov
Candace Lutzow-Felling, Director of Education, University of Virginia
Address:
Blandy Experimental Farm
400 Blandy Farm Lane
Boyce, Virginia 22620

Email:  lutzow-felling@virginia.edu
Cassie Doty, Education Coordinator, UMCES Appalachian Laboratory
Address:
301 Braddock Road
Frostburg, Maryland 21532-2307

Email:  cdoty@al.umces.edu
Christen Miller, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Address:
600 East Main Street, 24th Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Email:  Christen.Miller@dcr.virginia.gov
Christopher Kemmerer, Education & Interpretation Section, Chief, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR)
Address:
P.O. Box 8551
Bureau of State Parks
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105

Email:  chkemmerer@pa.gov
Coreen Weilminster, Education Coordinator, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR) - Maryland
Address:
Tawes State Office Building
580 Taylor Avenue, E-2
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  coreen.weilminster@maryland.gov
Phone:  (410) 260-8744
David Christopher, Marine Education Specialist, Delaware Sea Grant
Address:
700 Pilottown Rd
Lewes, Delaware 19958

Email:  dmchrist@udel.edu
David Pragoff, School & Group Programs Team Leader, Delaware Nature Society
Address:
3511 Barley Mill Rd
Hockessin, Delaware 19707

Email:  davidp@delnature.org
Elise Trelegan, Chesapeake B-WET Program Coordinator, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Address:
904 South Morris St.
Oxford, Maryland 21654

Email:  elise.trelegan@noaa.gov
Erin Sullivan, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 3
Address:
1650 Arch Street (3RA10)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103

Email:  Sullivan.ErinC@epa.gov
Frank Rodgers, Executive Director, Cacapon Institute
Address:
Cacapon Institute
10 Rock Ford Rd
Great Cacapon, West Virginia 25422

Email:  frodgers@cacaponinstitute.org
Gilbert Myers, Environmental Education Specialist Program Supervisor, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Address:
Rachel Carson State Office Building
400 Market St.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101

Email:  gimyers@pa.gov
Grace Manubay, Environmental Literacy Coordinator, DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Address:
1050 First St NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20002

Email:  grace.manubay@DC.GOV
Jemima Clark, Education Program Manager, Washington College
Address:
485 S. Cross Street
Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall
Chestertown, Maryland 21620

Email:  jclark5@washcoll.edu
Kacey Wetzel, Director of Programs for Outreach & Education, Chesapeake Bay Trust
Address:
108 Severn Ave.
Annaoplis, Maryland 21403

Email:  kwetzel@cbtrust.org
Karen Mullin, Director of Professional Learning Team, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Address:
Philip Merrill Environmental Center
6 Herndon Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21403 D, Maryland 21403

Email:  KMullin@cbf.org
Kirsten Jackson, Environmental Literacy Specialist, Science, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
Address:
200 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Email:  kirsten.jackson1@maryland.gov
Laura Johnson Collard, Executive Director, Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE)
Address:
3430 2nd Street
Suite 300
Baltimore, Maryland 21225

Email:  director@MAEOE.org
Phone:  (410) 777-9530 x162
Mark Scallion, Center Director, Pickering Creek Audubon Center
Address:
11450 Audubon Ln
Easton, Maryland 21601

Email:  Mark.Scallion@audubon.org
Melani Loney, Program Manager, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Education Initiatives, Old Dominion University (ODU)
Address:
Center for Environmental Partnerships
4111 Monarch Way, Suite 406
Norfolk, Virginia 23508

Email:  mloney@odu.edu
Patricia Doan, Environmental Program Specialist, District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Address:
1200 First Street NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20002

Email:  patricia.doan@dc.gov
Sarah Brzezinski, Outreach Coordinator, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Address:
Post Office Box 38
146 Williams Street
Solomons, Maryland 20688

Email:  brzezins@umces.edu
Sarah McGuire, Education Coordinator, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR) - Virginia
Address:
Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Virginia Institute of Marine Science
PO Box 1346
Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062

Email:  mcguire@vims.edu
Phone:  (804) 684-7878
Steve Kerlin, Director of Education, Stroud Water Research Center
Address:
970 Spencer Road
Avondale, Pennsylvania 19311-9514

Email:  skerlin@stroudcenter.org
Susan Cox, Conservation Education Coordinator, U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
Address:
271 Mast Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824

Email:  susan.m.cox@usda.gov
Phone:  (603) 868-7706
Tamara Peffer, Environment & Ecology Content Advisor, Pennsylvania Department of Education
Address:
333 Market Street | 5th Floor
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17010

Email:  tpeffer@pa.gov
Tara Drennan, Senior Program Officer, Chesapeake Bay Trust
Address:
108 Severn Ave
Annapolis, Maryland 21403

Email:  tdrennan@cbtrust.org
Vicki Fenwick-Judy, Executive Director, Experience Learning, Inc.
Address:
18 Woodlands Way
Circleville, West Virginia 26804

Email:  vfenwick@experience-learning.org
Vince Meldrum, President and CEO, Earth Force
Address:
135 Park Ave West
Denver, Colorado 80205

Email:  vmeldrum@earthforce.org
Tonyea Mead, Science Education Associate, Delaware Department of Education
Address:
Delaware Dept. of Education
401 Federal Street, Suite 2
Dover, Delaware 19901

Email:  tonyea.mead@doe.k12.de.us
Susan Parker, Youth Environmental Program, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Address:
22288 Northwestern Pike
Romney, West Virginia 26757

Email:  Susan.J.Parker@wv.gov
Judd Pittman, Special Consultant to the Secretary of Education for STEM, Pennsylvania Department of Education
Address:
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17126

Email:  c-jpittman@pa.gov
Victoria Lusk, Education & Outreach Coordinator, Cacapon Institute
Address:
10 Rockford Rd
Great Cacapon, West Virginia 25422

Email:  vlusk@cacaponinstitute.org
Trystan Sill, Resiliency Education Coordinator, Center for Conservation Education and Stewardship, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Address:
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Email:  trystan.sill@maryland.gov
Phone:  (410) 260-8827
Ellen Powell, Virginia Department of Forestry
Address:
900 Natural Resources Drive
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903

Email:  ellen.powell@dof.virginia.gov
Pri Ekanayake, Environmental Education Specialist, District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
Address:
1200 First Street NE
5th Floor
Washington, District of Columbia 20002

Email:  pri.ekanayake@dc.gov