Upcoming Meetings

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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.

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Publications

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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