Historic Chesapeake Watershed Agreement Encourages Environmental Literacy Progress
The governors of six states in the Chesapeake Bay region, along with the mayor of DC, and EPA administrator Gina McCarthy converged in Annapolis earlier this week to sign into place the newest edition of the Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. The multi-faceted Agreement incorporates ten diverse goals that aim to restore the health of the Bay, engage and develop an educated citizenry, and prepare for the environmental ramifications of climate change.
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley identified environmental literacy as one of the “critical emerging issues” that the Agreement will confront with the goal of enabling every student in the Chesapeake Bay region to graduate with the knowledge and skills to act responsibly to protect and restore their local watershed. The Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education’s programs will directly contribute to accomplishing the region-wide environmental literacy goals established in this Agreement.
In addition to water quality and land use conservation efforts, the Agreement mandates that students must participate in one meaningful watershed educational experience at every stage; elementary, middle, and high school. Students will also receive related rigorous, inquiry-based instruction. The Agreement encourages the involved states to “continually increase the number of schools in the region that reduce the impact of their buildings and grounds on their local watershed, environment and human health through best practices, including student-led protection and restoration projects.” According to the Agreement, participating states should adopt a comprehensive and systemic approach to environmental literacy that includes policies, practices, and voluntary metrics.
MAEOE is a part of the Chesapeake Watershed Agreement’s Education Workgroup that was formed to develop the environmental literacy components of the Agreement and monitor state implementation of meaningful watershed educational experiences.
The state of Maryland has already made significant progress towards meeting the environmental literacy requirements of the new Agreement. In 2011, Maryland became the first state in the nation to approve an environmental literacy graduation requirement, ensuring that all students will become informed stewards of the earth by the time they graduate high school.
MAEOE’s Maryland Green Schools program provides a strong foundation for the state’s future efforts to meet the obligations of this year’s Chesapeake Watershed Agreement. The program requires schools to demonstrate and document a continuous effort o integrate sustainable practices, environmental education curriculum, professional development opportunities, and community engagement into their daily operations. Currently, 468 schools are enrolled in the program. The Maryland Green Schools program serves as a model for other states as they strive to reduce the impact of their schools’ building and grounds on the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
MAEOE’s annual conference is the largest state-wide environmental education conference in the country. It offers environmental educators, classroom teachers, and conservation professionals the opportunity to network, collaborate, and share resources that will help students, teachers, and schools achieve the environmental literacy goals laid out in the new Chesapeake Watershed Agreement.
To read more about the other goals of the Agreement, click here. To read the Agreement in its entirety, click here.