SMCM Awarded Watershed Ed. Grant
Students experiment with dirt at an outdoor program funded by a previous year’s US EPA Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant approved through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Grants Gateway. (Maryland DNR photo)
St. Mary’s College of Maryland is one of two Maryland organizations that will receive support for education and stewardship programming to enhance environmental education in the state.
Outdoor education and stewardship funding is made possible from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant. Specific amounts will be contingent upon federal funding availability and approval.
The funding through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will help the college develop a multi-year, recurring curriculum in the Environment Students Department to introduce students to the causes of and potential solutions to ecological degradation, community resilience needs related to future conditions, and career skills and paths in ecological restoration and resource management.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore also received funding for a program to engage sixth-grade students, teachers, and college interns in learning about the watershed, aquatic species, and water quality testing. The program includes teacher-led, pre-field experience lessons, a field experience at the Aquarium, student data analysis, and student action projects.
DNR is now accepting applications for the next fiscal year through the department’s online Grants Gateway.
