Department Awards Funding for Stream Education and Study

Engages Students in the Health of the Chesapeake Bay and Local Waterways

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources today awarded $200,000 to four nonprofit organizations dedicated to engaging students in monitoring, studying and restoring local streams and waterways.

The four Explore and Restore Maryland Streams funding recipients will work with seven different counties, reaching over 7,000 students and 120 teachers at more than 50 schools throughout the state. The recipients are:

• Eastern Shore Land Conservancy’s Sassafras Environmental Education Center working with Kent County Middle School
• Howard County Conservancy in partnership with Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Worcester counties
• Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy providing programs for Dorchester and Talbot counties
• Otter Point Creek Alliance working with Harford County Public Schools

“This program engages the next generation of environmental stewards – our students – with their local streams and waterways, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay,” Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said. “The awards help to get teachers and their students outdoors, applying conservation skills and science in the real world.”

Funding was made available through the Environmental Protection Agency Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grants, which provide resources for programs that improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.