Here's a sure sign of spring: a fleet of green Chesapeake Bay Foundation canoes filled with eager students, embarking on their first-ever experience on a Pennsylvania waterway.

 

Come March 30, CBF educators Tom Parke and Phillip McKnight will begin leading another season of hands-on environmental experiences for CBF's Susquehanna Watershed Education Program.

 

The program introduces middle and high schoolers to Pennsylvania's Susquehanna watershed and explains the connection between its creeks, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. Students test water quality, study maps, and gain a real-world perspective on how what we do on the land affects the health of our water.

 

Parke, now in his second season with SWEP, has credentials as a middle school science teacher as well as a degree in art education. He's looking forward to helping students learn as they explore. "I grew up in Hummelstown (Pennsylvania), pretty disconnected from the Bay, as many of my students are," he says. "I've always been really interested in the outdoors. What I like best about my job is passing on my enjoyment in being outside on to the kids."

 

"A lot of them aren't familiar at all with the outdoors. I've been a witness that students don't get outside and play as much as they once did. But I know from talking with their teachers that they love this program and what we do. They learn a lot and get a lot out of it."

 

McKnight, a veteran of several CBF education positions, brings a broad background in Bay-related issues to his duties at SWEP. Since graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in environmental studies, he's served at CBF's Smith Island and Claggett Farm study centers in Maryland.

 

Now, he'll be sharing that varied expertise with Pennsylvania students. "Topics like renewable energy and sustainable agriculture are new to a lot of our classes," says McKnight. "I hope I can fill them in on some of this information, as well as the ways that point sources like sewage treatment plants affect the water."

 

Last week, as part of their preparation for the season's launch, Parke and McKnight were scouting Swatara Creek, one of the program's paddling sites. It's one of many SWEP locations in the 2,200-square-mile Susquehanna watershed, which extends from Cambria County to Loch Haven and to Harrisburg and points south, and a popular choice for central Pennsylvania classes. "We're completely booked for spring, but some places on summer trips for teachers and students are still available," says Parke.

 

Find out more about school-year and summer education experiences for students and teachers at the CBF Education webpage.