A recent Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) expedition which included the exploration of Port Isobel and Tangier’s Island opened up a Pandora’s Box to the principals in the Fairfax County Public Schools. The principals discovered a vast array of information that turned their lack of knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay into a new found passion.

Supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Geographic Society, CBF invited all local educators to participate in this professional development field experience. Learning activities included boating, hiking, fishing, sampling water quality, crabbing, canoeing, scraping, visiting local islands and conservation implementation.

“Most important, you will learn how the bay is connected to you and how what you do impacts your local water quality and ultimately the water quality, marine life, and local economics of the Chesapeake Bay,” said Cindy Duncan, instructor of the principal's course and CBF’s teacher professional development coordinator for Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“I am a changed woman,” said Maureen Boland of Haycock School, following the recent principals’ field experience. “It was probably some of the best professional development I’ve ever had.”

Don Hutzel, principal of Churchill Road School, said he was “collaborating with Haycock School and Principal Maureen Boland to develop a year-long service learning model, in which teachers and students will participate in purposeful learning activities that support the efforts to preserve the environment.”

James Baldwin of Centre Ridge School said that he is going to start an after school club. “Small, at first, but hopefully build on the interest of the children,” he said.

The Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Project is a "citizen science" initiative in which students investigate water quality issues on local and regional scales and collaborate with students across the Bay to analyze data and take action.

The project, still in development, is built on NG FieldScope, a new Web-based mapping, analysis and collaboration tool that engages students as citizen scientists investigating real-world issues. It is part of National Geographic’s effort to bring Web-based geospatial technologies to the classroom. With FieldScope, students are able to see their own experiences and water quality samples in the context of the larger Chesapeake Bay watershed and estuary ecosystems.

Dr. Evan Glazer, principal of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. attended CBF’s recent principals’ field experience and was hopeful to implement the Fieldscope into his curriculum.

“This will allow my students and others in their neighborhoods to contribute data to understand the variables affecting the conditions in the bay,” he said. “The students can analyze the data, identify problems areas and propose solutions to improve environmental conditions.” Glazer said that he “plans to work with teachers who went on other trips to gather their ideas, and then challenge the environmental and service groups at the school to initiate the next steps.”