Sultana Projects will partner with the National Geographic Society, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Maryland Geographic Alliance, and a select group of additional partners in seven states for a new educational initiative targeting teachers and students in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Known as theChesapeake Watershed Initiative, the two-year program will provide dynamic, geographic learning experiences and investigations of watershed concepts using real-time geospatial technology for up to 20,000 students and teachers.
The Maryland component of the Chesapeake Watershed Initiative is being overseen by the Maryland Geographic Alliance, a member of National Geographic’s Network of Alliances for Geographic Education, and Sultana Projects, Inc., a Chesapeake-based non-profit that specializes in educational field experiences. Core components of the Maryland Chesapeake Watershed Initiative include professional development seminars for teachers, student field experiences, instruction in the use of National Geographic’s FieldScope web-based GIS platform, and comprehensive coordination with the Maryland State Department of Education’s standards for environmental literacy. All Maryland schools and teachers are eligible to participate in the programs of the Maryland Chesapeake Watershed Initiative.
“The Chesapeake Watershed Initiative is an incredible opportunity for Maryland schools and teachers,” said Sultana Projects Vice President Chris Cerino who will be overseeing the initiative’s programs. “Thanks to support from NOAA, the initiative’s programs are affordable for almost any school.”
The Chesapeake Watershed Initiative will host its first Professional Development Programs for teachers this December with seminars in St. Michaels and Chestertown, followed by additional seminars in Baltimore and Solomons in February. Student Field Programs, including canoe and kayak-based wetlands explorations as well as specially designed educational trips on Sultana Projects’ schooner SULTANA will begin in April of 2013.
For additional information about the Maryland Chesapeake Watershed Initiative, including program descriptions, dates, and registration information, please visit: www.sultanaprojects.org/cwi
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