Environmental Education Programs
The Environmental Education Program is an excellent example of an effective, long-term partnership between educators, parents, and the local and state government. The goal of the program is to offer a dynamic field-oriented, hands-on environmental study program that is interdisciplinary in nature, sequentially developed, and available to all students.
The role of authentic field experiences in the enhancement of learning is significant. St. Mary’s County Public Schools, through its environmental education programs, realizes this importance and provides three sites for implementing the field study program.
The Elms Environmental Education Center located on the Chesapeake Bay, provides access to streams, forests, wetlands and the Chesapeake Bay shoreline. The Environmental Education Program in partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners has provided this study site for students for over twenty-five years.
Historic Sotterley Plantation, located on the Patuxent River, has been used by the St. Mary’s County Public Schools for over twenty years. It provides the background for historic presentations on man’s history on the waterways and magnificent gardens for the student garden program.
The Piney Point Aquaculture Center, located on the Potomac River, provides students with the opportunity to learn about the aquaculture programs of The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and experience a trip aboard the skipjack from the Chesapeake Bay Field Lab.
Every student, kindergarten through seventh grade, has the opportunity to participate in a sequentially developed environmental education program each year. In addition, programs for the eighth through twelfth grades are available using all three sites. There are currently approximately 10,000 student visits annually to environmental sites. This expansion is a clear indication of a successful and evolving partnership between schools, community, and county government.
For additional information, please contact:
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
P.O. Box 641
23160 Moakley Street
Leonardtown, Maryland 20650
301-475-5511
Margarita Rochow, Coordinator of Environmental Education Programs