Chesapeake Watershed Semester

10/05/2026

We had a great time down in Wachapreague, VA at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Laboratory VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory for our Bay Science and Culture expedition!🔬⚓️🐡🦐Students spent two days out on the water taking water quality parameters, dredging + trawling for organisms and even taking some back to the lab to look at under the microscope!

Students also visited the Barrier Islands Center to learn about the coastal heritage, history, and ecology of Virginia’s Eastern Shore🌊

10/01/2026

🌊 Curious about the Chesapeake Watershed Semester? Join Director Mel Skirkanich on Thursday, October 15 from 7–8 PM on Zoom to learn more about the program, what to expect, and how you can get involved! We’d love to see you there! 🌿

P.S. can you identify the type of shrimp in the picture on the left?🦐

09/23/2026

CWS-8 students have composted 10 gallons of food from their orientation expedition‼️That food, when combined with carbon materials, water + oxygen, will turn into a nutrient-rich soil amendment🌱🪏which they plan to use this in Gunston’s garden beds come Spring☀️

09/15/2026

We had a great time hosting the one and only Kate Livie of This Old Shore and Center for Environment & Society for a visual journaling workshop📝Students learned various sketching techniques to utilize throughout their semester. Thursday begins the watercolor workshop, so stay tuned!🎨🖌️🖼️

09/13/2026

CWS-7 alum Maria Boone ‘27 and CWS Director Mel Skirkanich (Mrs. S) attended the CBF Education Oyster Gardening workshop at Unity Church Hill Nursery this past Saturday🦪🪏They built four cages, received 2 bags of baby oysters. and then deployed them off Molly Dock at The Gunston School to grow this school year!

Maria will take Environmental Club students down to the docks to monitor growth through out the year and to share her passion for this project. Stay tuned for more oyster updates!

09/10/2026

Yesterday we hosted Maryland DNR Chesapeake Bay Program Chesapeake Bay SAV Watchers, a volunteer-based, citizen science effort that makes up Tier II of the broader Chesapeake Bay-wide underwater grass monitoring program.

Students were engaged in the 5 hour long workshop, learning all about SAV (submerged aquatic vegetation) & students became certified level 2 SAV Watchers‼️We even had the pleasure of being the program’s first high school student group!

Yesterday was just Part 1 of the workshop. Today we will go out on our kayaks and practice identifying in the wild🌱📝 Stay tuned!

Special thanks to Maryland DNR Natural Resource Biologist Erika and Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps member Erin for being our educators today📚🍎

08/24/2026

CWS-8 had a✨GREAT✨start to the semester camping in📍Shenandoah National Park🏕️

Students rafting down the Shenandoah River🛶chased waterfalls and sunsets🌊🌅and explored Luray Caverns📸They even hiked on part of the Appalachian Trail🥾

Couldn’t have asked for a better week☀️

08/18/2026

The 8th cohort of the Chesapeake Watershed Semester has officially begun! Students started the day meal planning, then headed off to Acme to grocery shop for the week🛒🍔🌭🌮🥗🥪The group then prepped some gear before heading over to Sultana Education Foundation for a great introduction to the Chesapeake🗺️📍🛶🐟🐢🦪

Special shout out to CWS committee member and VP of Sultana, Chris Cerino Chris & Michelle Cerino for a great program!👏🏻

Tomorrow the group heads off on their orientation expedition🏕️🥾☀️Stay tuned!

08/01/2026

04/01/2026

Mrs. S is hosting an information session for 9th grade students + families who might be interested in CWS💻🦪🥾📚While students don’t dive into this immersive program until their junior or senior year, the path to the watershed starts now‼️

Whether your student is a budding scientist🔬an outdoor enthusiast🏕️or just looking for a unique way to learn,l📝we encourage you to attend. We look forward to sharing how CWS can transform your student’s high school journey!

Click the 🔗 in our bio to register or email Mrs. S at [email protected]