Cardin/Sarbanes Announce New Environmental Education Funding for Chesapeake Bay Foundation/Living Classrooms

Monday May 10, 2004
 ANNAPOLIS – U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes today presented the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and Living Classroom Foundation (LCF) each with checks for $173,967.50 to provide hands-on environmental learning experiences for school-age children while improving their overall academic performance. Rep. Cardin and Sen. Sarbanes were instrumental in getting congressional funding for the program through the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for Improvement of Education.

"The Chesapeake Bay and our environment are gifts that must be nurtured and preserved. We can only accomplish that if we provide children with the understanding and knowledge of what it means to protect our natural resources. Through Department of Education funding and other sources, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Living Classrooms have been able to create model programs for educational instruction that are among the best in the nation," said Rep. Cardin.

"Teaching the A-B-C's of environmental stewardship will help us in our efforts to restore the B-A-Y," added Sen. Sarbanes. "Our future depends upon our ability to use the Bay's resources in a sustainable manner. Through environmental education and training programs in our schools, we are teaching the next generation the importance of protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its valuable resources."

Rep. Cardin and Sen. Sarbanes joined 5th grade students from Germantown Elementary School in Annapolis in a seining exercise on the beach in front of the CBF’s Philip Merrill Environmental Center. The Congressman and Senator waded into the water with the students and helped them drag a 20-foot net through the Bay to capture plants and animals for scientific evaluation.

"The Congressman and Senator have consistently advocated for federal funding for bay-saving programs. These funds will help CBF reach even more students and teachers, particularly in schools that often cannot participate due to budgetary constraints," said CBF President William C. Baker.

"Living Classrooms Foundation is very grateful to our congressional representatives for their leadership in securing funding to support hands-on environmental education programs serving at-risk youth. This support will help the next generation to actively understand and take part in preserving the Bay, while at the same time improving their academics," said James Piper Bond, president of the Living Classrooms Foundation.

The approximately $350,000 from the Fund for Improvement of Education will enable the CBF and LCF to provide meaningful environmental field experience to approximately 45 schools, 175 teachers and 21,750 students. The one-year funding will help develop standards-based curricula, teacher professional development, student field experiences and community service opportunities.

                                                                ##