Five ways volunteers can help protect the Chesapeake Bay

From planting a tree to monitoring pollution, a small amount of time can make a big difference

By Stephanie Smith |
Two women face the Chesapeake Bay, with one holding a trash bag and long trash grabber.
Volunteer opportunities range from picking up litter before it washes into waterways to planting trees that soak up pollution. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Two women use gloves to pick up trash on a street near boats at a dock.
Opportunities to help pick up litter peak in spring during Project Clean Stream, a program of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Above, Chesapeake Bay Program staffers Mindy Ehrich, left, and Melissa Merritt pick up litter during Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week in Annapolis, Md. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Two middle school students crouch around a small seedling they just planted.
Sixth grade students Anaya Ekongolo, left, and Abby Liggett from Old Middle School plant an American hornbeam tree along a recently restored stretch of Severn Run in Anne Arundel County, Md., on March 27, 2023. The field trip was part of the Chesapeake Connections environmental literacy program, led by staff from Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A group of high school students gather behind a teacher crouched and reaching into a slow-moving stream with sampling equipment.
Warwick High School teacher Doug Balmer demonstrates a water sampling technique for chemistry students on Lititz Run in Lititz, Pa., on May 1, 2015. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Two female volunteers crouch on a city street, focused on a small injured bird in one of their hands.
Wendy Crowe holds an injured swamp sparrow found lying on the ground while fellow volunteer Megan Johnson reports the find during a sunrise patrol on behalf of Lights Out Baltimore on April 14, 2022. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
An educator holds a deer antler while several students face him, reaching out to touch it near the shoreline of Middle River.
Living Classrooms educator Julian Whitley, left, lets fourth grade students from Federal Hill Preparatory School feel a deer antler during an outside activity at Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center in Baltimore, Md., on March 23, 2016. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

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