Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week celebrates restoration projects across the watershed

The seventh annual Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week will take place from June 4-12, 2022. While this week has been officially designated in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, events will take place throughout the entire watershed to raise awareness about this valuable economic and environmental resource—a national treasure that directly connects over 18 million residents.

In 2022, Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week will celebrate restoration projects that have taken place throughout the region. Celebratory events spanning the watershed from Virginia to New York can be found on the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Attend an Event calendar. Organizations may also submit their own events to be added to the calendar. Check out some of the notable activities that will be held during the nine-day celebration:

● Clean the Bay Day: Join the Chesapeake Bay Foundation on June 4 at a true Virginian tradition! This annual opportunity affords families, businesses and civic or church groups the chance to give back to local waterways by cleaning up shorelines.

● Lancaster Water Week: Celebrate the unique waterways of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and learn about its challenges and opportunities with events running from June 3 to June 12.

● Living Shoreline Restoration at Chesterwood Park: Join the National Aquarium on June 10 to plant native grasses at Chesterwood Park.

● Patuxent River Wade-In: Celebrate the legacy of Maryland State Senator Bernie Fowler on June 12 at the 35th Patuxent River Wade-In! Mr. Fowler started the “white sneaker” test as a means of checking water clarity.

This year’s theme highlights the many ways that communities, businesses, nonprofits and government agencies are working to restore the health of their local ecosystems. Each day will focus on different types of restoration including tree canopy, green infrastructure, oysters, freshwater mussels, wetlands, agricultural projects and stream restoration. Participating groups and individuals can promote their interests and offerings as well as how they rely on clean water over social media. To make it easier for these audiences to join in on the fun, the Chesapeake Bay Program has developed a social media tool kit that includes graphics, photos and sample social media posts for each of the nine days.

Follow #BayAwarenessWeek on social media during June 4-12 to join us in celebrating the incredible work being done to restore the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Quotes

“This Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, we are celebrating organizations and people who are coming together throughout the watershed to support restoration projects. From the forest buffers planted on farms to green infrastructure projects installed in urban areas and construction of oyster reefs in the Bay, restoration projects around the region play a critical role in keeping the Chesapeake healthy. Together with patience, persistence and our eyes focused on the future, we are moving closer toward the goal of a healthy and restored Bay, one person, one project and one community at a time.”

• Michelle Price-Fay, Acting Director, Chesapeake Bay Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

“While substantial work remains, there’s so much to celebrate about science and restoration in the Chesapeake Bay: The Chesapeake is home to the world’s largest oyster restoration effort. Students around the watershed graduate from high school environmentally literate. Thousands of miles of streams have been opened to support fish passage. Updates and information like this inspire us and motivate us to do more.”

• Sean Corson, Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chesapeake Bay Office

“National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways is thrilled to ring in 2022’s Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week and amplify the many communities, organizations, agencies and people that are working hard to restore, conserve, and share the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Restoration is for more than just nature’s sake; it is for all of us. The health benefits of clean air and water and spending time in nature is universal. We thank the many devoted and passionate people working every day to keep the Chesapeake a safe and healthy place for everyone.”

• Wendy O’Sullivan, Superintendent, National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office

“The Chesapeake Bay is central to Maryland’s history and cultural identity, and it is crucial to our state’s economy,” said Maryland Environment Secretary Horacio Tablada. “For Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, I urge everyone to participate in events and activities to increase awareness of the need to protect and restore this national treasure.”

• Horacio Tablata, Secretary, Department of the Environment, State of Maryland

"Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week is time to celebrate all we're doing for healthy waters in the watershed. When we work together to turn waters that are sluggish with sediment and fertilizer or orange with acid mine drainage into streams that are clear, brisk, and brimming with aquatic life, we restore both our natural resources today and our prospects for the future."

• Patrick McDonnell, Secretary, Department of Environmental Protection, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay look different across our landscape. From installing rain gardens in our urban areas, to farmer collaboration in our rural regions, our efforts need to work at many scales. Regionally, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay implements our boots on the ground efforts to meet the needs of the diverse landscapes and communities across the watershed. Restoring the Bay is not an overnight action, but requires each of the 19 million Chesapeake residents to do their part in restoring our vital rivers and streams.

• Kate Fritz, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

“Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week is the perfect time to recognize all the local community-based groups that have taken a meaningful role in restoring forests, streams, rivers, bays, wildlife and more in their own communities. Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of individuals that have come together across the Chesapeake region to make an impact. Healthy natural resources benefit everyone, so we encourage everyone to get involved and make a measurable difference.”

• Dr. Jana Davis, President, Chesapeake Bay Trust

“The Chesapeake Bay and its watershed allows millions of individuals, families and communities to enjoy its vast abundance of resources and recreational opportunities. At a time when we look to the outdoors for healing and rejuvenation, we know the Chesapeake Bay will provide for us. Chesapeake Conservancy is eager to celebrate another year of Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week and to highlight the many ways we can give back to our Bay through land conservation and restoration. Restoring the Chesapeake Bay isn’t an easy feat, but together we can do hard things and keep our Chesapeake Bay healthy and accessible for generations to come.”

• Joel Dunn, President & CEO, Chesapeake Conservancy

" I am glad we're taking this week to celebrate restoration successes in the Potomac & Bay watersheds, even as we plan for more to come: Installing resilient stormwater practices, addressing DC and Alexandria's combined sewer overflows, and increasing support Bay wide for agriculture conservation programs."

• Amy Jackson, Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee Chair, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

"From the Bay to my backyard on Maryland's Eastern Shore, I know my individual actions as well as my community's collective voice can affect the health and future of our waterways. By making river-friendly choices, we can all celebrate and conserve the swimmable, fishable and accessible waterways we cherish and depend on."

• Isabel Hardesty, Executive Director, ShoreRivers

"Through my time working to protect Virginia's environment, it is clear to me that Virginians value clean water. A healthy Chesapeake Bay is fundamental for the health of our communities, local economies, our forests, our farmland and outdoor recreation. As VCN and our Network partners look ahead towards our goals to meet the Chesapeake Bay’s pollution reduction deadline by 2025, Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week is a great time to step back and reflect on the progress we have made over the last few decades. We hope Virginia, along with the rest of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, join us to celebrate all the work and projects that have contributed to a thriving Bay!"

• Mary Rafferty, Executive Director, Virginia Conservation Network