TEACHING RESOURCES | OUTREACH & FIELD TRIPS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | INSTITUTIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

TEACHING RESOURCES

A Commonwealth of Knowledge
Virginia's site for educators includes lesson plans, SOLS, and resource links.

Virginia Naturally
Virginia Naturally provides a gateway to statewide environmental education resources including information about volunteer opportunities, educational classes, places to visit, community events, watershed maps, lesson plans, and recreational activities, to name a few.

Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide
The Natural Resources Education Guide provides information on environmental education resources in Virginia. More than 300 educational resources are listed.

Virginia's Water Resources: A Tool for Teachers
This online book is full of information and activities for teachers to support interdisciplinary and problem-based teaching about watersheds, water quality, stewardship, and management issues. It is correlated to Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL), and supports the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement's goal to "provide a meaningful Bay or stream outdoor experience for every school student in the watershed before graduation from high school." Grades 3-10.

Lessons from the Bay
The purpose of Lessons from the Bay is to help Virginia school teachers of grades 3 through 6 incorporate into their classrooms a variety of activities and projects related to protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay watershed.To accomplish this purpose, Lessons from the Bay offers five sections of instructional resources including 16 watershed lesson plans. Although the materials were designed for VA teachers, all Bay watershed teachers should find them useful. Grades 3-6.

Your Backyard Classrooms
Virginia state parks field activities. Grades K-12.

Invasion of an Exotic Species: Stop the Zebra Mussel!
The zebra mussel is an exotic freshwater mollusk from Europe which was accidentally introduced into the United States in the Great Lakes area in 1985 or 1986. The mussels reproduce rapidly in suitable habitats and have created serious environmental and economic problems in many parts of the country. Zebra mussels are now present in the Chesapeake Bay-take part in this interactive game to determine where they will spread next! Grades 8-12.

Virginia's Watersheds - An Internet Webquest
By completing this WebQuest, your students will learn about Virginia's watersheds and the smaller bodies of water that are part of the Virginia watersheds. Grades 7-12.

Love-A-Tree Teacher Index
This interactive site includes several elementary-level lesson plans. Click on "Teacher Activity Guide."

OUTREACH & FIELD TRIPS

Your Backyard Classrooms
Virginia state parks field activities. Grades K-12.

Assateague Island National Seashore
Background information about the Island and its natural resources is covered on this page.

Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR)
FOR promotes the conservation, protection, and enjoyment of the natural, cultural, recreational, scenic and historical values of the Rappahannock River and its tributaries. Learn more about stewardship and field trip opportunities on this site.

Virginia Field Trip Sites for Marine and Aquatic Education
Virginia offers many excellent field experiences for learning about the Chesapeake Bay and the Commonwealth's water resources. This page's listing contains only a few of many sites.

Virginia Save Our Streams Program
Virginia Save Our Streams (VA SOS) Program is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that works with community groups, regional organizations, and government agencies in partnerships that promote the health of Virginia's waterways. Activities include macroinvertebrate monitoring and stream restoration.

Blue Crab Bowl
At the Blue Crab Bowl, some of Virginia's best science students match wits for Virginia's oceanic knowledge championship. Learn more about this academic bowl, and how you can participate.

Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts Educational Programs (VASWCD)
The VASWCD develops and disseminates educational materials to assist the 47 local Soil and Water Conservation Districts with their missions. The VASWCD has 3 major education programs: Envirothon, Youth Conservation Camp and Natural Resource Conservation Week.

Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department
Describes VA legislation and regulations in regard to the Chesapeake Bay

Virginia's Chesapeake Bay & Tributary Strategies Program
Learn more about tributary strategies from the Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
the Virginia DCR conserves, protects, enhances, and advocates the wise use of the Commonwealth's unique natural, historic, recreational, scenic and cultural resources. Information about state parks, land conservation, recreation planning, natural heritage, and soil and water conservation can be found here.

Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve School Programs
CBNERRVA staff provide a variety of educator professional development workshops. Current workshop topics include Estuarine Aquarium Keeping, Water Quality and York River Habitats.

CBNERRVA Special Events
Learn about summer programs for teachers and students offered by the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia.

Mariner's Museum
The Mariners' Museum, one of the largest international maritime museums in the world, is dedicated to "illuminating mankind's experience with the sea and the events that shaped the course and progress of civilization."

Nauticus
NAUTICUS, The National Maritime Center is located on the downtown waterfront in Norfolk, Virginia. Home to the Battleship Wisconsin, Nauticus is an exciting 120,000 square-foot science and technology center exploring the power of the sea.

Virginia Living Museum
If you're wild about wildlife, the Virginia Living Museum is the place to go. When you look at exhibits in this museum, they look back at you! From bobcats to horseshoe crabs this indoor/outdoor attraction is a wild unforgettable encounter for all ages, and its ideally located between Williamsburg and Virginia Beach.

Virginia Marine Science Museum
Virginia's marine environment is represented at this aquarium through: 800,000 gallons of aquariums, live animal habitats, more than 300 hands-on exhibits,1/3-mile nature trail, ½-acre aviary, and "Larger that life" movies on an IMAX movie screen (8 stories x 6 stories).

Under the Sea
Under the Sea offers K-12 outreach programs about the Bay. This site has information on the
programs, as well as pictures of many of the bay inhabitants that are brought.

Mattaponi Canoe & Kayak Environmental Education
Mattaponi Canoe & Kayak is pleased to provide water-based environmental education opportunities, both for old and young alike. Topics range from water quality testing and river ecology to the rich Colonial and Native American history found in our region.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Virginia Classroom Grants
A new grants program, funded by The Virginia Environmental Endowment, Smithfield Foods, Inc. and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation will provide teachers with small amounts of money for environmental education. Any school or school division is encouraged to apply for a grant of $500, $750 or $1,000 for the purpose of conducting meaningful outdoor experiences with their students.

Virginia Resource Use Education Council
The VRUEC brings together state and federal agencies to benefit the educators and students of Virginia.

Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee
Ever wondered where the money from the specialty license plates ends up? Since 1992, revenues from the Chesapeake Bay preservation plate have been deposited into the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund. The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee advises the General Assembly on the expenditure of moneys received in the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund.

CBNERRVA Special Events
Learn about summer programs for teachers and students offered by the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia.

Virginia Association of Science Teachers
The Virginia Association of Science Teachers is a comprehensive professional organization dedicated to the nurturing and advancement of superior science education.

Virginia Department of Education
Learn about standards, professional development opportunities, new lesson plans, administrative contacts, and educational news here.

Science Museum of Virginia - Teacher Resources
The Science Museum of Virginia, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia's historic Broad Street Station at 2500 West Broad St., Richmond, VA 23220. The Museum is dedicated to improving the science literacy of all Virginians. Learn more about professional development opportunities and special programs on this page.

INSTITUTIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Chesapeake Bay Program
The Chesapeake Bay Program is a multi-governmental, interstate, cooperative partnership that includes the states of Virginia; Pennsylvania; Maryland; Washington, D.C.; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representing the federal government.

Virginia Sea Grant
Virginia Sea Grant, with its partner organizations and agencies, is committed to innovative approaches in better managing the Commonwealth's marine resources.

College of William & Mary/Virginia Institute of Marine Science
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of the College of William & Mary is the largest marine science research institute in the nation focused on coastal and estuarine studies. The Institute has a special state mandate to engage in research, education and advisory services in marine science for the Commonwealth.

Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the United States Navy and Marine Corps through schools, universities, government laboratories, and nonprofit and for-profit organizations. It provides technical advice to the Chief of Naval Operations and the Secretary of the Navy and works with industry to improve technology manufacturing processes.

Old Dominion University Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
The Department of Ocean, Earth, & Atmospheric Sciences acquires and disseminates knowledge of the earth system, including the relationships among the biological, chemical, geological and physical components of our planet.

Chesapeake Bay Commission
The Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) is a tri-state legislative commission created in 1980 to advise the members of the General Assemblies of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania on matters of Bay-wide concern.