Voyage 1
Around the Chesapeake — A Sense of Place and History
This 9-10 day trip will provide an orientation to the geography, physical characteristics and history of the Chesapeake. In a clock-wise circuit starting in Chestertown, the trip will run down the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Charles, stopping there to explore the formation of the Bay, sea level rise, and the prehistory of the region. En route to Williamsburg, the itinerary includes a stop in Newport News, Virginia to visit the Mariners Museum and in Gloucester at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Using Williamsburg as a home base for several days, students will explore the new discoveries at Jamestown, spend time behind the scenes in Colonial Williamsburg, visit a Tidewater plantation and explore the 17th and 18th century history of the area. En route to southern Maryland, the group will spend a day in Richmond on the geological fall line and head of tidal navigation, bringing the history exploration up to the Civil War. Maryland's early history will be explored at Historic St. Mary's City and Londontown, with a stop to investigate paleontology at Calvert Cliffs. From the reconstructed 17th C. town of Londontown on the South River, the class will move to Annapolis and then to the head of the Bay at Havre de Grace. In addition to visiting several museums that provide an interesting contrast to the Tidewater of Virginia, students will explore the Susquehanna Flats on the historic skipjack Martha Lewis before returning to Chestertown.
Voyage 2
Ridge to Ocean
From the mountains of West Virginia to the coastal bays of the Atlantic shoreline, this ecology-themed trip will spend 9-10 days crossing a series of contrasting environments. Beginning at the Freshwater Institute in Shepherdstown, WV, the class will examine the upper elevations of the watershed, using the stream ecology and aquaculture programs of Freshwater Institute as a focal point. Deep geological exposures at Sideling Hill will provide an opportunity to investigate geological history on the way to Green Ridge State Forest and the headwaters of the Potomac. A canoe trip down the Shenandoah will allow a slower-paced look at the ecology of a river valley. Moving east, the class will stop at the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant before returning to Chestertown for a night. The trip will resume with tours of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (kayaking in the marsh, exploring sea level rise and invasive species), the Horn Point Marine Laboratory (marine science and oyster recovery program) and Vienna (a town that has successfully envisioned its future and planned for development pressures). The trip will end on the Atlantic shore, examining coastal bays and dune formation, development pressures, and sea level rise. On the last full day of the voyage, students will join Washington College faculty and staff at the annual Chincoteague Oyster Festival.
Voyage 3
Issues & Management — Fisheries, Agriculture, Development & Policy
This itinerary is a collection of short trips, some for a day and others overnight. The objective is to explore some of the major environmental and political issues in the Chesapeake and examine the ways in which policy is made and succeeds or fails. The first component examines the Bay's fisheries, with a trip to Crisfield (once a major packing house center and now a focus for condo development), Smith Island (a traditional watermen's community faced by threats from rising sea level, shrinking fishery stocks, and a shifting economy), and Reedville, VA, home to Omega Protein (a menhaden fishing plant) and the winter crab dredging fleet. In addition, students will go to work with a waterman, talk with representatives of the Watermen's Association, and explore a contrasting point of view from sport fishermen. Farming and the threats to a working landscape will be explored with visits to six different kinds of farms, including a large grain operation and a small truck farm; an intensive, 24/7 dairy operation and a small grass fed dairy farm; and a community supported agriculture (CSA) operation, as well as an experimental farm. Development pressures, one of the many threats to farms and water quality, will be examined with visits to Middletown, DE and Anne Arundel County, MD, along with discussions with local planning officials from Chestertown and Kent County. Once students have explored these three issues, the journey will move to Annapolis to explore the ways in which policies are made and administered. Organizations that may be visited include NOAA, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, and, from the advocacy side, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Voyage 4
The Gulf of California — A Contrasting Estuary
The last major itinerary takes students away from the Chesapeake to study a comparable estuary. For the fall 2009 semester, we propose to visit Baja Mexico and the Gulf of California. This visit to the northern and southern ends of the Gulf provides a striking contrast to the Chesapeake. New issues such as indigenous rights, international and regional water rights, and threats to charismatic species such as whales and dolphins will join already familiar themes such as pollution, rising sea level and development pressure. This trip will be facilitated by our partners in Mexico, Noroeste Sustentable (an NGO based in La Paz, Mexico), Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS), and Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (a federal academic institution located in La Paz). We will closely monitor the international security situation and, should circumstances warrant, an alternative venue may be selected.
Additional Activities
Several additional themes will run through the semester, providing additional activities and experiences. Foodways are an important element of culture and a wonderful way to understand people and traditions. Food's importance in this region will be explored through: a Native American feast prepared by the class; a crab feast based on crabs caught by students trot-lining out of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum; a "colonial tavern evening" at Williamsburg's Chowning's Tavern; a traditional Tidewater meal; a church-run fish fry, and a regional oyster festival. Music will be explored at various festivals and venues, including traditional music such as Reedville's Northern Neck Shanty Singers. Both academic and vernacular art will be explored on the various trips, and students will be required to do their own drawings as a means of enhancing their observation skills. Alternative art forms such as photography and videography will be used, and students also will be trained in the methods of oral history and interviewing. A variety of writing exercises will be distributed throughout the semester, and all students will keep a daily journal. The students will be taught various scientific methodologies over the semester, and these will be used to collect data both as "snapshots" and over the course of 16 weeks. Other activities include the use of remote sensing instruments on the Chester River and a team exercise in building and testing a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for underwater research.
Students will spend a significant amount of time at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Opportunities will be provided to work in various parts of the museum, from the boat shop to collections and interpretation. A major class project for the Fall 2009 program will be for the students to create their own vision of what the Chesapeake Bay should look like in 50 years, and to think about the kinds of things that must happen if that vision is to be achieved. Students will work on this project both individually and in teams, and we anticipate that a major museum exhibit will result. This meshes with a new museum effort called "Chesapeake Futures," which calls on visitors to examine what they value about the Bay and to think about what they can do to help preserve it. A major theme of the Chesapeake Semester will be that communities and individuals must think carefully about their futures and be proactive in working to shape them in the direction that they think is most positive. This "visioning of outcomes" combines with the interdisciplinary nature of the program to produce a powerful way of thinking creatively about how to more effectively restore the Chesapeake Bay.
Please note that these itineraries and activities may be changed according to circumstances. Washington College will carefully monitor conditions and adjust as necessary to ensure the safety and productivity of the students. With regard to the Mexico trip, the international and internal situation will be carefully monitored — should circumstances warrant a change in venue, alternative sites have been identified and may be used.
Schedule
A detailed schedule has been prepared, with details on travel times and distances, scheduling trips around campus events such as Fall Break and advising day. Students will arrive on campus a week before the formal start of the regular semester, and the first week will be primarily an orientation and bonding experience, much of it taking place at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. The subsequent two weeks will be devoted to intensive classroom work, including lectures and discussion, preparing for the first two voyages. After each voyage, the class will be debriefed, discussing and evaluating the experience. The fourth and final voyage will be completed just prior to the Thanksgiving break, allowing students to return afterward to work on completing their final projects. The semester will close with student presentations and a final keynote speaker who we hope will issue a call to action for the class and the public.