Take learning outside during this year’s Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit scheduled for Saturday, March 18, 2023. Students will have the opportunity to do hands-on environmental investigations and action, like the stream surveying seen here. Visit uppershoresummit.weebly.com to learn more.

An exciting slate of workshops, activities, and excursions has been announced for the Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit on Saturday, March 18, 2023, held from 9am–3:30pm. Hosted at Washington College in Chestertown, the Summit is a free event created to inspire and empower middle and high school students in taking local environmental action.

Workshops, which are led by local professionals in environmental careers, include sessions on cooking with invasive species, using photography to highlight environmental issues, and running sustainable businesses. Students will also have the opportunity to get outside and explore environmental actions through activities like bird banding, oyster shucking and aquaculture farm experiences, a walking tour showcasing how history and the environment influence each other, building recipes with locally sourced ingredients, exploring a wetland, and much more. For a full list of offerings and to register for the Summit, visit uppershoresummit.weebly.com.

The Summit is hosted by ShoreRivers as part of its work to protect and restore Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education, and Washington College’s Center for the Environment and Society.

Any youth attending the Summit must register to attend the event with a mentor. Mentors are adults who are responsible for up to 10 students and can be parents, teachers, or community leaders. Groups larger than 10 require a co-mentor. Mentors will receive a packet with information and a permission packet that their students’ guardians must complete. Registration is on a first come, first served basis and closes at 4pm on March 10.

The Upper Shore Youth Environmental Action Summit is supported by The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, The Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, IKEA, La Motte, and The Gunston School and their Chesapeake Watershed Semester.