Education
Environmental Education is Central at Jug Bay
To care for the Earth, you must love it
To love it, you must know it.
To know it, you must experience it.
We offer an array of opportunities for people of all ages to experience and learn about the ecology of wetlands and estuaries. Our programs provide outdoor experiences to increase appreciation, awareness and stewardship of our natural environment. We incorporate what we've learned from many of our own ecological studies into the Sanctuary's programs.
Public Programs
Prior registration is required for all programs. Call 410 741-9330 or mail in the
Public Program Registration Form (families and individuals only)
From children netting tadpoles in the pond to guided canoe trips and lectures in the field, our calendar of public programs offers something for everyone. So join us to discover the biodiversity of freshwater tidal marshes. Spend quiet time in the forest observing the myriad species of birds. Learn about the health of streams flowing into the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. Get your feet wet! Listen to a chorus of frogs and watch beavers swimming at dusk.
Discover Wetland Ecology by Canoe. To register for a canoe trip, use the Public Canoe Registration Form.
Children love attending our summer science camps, where they can hold a turtle, seine for fish, test water quality, or explore our ponds and streams. High school students who participate in our Teen Leadership Paddle, a week-long canoe sojourn along the Patuxent, gain a greater appreciation of human impacts on streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay.
Each year, more than 2000 students learn about wetland and forest ecology through hands-on activities and field investigations at Jug Bay. The Sanctuary also offers programs for home school families. The Academic Adventures program challenges high school students to design and carry out field investigations. For college students, Jug Bay is a living laboratory in which to explore and apply concepts addressed in class.
Teachers look to Jug Bay for professional development opportunities, especially to gain skills to lead students in field research. During workshops, teachers participate in activities designed to investigate issues and to prepare their students for an outdoor experience.
The Sanctuary offers personally designed programs for your scout troop. We are more than willing to work with you to arrange a program to meet your interests and needs. There are many opportunities here for Scouts to accomplish Gold and Eagle Scout projects.
Do you enjoy working with children and love being outdoors? Become a volunteer naturalist and lead weekend programs, become a canoe guide, or help our naturalists teach natural history and ecology.
Adults learn about the natural history and ecology plants and animals in the Sanctuary as they participate in various research projects at Jug Bay.
Workshops
The Sanctuary offers workshops on important environmental and scientific issues. Past workshops spanned topics from Bayscaping for a Better Bay, to Box Turtle Conservation, to a Volunteer Research Conference.