(Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)

Welcome to C-StREAM!

CRC’s Chesapeake Student Recruitment, Early Advisement, and Mentoring (C-StREAM) program is focused on recruiting, advising, and mentoring college students who identify as people of color*, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQAI+ community, persons from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and first-generation college students, who are currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in a science field.

C-StREAM is designed to advance the participation of students from diverse communities in environmental science, protection, restoration, education, management and policy careers. C-StREAM endeavors to support this goal by developing inclusive career pathways that result in greater diversity in the environmental workforce. The program works closely with academic institutions as well as government agencies within the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership to place selected students into meaningful summer internships, to support those students in their academic work, and to facilitate pathways for successful careers in environmental research, restoration, and/or management.

*Several terms are used to describe non-European residents of the United States in the scholarly and popular literature as well as in the social and political realms. The C-StREAM Program uses the term “people of color” to describe non-European Americans.

Summer Fellowship Opportunities

CRC works with successful applicants (now identified as “C-StREAM Fellows”) to match them with meaningful summer fellowships and mentors at one of our partnering host institutions, with the goal of providing continued mentoring and support during the following academic year(s) and summer(s). A fellowship is a competitive position that encompasses a variety of activities, including academic study, research, and professional development. To support this vision, CRC works to stay connected with C-StREAM Fellows to provide guidance and support as students continue to navigate their individual track for success.

Each summer, the CRC and its partners support fellowships that provide students the opportunity to learn about/experience environmental careers within both science and management fields. The program focuses on careers that support the continued restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, the Bay’s living resources, and the people who live and work within its boundary. C-StREAM Fellows have previously been hosted at the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) in Annapolis and Oxford, MD, at the Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) in Annapolis, MD, within CRC’s seven CRC academic member institutions, and within other Chesapeake Bay partner organizations and agencies.

C-StREAM Fellows gain experience in natural resource management, restoration science, and environmental policy. Each fellowship experience provides insights into careers in natural resource management, policy development and science beyond those applied for and allows students to make connections with established environmental management and science professionals. Coupled with the experience gained from their summer work, C-StREAM Fellows are provided with professional development opportunities and training on subjects such as time management, effective communication and presentation skills, and developing compelling resumes and cover letters.

C-StREAM Fellows receive stipend payments as well as funding to support housing and transportation needs, occasional fellowship related travel, and professional development activities.

Applications are solicited annually between mid-December and mid-February of each academic year.

Who Can Apply for a C-StREAM Fellowship?

C-StREAM is designed to advance the participation of students from diverse communities in environmental science, protection, restoration, education, management and policy careers. C-StREAM is intended for any undergraduate, at any level of study (including seniors graduating in Spring 2025) who identifies as being one or more of the following:

  • a person of color
  • a person with disabilities
  • a person identifying with the LGBTQIA+ community
  • a person from economically disadvantaged backgrounds
  • a first-generation college student

C-StREAM Fellows who have successfully completed prior C-StREAM fellowships are especially encouraged to apply and will be given priority consideration by the CRC.

C-StREAM SUMMER 2025

The application period for our summer 2025 C-StREAM fellowship opportunities is now open.

These eight management-based experiences will provide C-StREAM Fellows with a unique opportunity to contribute to large-scale, long-term natural resource science, management and policy development. Each fellowship experience will allow C-StREAM Fellows to contribute to the critical understanding of new ways to improve Chesapeake Bay water quality and manage Chesapeake Bay living resources most effectively and efficiently across the 64,000 square mile Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Tributary Basin Summary

Hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, MD

The Fellow in this position will support the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Integrated Trends Analysis Team (ITAT) which aims to combine the efforts of Chesapeake Bay Program analysts with those of investigators in governmental, academic, and non-profit organizations to identify potential research synergies and collaborations that will enhance our understanding of spatial and temporal patterns in water quality. The Chesapeake Bay Program and its partners compiled tributary basin summaries for 12 major tributaries or tributary groups in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. These documents summarize the following in one place: 1) how nontidal and tidal water quality changes over time; 2) how factors that drive those changes change over time; and 3) the current state of the science on connecting change in aquatic conditions to its drivers. The Fellow will develop a new Tributary Basin Summary StoryMap using a previously developed template that is updated concurrently with ITAT’s Tributary Basin Summary reports.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Tracking Federally Protected Lands Through Time

Hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, MD

Tracking land protection in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is crucial for understanding successes and challenges associated with many Chesapeake Bay Program goals and outcomes. However, we have been unable to describe trends in the protection of vital habitats and resources due to the lack of a “time stamp” associated with individual land conservation activities. The Fellow will (1) do research and analysis on records of federally protected lands to identify when land became protected which may include going through physical documents such as deeds and property records at different locations around the watershed, (2) work with Federal partners to improve the historic and ongoing changes of attributes to Federally protected lands, (3) create maps to show trends in federally protected lands and (4) develop communication tools on best practices to share with the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Innovating Data Visualization Workflows

Hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, MD

The Fellow in this position will support to the Geospatial Science and Applications Team (GSAT) to help streamline and innovate our data visualization workflows. The student will explore common visualization tasks, such as creating maps, graphs, and tables for presentations, publications, and fact sheets, which often require significant time and effort. The project will focus on automating these processes to save resources, improve consistency, and enhance quality. Tasks may include developing user-friendly tools or prototypes that produce visuals such as static maps, summary tables, or interactive layers. This project offers an exciting opportunity to blend geospatial data, automation, and user-centered design.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Environmental Literacy: Climate Curriculum Analysis and Public Access Development

Hosted by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, Annapolis, MD or Oxford, MD

The Fellow in this position will support the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s Environmental Literacy and Partnerships branch (EL&P). The EL&P branch, in part, encourages and supports K-12 education in the development and implementation of comprehensive environmental literacy programs by supporting regional environmental literacy policy initiatives, education resource development, grantmaking, and professional learning programming. The selected Fellow will support two aspects of NCBO environmental literacy work: the development of a public facing portal for high-quality interdisciplinary climate change education curriculum and support of in-person and virtual professional development programming.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Summer Field Technician

Hosted by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, Annapolis, MD or Oxford, MD

The Fellow in this position will assist with the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s (NCBO) field-based science and observation efforts. NCBO collects, processes, and delivers observations data in support of research, management, and protection of Bay habitats vital to maintaining healthy fish stocks. The Fellow will support Poplar Island restoration fish community monitoring, oyster restoration post construction bathymetric surveying, and Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System operations and maintenance.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Elemental Analysis for Sediment Sourcing and Tracking

Hosted by the USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center, Catonsville, MD 

The Geomorphology Team at the USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center has recently acquired a portable XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) analyzer to supplement the needs of our Sediment Lab. XRF analyzers are able to measure a wide array of elemental signatures within sediment samples, a process necessary for sediment source tracking via sediment fingerprinting models. This fellowship would allow for a student to take the lead on innovative work (with the support of our team of geomorphologists, geologists, and GIS experts with cumulative decades of experience in sediment sourcing and tracking) and investigate one or several issues surrounding XRF analyzers prior to our adoption of the technique.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Restoration Science

Hosted by the Center for Ecosystem Recovery, Millersville, MD

The Fellow will have an opportunity to develop and research a question regarding a recently completed stream-wetland restoration in the Jabez Branch Watershed, a cold-water brook trout stream in Millersville, Maryland located in Anne Arundel County.  The Fellow’s work will address a pertinent question related to the efficacy and outcomes of ecological restoration associated with restoring Maryland’s only wild brook stream in the Coastal Plain. Projects and work may include fieldwork outdoors, laboratory work, data synthesizing and processing, and modeling. In addition to completing their research project, the Fellow will also have opportunities to participate in regular nonprofit operations, such as site visits to document restoration projects and monitoring data collection.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION

Investigating the cHAB Microseira wollei in the Tidal Freshwater Potomac

Hosted by the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center at George Mason University 

The Fellow will assist in on-going studies of the cHAB (cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Bloom) organism Microseira wollei which has become prominent in tidal freshwater areas of the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River. The fellow will help with fieldwork sampling areas of suspected M. wollei growth and helping map its development in the tidal Occoquan River. By assisting ongoing researchers and graduate students, the fellow will get training in field sampling, microscopy, chlorophyll and phycocyanin lab procedures, and ELISA approaches to measuring toxins. In addition to helping the existing team, the Fellow will be assigned a specific component of the research which they will be responsible for investigating with the techniques learned. A successful fellow should be able to present a poster on their work at a conference like AERS in the fall or spring.

FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION TO BE POSTED SOON

Duration and Compensation

The summer 2025 C-StREAM fellowship program will begin Monday, May 19th and end Friday, August 8th, 2024. These are our preferred dates, but the dates can be adjusted to accommodate a student’s school schedule if required. All C-StREAM Fellows will receive a stipend of up to $6,000 for the equivalent of 12 weeks of full-time activities. Candidates should expect to follow a normal weekday work schedule (roughly 9-5, M-F) with occasional variations for possible fieldwork and other activities. No benefits are provided. A one-time housing and transportation allowance of $1,000 is available to each fellow to assist with living and transportation expenses. Funds are also available to compensate fellows for occasional work-related travel and professional development activities.

Application Instructions

Applications to the C-StREAM program should be submitted by clicking the “Apply Here” button below once you have prepared your application materials as directed. You will need to have ALL materials except for your completed recommendation form ready for upload BEFORE you begin submitting. Please set aside 30 minutes for the application process. Complete candidate application packages must be submitted by 11:59 PM, February 14, 2025. Completed reference forms must be submitted by the candidate’s reference directly as instructed below by 11:59PM, February 21, 2025.

When you click the “Apply Here” button, you will be asked to provide the following application materials. Please include your first and last name in the file name for all documents. 

  • Resume
  • Cover letter – Your cover letter is your opportunity to tell CRC more about yourself and your interest in this C-StREAM opportunity. Be sure to include a brief overview of your areas of interest and motivation for applying to this program, which of our fellowship opportunities interest you most, and discuss your future educational and career goals.
  • College transcript(s) – Unofficial transcripts are accepted! There is no need to obtain an official transcript for this application.
  • Ranking of the available fellowship positions – You will also be asked to rank your interest in the fellowship positions from 1-8, with 1 indicating most interest. Please be sure to rank each opportunity – do not leave any blank – so your application is marked as complete and fully considered. By ranking an opportunity, you are not committing to accept that fellowship. Students and mentors both have a choice in the final placements. Feel free to use this attached fellowship description sheet to help work through your rankings before entering them in the application form.
APPLY HERE

References

A complete application package will also include at least one completed reference form. Please download a copy of the reference form, complete the first part, and then provide it to the reference you have identified on your application form. They will complete the form and can upload it directly here: https://chesapeake.org/letter-of-recommendation/. Reference forms must be completed by 11:59PM, February 21, 2025. Reference providers do not need to wait for your application to be submitted before they submit the completed reference form.

Questions about C-StREAM? Contact us at crc-cstream@chesapeake.org