Beating the Heat: Heat Islands and the Importance of Trees The term "heat island” refers to an area that is significantly warmer than its surroundings, generally due to human activities. The temperature difference between the heat island and surrounding areas is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most noticeable during [...]
Community Science: Live from the Chesapeake Community Research Symposium Citizen science has undergone a rebranding as it has expanded in popularity; it is now often referred to as “community science” to be more inclusive. However you put it, community science is more than just a feel-good way of getting the general public involved in [...]
Learning from Disaster: The Environmental Impacts and Lessons of Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes was a formative event in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The scale of the devastation was unparalleled and caused the Bay community to take a long look at business as usual and determine how we could better prepare for extreme events. The [...]
CRC’s 50-Year-Long Role in Developing Environmental Leaders Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) was born out of environmental challenges to the Chesapeake Bay. It rose from the havoc that Hurricane Agnes left behind to chart a path towards filling knowledge gaps and prioritizing informed decision-making throughout the Bay community. Part of this process has been creating [...]
Bringing the Bay Home: The Role of Photography and Writing in the Restoration Effort Communication experts know that facts often do little to persuade; it is stories and emotions that change minds and win people over. Through photography, poetry, prose, murals, sculpture, song, and more, artists are able to reach people in a way [...]
Aligning Behavior for the Bay Of the 18 million people in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, no two are the same. Each person has their own beliefs, concerns, and motivations. Acknowledging this, how do we align social behavior, community sustainability, and the wider Bay restoration effort to achieve the best outcome for all? We [...]
Behavior and the Bay: The Human Dimension of Chesapeake Bay Restoration Collectively, we have been working towards the restoration of Chesapeake Bay for around five decades; in fact, CRC celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022. We have seen a lot of progress, but we also still have a long way to go. What needs [...]
PFAS in the Chesapeake Bay Region Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ‘forever chemicals,’ have been manufactured and used in a variety of industrial and consumer products in the United States since the 1940s, but have only recently received broad public interest. Numerous PFAS are present in the environment and have the [...]
Invasive Species: Getting into the Weeds (and Bugs) You’ve likely heard about invasive species before; do nutria, phragmites, emerald ash borer, or blue catfish ring a bell? These are all commonly known invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay region, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The Chesapeake Bay Program notes that [...]
The Science and the Story of the Conowingo Dam The Conowingo Dam has been a topic of heated discussion for decades. In that time, we have learned more and more about the system and made decisions according to that learning. Along with the science behind the issue, the story of the Conowingo has developed [...]
