Page 17 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 4 - 2022

Port of Baltimore Environmental Education Team Provides
First Program in Spanish
The Port of Baltimore Environmental Education Team (POB EE) at the Maryland Environmental Service provided the first classroom outreach program in both English and Spanish, entitled “Diamonds in the Bay.”
In June, educators met with Rock Creek Forest Elementary School Spanish Immersion Program’s students to share more information about the Port’s operations, the beneficial use of dredged material in restoring Poplar Island, and the beloved diamondback terrapins that call Poplar Island home.
“By offering lessons in Spanish, we are working to increase accessibility within the environmental field, ensuring that every student has access to the important science education that we provide,” said POB EE educator Elana Kellner. Participants also learned about the biology and the different types of “adaptaciones” that make terrapins unique and help them survive in the wild. 􏰀
Kids Had a Blast at Youth Birding Week
Ten lucky children from around the Baltimore area had the opportunity to spend a week learning the basics of birding and Maryland’s unique habitats.
The 7- to 10-year-olds learned how to use binoculars, birding guides and the eBird birding database. They started each morning at the Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center a n d t r a v e l e d f r o m t h e r e t o l e a r n a b o u t o s p r e y
and bird banding on Poplar Island, how to catch fish on the beach of Cox Creek with a seine net, and how to go birding on Hart-Miller Island.
On the final day, the children celebrated by presenting posters to their parents, who also took part in activities at Masonville Cove. They enjoyed the adventurous and educational week, and one of the kids even said, “This was one of my b e s t w e e k s s e e v v e e r r. .” ” 􏰀􏰀

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— Elana Kellner, POB EE Educator
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EMILY SPERLING / MES
Group photo at Poplar Island. The fun-filled week was funded in part by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The week was made even more special as each child became an expert on a particular bird.
Above photo by Katrina Jones, MPA. Background image by Emily Sperling / MES
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