Summary 

PLANS (PLankton And Nutruent Studies for the Chesapeake Bay) is an exemplary program funded by NOAA. Our program is designed to provide hands-on experiences for students by investigating nutrient enrichment and phytoplankton dynamics in the Chesapeake Bay. Through classroom, field and web-based activities, students conduct scientific inquiries on the causes of phytoplankton blooms and come to understand the role they can play in helping to improve the water quality of the Bay.

Primary Objectives for 2010

The primary objective for year 1 of the program is to establish a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience for all environmental science high school students in Calvert County, MD. To lay the groundwork for this objective, we are set to provide a teacher workshop this summer. In addition, we will assist teachers with the preparation and reflection phases of this program, lead the action phase field trips and provide a capstone experience for participants. In the first year, this program will reach 20 teachers and 1150 high school students.

PLANS is a collaborative program offered by The Society for Ocean Sciences and Morgan State University.