Summary 

PLANS (PLankton And Nutrient 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.

PLANS Objectives

Year 1 of the PLANS program delivered a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience for all environmental science high school students in Calvert County, MD. Funding renewed, the PLANS team provided a teacher workshop this summer which laid the groundwork for our continued work. 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 reached 10 teachers and 710 high school students. During year 2 of the program, we anticipate serving closer to 1150 students in Calvert County.

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