The Chesapeake Bay Trust in partnership with the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance awards Black Girls Dive Foundation awarded $10,000

CORE

Collaborative Oyster Restoration and Education (CORE) is a collaborative oyster monitoring and educational conservation effort between Black Girls Dive Foundation and the Severn River Association that is proposed in response to three critical issues: (1) the fragile oyster population; (2) the need for the advancement of collaborative strategic partnerships that provides quality robust aquatic-STEM engagement learning for underserved audiences n STEM; and from an education and equity standpoint, (3) the racial and socioeconomic achievement gap that undermines our ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity; and the post-pandemic fallout within the educational system that has furthered the divide. The proposed project activities involve engaging girls from late middle school and high school in an out-of-school time, marine science-based, program that takes place on the Severn River. This project utilizes innovative pedagogical tools and a blended learning delivery model that enables youth to connect their learning through in-field experiences on the Severn River.