Chesapeake Bay: Navigating Social-Ecological Relationships in an American Watershed

By Mark Wiest, Pre-College instructor for Chesapeake Bay: Navigating Social-Ecological Relationships in an American Watershed

Lady Helen is tucked away at her winter moorage where she is protected by the wind and ice coming in with this latest storm. Soon enough, the ice will melt, the sun will come out, and we will be working hard to prepare your floating classroom for this summer’s trip.

There will be some painting and varnishing to do, touching up the hardships of winter that always face a wooden boat. Captain Mike will haul me up 50 feet up the mast in the boatswain’s chair and I will inspect the rigging, get the sails ready, and oil the mast and boom. Soon we’ll be ready to set sail and explore the unique Chesapeake ecosystem.

We are excited to show you hidden anchorages, beautiful beaches, and some of our favorite fishing holes. In addition to sharing our local knowledge about the Chesapeake Bay, we want to teach you how the Bay’s fascinating history has shaped the ecosystem it has today.

Our course will begin with a brief overview of the life of Captain John Smith. I don’t want to spoil anything, but for starters, he left home and went to sea at the age of sixteen. Before he was thirty, he was a mercenary, a slave, was sent to the gallows (but managed to save himself), helped found the first permanent British settlement in the New World, fought with the Native Americans, befriended the Native Americans, was saved by Pocahontas, was blown up by a barrel of gunpowder, and was knighted. All this and he still found time to write a book about his adventures. We will read some sections of this book where Smith describes the amazing natural resources of the Chesapeake that he encountered during his 3,000-mile journey around the Bay.

Smith’s exploration of the Chesapeake also represents a time of dramatic transition in the region, both ecologically and socially. From European colonization to today, we see immense change. No longer does the Chesapeake Bay watershed contain a few hundred villages relying on a combination of small-scale agriculture and hunting and gathering. Now it’s a densely populated region home to 17 million people who all have an impact on the water quality and ecosystems of the Chesapeake. There are a lot of questions to ask and systems to explore. We cannot wait to have you onboard to begin our journey. See you this summer!