Around Annapolis: 8th-graders experience nature at Chesapeake Bay Foundation

For one full minute, 25 eighth-graders were completely silent out on Blackwalnut Creek last week .

The tweens, whose ears are more tuned to cell phones and iPods, focused instead on the mingled sounds of bird calls and a light breeze rustling through the autumn treetops as their canoes bobbed side by side in a small cove.

After a lesson on marsh ecology, it was back to the shoreline for the group from Severn River Middle School for the second half of their day-long field trip to the Philip Merrill Environmental Center at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation headquarters in Bay Ridge.

Claire Jaeger, manager of the center's education program, said her team hosts a new group of students every day from September to mid-December and March to June. All together, CBF's education program reaches some 40,000 students and teachers each year at their various facilities.

"We're trying to teach them they're connected to the bay," Claire said before students donned life jackets and did some "air paddling" practice strokes. They also learned how to board their canoe without toppling over (stay low).

After a successful paddle with no mishaps and at least one blue heron sighting, students picnicked under the spreading branches of a large oak tree, careful to leave no trash behind.

Science teachers Kevin Garner, Kathy Hayes and Eric Greenlee had divided their classes in half for the day. As the temperature neared 70 degrees, it was time for the morning's canoeing group to head to the beach for the afternoon session.

With Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse visible on the horizon, students gathered to view satellite photos of the 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed and review the three types of bay pollutants that CBF works to combat: nutrients, sediment and toxic chemicals.

"We are all part of the problem and the solution," Claire said, before leading students in a lively game of tag. In this "eco" version, those who were tagged became "trees," catching the "sediment" as it came running by on its way into the bay.

Next, students donned thigh-high wading boots to collect samples of bay life using a seine net. Students found 11 different species, including small fish, shrimp and even a baby blue crab. "It felt weird with the boots on, not getting wet," said Duncan Vick, 14.

Brandon Mathieu, 13, said, "It's almost like you're floating, but then you start to sink into the sand."

As homework, students were charged with telling at least two people something they'd learned.

For Molly McKone, 13, that meant trying to remember the names of the small fish that came up in the seine nets. "Silverside" was pretty easy, but "mummichug" may have been a challenge.

Proving that field trips aren't just for school children, senior citizens from the Annapolis area climbed aboard the Potomac Eagle last week for a leaf-peeping train ride through the mountains of West Virginia.

The group of 50 left the Annapolis Senior Activity Center at 7 a.m. Oct. 14 for Romney, W.Va., where they boarded the scenic railroad for a narrated 17-mile trip up and back along the South Branch of the Potomac River. Leslie Bayliss served as the trip leader.

Chugging along with its diesel engine at about 10 miles per hour toward Petersburg, W.Va., the train passed historic farms and quiet countryside on its way into "The Trough," an area of steep canyons and high perches that's home to nesting bald eagles. At least three were spotted during the three-hour trip, causing passengers to grab for their cameras.

"There were a lot of nice shots as the train was going around the track," said Paul Oliver of Admiral Heights, who took a chilly ride in the open-air car with his wife, Sandy. As a young man, Paul worked as a brakeman on the Union Pacific Railroad.

The senior center is now taking reservations for trips in 2010. For more information, call 410-222-1818.

Matt McGehrin is forming an Annapolis Terps Alumni Club. A networking event is planned for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Park Place Club Room. For information, visit www.terpnation.com or contact Matt at matt mcgehrin@terpalum.com.

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