People, Places, and Partnerships

Arlene Guzman and son Ronald plant a tree 1171x593

Clean water and a healthy environment are important for all. At CBF we engage with residents from all walks of life to make our neighborhoods and watersheds healthier places to live.

Kevin and Janet Spence

CBF is committed to our principles and values. We will activate, build, and empower a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community through meaningful connections with people, places, and partnerships. This will strengthen CBF’s work to save the Bay by ensuring that we are inclusive of everyone’s voice and involvement.

Biodiversity is key to a thriving ecosystem for people, plants, and animals in the Chesapeake Bay region. A healthy Bay, clean water, clean air, and healthy communities are rights that we all share. The health of our environment is intrinsically linked to the health of our communities, and at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation we will work to ensure that everyone is engaged in the preservation of the Bay and its waterways.

We will focus on the health and well-being of all communities across the Bay region through the framework of:

People: Representing and reflecting all the voices of our movement, sharing power, and growing our collective strength across the Bay.
Places: Elevating and amplifying stories of communities, cultural connections to nature, and the heritage of our region.
Partnerships: Partnering with communities and organizations, building long-term relationships based on trust and shared accountability.

Racism Hurts the Bay

June 5, 2020
Racism makes saving the Bay harder. It destroys the collective spirit and social fabric that is absolutely essential to implement the scale and scope of efforts necessary to reduce pollution and restore the Bay. More importantly, racism undermines why we are saving the Bay. Clean water improves the health and wellbeing of our communities. Racism destroys our communities. Clean water means little when its benefits are only reserved for a few.

We know it's not enough to just have empathy for those who experience racism and live with its legacy every day. In our own organization, we have made commitments to make the changes we want to see. We are taking steps, but we have a long way to go.
Read the full blog post

Environmental Justice

CBF is engaged in a multitude of efforts to ensure that communities of people of color or lower income residents aren't disproportionately harmed by pollution and other environmental threats.

CBF Environmental Justice Staff Attorney Taylor Lilley was featured in an April 2023 Washington Informer article "Environmentalism Has Many Faces." From the article:

On supporting community voices: "A lot of the work that we've done can be traced back to just people paying attention and refusing to be shut out of spaces—people supporting other community members, people not ignoring each other. Not everything has to be legal intervention. Sometimes support, advocacy and paying attention is just as important as being able to actually file a comment letter."

Forty Years of Environmental Justice: Where is the Justice?

In May 2022, an article by CBF Vice President of Litigation Jon Mueller and Environmental Justice Staff Attorney Taylor Lilley was published in the Public Interest Law Review. "Forty Years of Environmental Justice: Where is the Justice?" examines the history of environmental justice (or EJ) primarily through the lens of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House, and evaluates the progress made in terms of regulations and permitting. It also examines recent administrative and judicial decisions addressing EJ claims and, in conclusion, provides recommendations for ways in which EJ issues can be better presented and addressed.
Read the article

Agricultural Equity

Decades of systemic barriers have blocked pathways to land ownership, capital, assistance, and other programs for immigrant, refugee, tribal, and BIPOC communities. CBF recognizes the need for agricultural equity and has made it an important aspect of our efforts to work with local farmers. In conjunction with our on-the-ground efforts, CBF has also developed resource guides for beginning farmers in Pennsylvania and Maryland for finding assistance with loans, marketing, business development, conservation funding, equipment, and other needs.

Education Equity

Many students miss out on the benefits of nature because they lack access to outdoor learning experiences. Environmental education cannot be limited to textbooks and lessons within the walls of the classroom. That's why CBF is committed to providing education programs that get students outside, that support teachers in using the environment as a context for learning, and that empower school leaders to embed environmental education into their curriculum. CBF partners with public and independent school systems across the Chesapeake Bay watershed in rural, suburban, and urban communities ensuring that our programming is accessible to all. Through equitable pricing, thoughtful recruiting efforts, and partnership building, CBF ensures our programming is accessible to under-resourced communities.