Chesapeake Bay Foundation

 

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Mission is to Save the Bay and its waterways by educating, uniting, and inspiring people to take action.

We have a vision for a healthy and resilient Chesapeake Bay ecosystem where people, plants, and animals thrive together.

Help us to raise $40,000 and unlock a $5,000 match during Extra Give!

Central to CBF’s work in the Commonwealth is Lancaster County. We work on multiple fronts to build a movement to clean our water. Activities include tree plantings, community outreach, agricultural policy advocacy, volunteer cleanups, educational opportunities, and more.

Through education, restoration, and advocacy we can and will save the Bay! 

2025 Highlights

 Lancaster Water Week

 by Avery Van Etten 

Farmers Breakfast 

Pequea to the Bay Boat Trip 

Photo by Kelly O'Neill

Columbia-Manor Tributary Bus Trip

Outdoors for All Day at Cullitan Park

Rainfall Simulator at Lancaster Science Factory

PA Clean Rivers & Streams Legislative Action Day

Pennsylvania Programs

 

Education 

For more than 50 years, CBF's award-winning environmental education program has been a cornerstone of our effort to reverse the Bay watershed's decline, reaching over 1.5 million learners since its inception. CBF educates tens of thousands of students, teachers, and school administrators each year through immersive field experiences and professional development courses that foster lifelong connections to and stewardship of the watershed. On our PA Rivers & Streams Environmental Education Program, a canoe-based exploration of waterways in central PA, students conduct macroinvertebrate and water chemistry assessments to learn how agriculture and other human activities affect water quality. 

PA Watershed Resiliency & Planning

PA Watershed Resiliency field staff work one-on-one with willing landowners to implement agricultural conservation practices that improve farm sustainability, significantly reduce pollution such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment to local waterways, and strength communities’ resilience to climate change. CBF incentivizes conservation practices by offering cost-share vouchers to help landowners pay for the installation, planning, or design of on-farm conservation practices. Ashley Spotts, our Lancaster resiliency staff has been working with landowners for CBF for 20 years!

CBF’s Watershed Resiliency Planning Program is a recognized pioneer in aligning local stakeholder and community interests with high-resolution watershed modeling to develop science-led plans that provide a roadmap to restore nonpoint source impaired streams to health. Building upon the experience and expertise from our previous watershed management plan development in Pequea and Upper Conestoga, CBF is continuing to develop plans and engage communities in the Columbia-Manor River Tributaries watersheds. Once these recommendations are approved and fully implemented, these watersheds will return to nonimpaired.

8 Years of Restoration through the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership

2025 marks the end of an 8-year campaign to plant 10 million trees throughout Pennsylvania between 2018-2025! The Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, including many organizations in Lancaster County, supported this phenomenal goal. Partners have ranged from local to national conservation groups, government bodies, and businesses across Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic. Trees play a vital role in keeping soil in place and preventing it from washing into waterways and are essential for maintaining clean water in our local rivers, streams, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. 

While the program ends in 2025, the work does not. Partners will continue planting and maintaining tree projects, as will the Chesapeake Bay Foundation through the work of our Pennsylvania Watershed Resiliency program. Thank You for your commitment to this amazing endeavor!

Advocacy 

Pennsylvania’s clean water efforts have been gaining significant momentum. Ensuring that momentum continues to accelerate and grow will be of utmost importance. With the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint deadline of the end of 2025 looming, this includes creating a new vision for Bay recovery efforts. This effort, referred to as Beyond 2025, requires leadership, commitment, and investment from Pennsylvania, other Bay states, and the federal government. It represents a unique opportunity to take the lessons learned from the Blueprint, focus on building a resilient watershed, and, importantly, centering efforts around people—their local environment, communities, and economy.

Join us in person Friday, November 21st

CBF staff will be at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse on 112 N. Water St., from 6-9 pm in Lancaster for ExtraGive. We are excited to celebrate the 2025 impact that your support will have and the conclusion of the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership with you!

Thank you again for your support and helping us save the Bay! For more information on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, visit CBF.org.