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SPARK
SHORE PEOPLE ADVANCING READINESS FOR KNOWLEDGE

SPARK is a completely free program for families in Accomack County to learn and grow together through outdoor experiences. There are three tiers of the SPARK Program: SPARK Nature Detectives (families with children in PreK-5th grade) SPARK Creekwatchers (families with children in middle school), and SPARK Living Shoreline Team (families with children in high school). CBFS also offers an internship program for local high school teens during the summer called the Sea STAR Steward program.

During all SPARK programs we welcome siblings of all ages, as we believe that learning as a family is a key component in building a well-rounded community.
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SPARK FLFF
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SPARK Creekwatchers
Sign Up for SPARK!
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SPARK Living Shoreline Team

Our 2019 Program Schedule will be available soon. In the meantime, browse through last years activities. 2019's will likely be very similar!
2018 SPARK Events
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  • April 28th @ 10am OR April 29th at 1pm - SPARKY Farm  The SPARKY Farm is home to Grace and Matt Cormans, the creators of the SPARK program! Come meet and learn about the neat animals that live here-baby bunnies, chickens, sheep, horses, cows, pigs, and more! Explore the farm and learn about SPARKY’s home. We will be meeting both Saturday and Sunday for this program, pick the day that works best for your family but don’t miss out! 
  • ​May 12th @ 10am - Wachapreague Marsh - The salt marsh can be found up and down the Eastern Shore, but have you ever taken a close look at it? The plants and animals that call this habitat home are pretty cool. When in Wachapreague we will investigate the salt marsh and look for arthropods at a local park that is perfect for a summertime picnic! 
  • ​June 9th @ 10am - Guard Shore - The weather is (hopefully) getting warmer, it’s time to hit the beach! There are amazing animals hidden everywhere under waves and today we are on a mission to find them all. Toes in the sand, sun in the sky, nature to explore-let’s go!! 
  • ​July 14th @ 10am - Meet at Chincoteague Bay Field Station - The plan for today is a secret, for now! 
  • August 11th @ 10am - Pocomoke River State Park Shad Landing - There’s a lot to see at Shad Landing from both the land and water. We will get our lifejackets and take a paddle (canoe/kayak) from Shad Landing, explore a nearby pond ecosystem, and enjoy an animal program with Pocomoke State Park rangers. School starts soon, get outside while you can! 
  • ​September 23rd @ 1:00pm - FREE Saxis fishing day with Eastern Shore Anglers Club - SPARK in September isn’t on its usual weekend because this month we are supporting a very important partner to CBFS and the SPARK Program. Every year the Eastern Shore Anglers Club raises money and donates it to Chincoteague Bay Field Station’s Kids to Camp Scholarship fund which allows local kids to attend summer camp at CBFS for a free or reduced cost! Come see what cool fish people catch in the waters near Saxis, the first 50 kids get a FREE fishing rod and the event is followed with a FREE cookout! 
  • ​October 13th @ 10am - Chincoteague Bay Field Station Open House - The field station will be opening up its lab doors and welcoming in the community for a first-hand look at what we do day to day. Come check out our tanks and learn about all the organisms we catch on our boats, enjoy an interpretive woods walk, participate in a shark dissection, or try the ancient art of gyotaku (fish printing)! 
  • ​November 10th @ 10am - Woods and Trails at Eastern Shore Community College - November is a perfect time to find a trail and enjoy the last of the fall colors. The Eastern Shore Community College has a beautiful mature pine forest and small trail system to discover. Enjoy the outdoors before the cold sets in and craft up a birdfeeder to bring birds to your yard all winter long! 
  • ​​December 8th @ 10am - SPARK Holiday Party at Eastern Shore Community College - Enjoying nature doesn’t have to end just because it’s cold out! Today is all about celebrating the holidays and enjoying the friends and memories we have made throughout the year. Enjoy games and crafts with your family and learn different ways to keep your family enjoying nature all winter long. Santa will be making an appearance too!!
​
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SPARK Creekwatchers

Family Learning/Family Fun Days

History of SPARK



For more information, contact:
Community Outreach Dept
​mco@cbfieldstation.org
or by calling (757) 824-5636.



IN THE NEWS:
Chincoteague Bay Field Station’s SPARK program in Virginia named one of five winners in UL Innovative Education Award Program to Advance Environmental and STEM Education

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In collaboration with North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), program champions excellence and innovation in youth programming that uses the environment as pathway to STEM learning
 
NORTHBROOK, IL and WASHINGTON, D.C. [August 17, 2016] – Chincoteague Bay Field Station’s SPARK program (Shore People Advancing Readiness for Knowledge) in Wallops Island, Virginia (www.cbfieldstation.org/SPARK), which fosters environmental science interactions outside the classroom between parents and children through an intergenerational and scaffolding approach (progressively incremental) to E-STEM learning, has been named one of the five winners in the second annual UL (Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.) Innovative Education Award program. The organization will receive a grant of $25,000.

By using science-based solutions to tackle environmental issues that affect the eastern shore region of Accomack County in Virginia, SPARK serves a diverse community in which participants range in age from five to 65 and often involve multiple generations of families learning simultaneously. A large majority of the population served by SPARK identifies either as Black, Hispanic, or Latino. 
Developed in collaboration with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), the UL Innovative Education Award (ulinnovationeducation.naaee.net) was open to nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada that serve to motivate K-12 students about science and research through E-STEM programming and education about the environment. The intent is to support innovative organizations that are inspiring future researchers, scientists, and problem solvers.

Four other grants were awarded, including a top prize of $100,000. An additional $25,000 grant was awarded along with two others of $50,000 each.  All five winning teams from the UL Innovative Education Award (ULIEA) program will meet in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, Aug. 17-19 on the UL campus for the second ULIEA kickoff meeting and leadership summit.

“We were impressed by how SPARK encourages youth to present the source of the problem and implications of the problem to various audiences and how they enabled youth to advocate for feasible solutions,” Cara Gizzi, Director of Public Safety Education and Outreach says. “The judges noted that this year’s winning programs demonstrated the lasting returns on investing in sustained contact with the learners over months as well as years. SPARK and the other winners are the ideal ‘deep learning’ programs that offer effective, meaningful, and measurable engagement in STEM learning that can be readily tracked over time.”

The UL Innovative Education Award proposals demonstrate the values of service learning and a bottom-up approach that includes as many diverse voices, among the core features of the goals for the NAAEE’s ongoing National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education, according to Christiane Maertens, NAAEE’s Deputy Director. “Building on the strengths of service learning, these projects show the impact of the ways people are experimenting with experiential learning,” Maertens says. “Youth are participating in projects that offer tangible benefits to their communities and that learning is directly associated with creating that benefit. These projects also represent many voices including urban, religious, indigenous, people of color, elderly, and women-led populations. For youth, this means achieving a more complex understanding of environmental issues, critical thinking, process and problem solving and seeing how STEM can meet the needs of the community.”




ABOUT SPARK

SPARK, Shore People Advancing Readiness for Knowledge, is an innovative, experiential family learning program based on nature and the environment. The program’s underlying philosophy is that learning together as a family outdoors can be fun and purposeful for all involved.

SPARK’s main objectives are to introduce children and their families to nature, to encourage learning outside of the classroom, and to foster positive learning interactions between parents and children.  SPARK's main programs include:


  • SPARK Nature Detectives (families with children in Pre-K-5th grade)
  • SPARK Creekwatchers (families with children in middle school)
  • SPARK Living Shoreline Team (families with children in high school)

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CHINCOTEAGUE BAY FIELD STATION  | 34001 Mill Dam Road  |  Wallops Island, VA 23337  |  (757) 824-5636  |  info@cbfieldstation.org
  • HOME
  • University & Research
    • SUMMER COURSES >
      • REGISTRATION & FEES
      • STUDENT LIFE
    • FIELD TRIPS >
      • FACILITIES
      • ACTIVITIES & SITES
      • FIELD TRIP FEES
    • RESEARCH >
      • STUDENT RESEARCH
      • FACULTY & INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
    • Spring Break Summer Sampler
  • CAMPS
    • FAMILY CAMPS
    • YOUTH CAMPS >
      • DAY CAMPS
      • OVERNIGHT CAMPS
      • CAMP ACTIVITIES
      • FAQ
  • ROAD SCHOLAR
    • Bicycling the Eastern Shore of Virginia
    • Birding Virginia's Eastern Shore
    • Discover the Islands of Virginia's Eastern Shore
    • Kayaking the Eastern Shore
    • Share a Marine Science Adventure with your Grandchild
  • OTHER PROGRAMS
    • SCHOOL PROGRAMS >
      • GENERAL INFO
      • CLASSES
      • FAQ
      • FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
    • FRIDAY ADVENTURE SERIES >
      • FRIDAY ADVENTURE SERIES OCEAN ADVENTURE
      • FRIDAY ADVENTURE SERIES KAYAKING
      • MARSH MYSTERIES CLASS
      • INTERTIDAL EXPLORERS
    • HOMESCHOOL
    • CUSTOM PROGRAMS
    • SCOUTS
    • OUTREACH
    • TEACHER WORKSHOPS
  • PROGRAM GUIDE
  • ABOUT US
    • STAFF/CONTACT US
    • RENTALS
    • EMPLOYMENT
    • INTERNSHIPS
    • BLOG
    • MEMBER UNIVERSITIES
    • CAMPUS
    • DONATE NOW >
      • WAYS TO SUPPORT US