On Saturday, November 8th, nine ALLARM Watershed Coordinators took to Shepherdstown, West Virginia to attend the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Forum. As each person was able to choose their own schedule, everyone’s day looked slightly different, but one sentiment rang true for everyone – this was an experience they will never forget! This post highlights three students’ unforgettable experiences at the 20th annual Chesapeake Bay Watershed Forum.
David Marsh ‘26
On Saturday, November 8th, The ALLARM team loaded up and headed down to West Virginia for the annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum. There, Isabell Ruff, Jill Ariola, and I presented a workshop demonstrating how to perform data interpretation. The session had about forty people in attendance and consisted of a presentation and several opportunities for participants to work together to pool resources for converting data to information.
This was my first time presenting at a conference, so it was both exciting and nerve-wracking. While the larger presentation focused on different methods and resources to facilitate the conversion of data to information, I was in charge of presenting on how to tailor data interpretation to a specific group in accordance with that group’s research goals. While the presentation piece was new, the topic was familiar. Over the summer I had an opportunity to help with data interpretation for the Otsego County Conservation Association. As such, I had firsthand experience on how ALLARM tailors our data interpretation process to fit each group. Reflecting on this experience was a large part of my preparation for the watershed forum. I reviewed a video of another data interpretation session hosted by ALLARM and thought about the similarities and differences between the two: what we changed, what we kept the same, what we added, and what we removed. During the preparation process, I also reviewed the slides and practiced the presentation itself.
When it came time to present, everything went fairly smoothly. Leading up to the presentation, we had some concerns about timing, but things went as planned and took about as long as expected.
My favorite part of the process was when I got to walk around and interact with the participants. The first point where this was possible was when we handed out sample data packets and invited participants to look them over and ask questions. I spent some time with one of the participants and explained our thoughts process behind what we chose to include and exclude. The other opportunity came when we got to walk around and answer questions about tools that can be used for the data interpretation process. Here Jill and I were able to talk to one of the participants about a particular issue they were having with displaying their data. We were able to offer some insights and point them in the direction of a useful tool. Jill had a very good idea for how to portray the participants’ data.
I was very happy with the experience and found it very fulfilling. I hope to do something like this again in the future.
David Marsh ’26 presenting during the “Data to Information: 101” session on Saturday morning.
Ayako Ogawa ‘28
I was so excited to attend the Watershed Forum, as I heard many amazing things about it from other ALLARMies over the summer and throughout the fall. To prepare for this big event and maximize my learning experience, I built my own agenda for the day. There were a lot of interesting sessions, so it was tough to decide on just one for each time slot. It was fun to get to know so many organizations that I have never previously heard of and see what they are doing.
The sessions that I attended were very fun and memorable! My first session was about community engagement, specifically in school setting. I learned many things from an educator’s perspective in this session, such as how to engage with young people and how to measure success in educational events. I learned that different approaches to the same topics can make a huge difference in each individual child’s understanding and learning experience. This session incorporated group discussions, so it was a great time to talk about my summer experience at East Pennsboro and exchange information about what ALLARM is doing.
One of my favorite sessions was “Grow, Conserve, Harvest!”. There, we learned that hands on activities, such as making a gardens/field to grow vegetables and flowers, allow children to care about their body and mental health beyond environmental sustainability. This session was so unique! At the beginning of the session, they provided participants with lavender, and later on we made a fresh salad, and they gave us crackers with rosemary butter. We also made a self-watering plant pot. After the forum, I planted microgreen seeds in the pot, and they actually grew and tasted good!
I also enjoyed a session about the removal of mill dams. One of the things that excited me about this session was the discussion of a study using eDNA. They use both field biology and molecular biology to examine the presence of fish in the stream above and below the dam. Learning about pros and cons of two applications, metabarcoding and targeted application was interesting.
Overall, I learned a lot by talking to a lot of professionals and educators throughout the day. I was surprised how many people walked up to me and asked about Dickinson and ALLARM. I am already excited to attend the forum next year!!
ALLARM Senior Staff and Watershed Coordinators eating dinner as a group on Saturday night.
Amiya Paine ‘28
On Saturday, November 8th, I experienced my very first Chesapeake Watershed Bay Forum! Bright and early that morning, my fellow watershed coordinators and I made the hour and a half journey, meeting with our senior staff after arriving. The forum took place at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Upon my first impressions, the location was stunning, the perfect fit for the forum.
We each had the opportunity to pick out our own schedules. Because there were so many fantastic sessions, I couldn’t choose and decided to pick at random. My favorite session was actually the very first one of the day. This event was called “Healing Spaces: Culture, Community, and Ecology” by Teria Powell, an event and program manager. This event was incredibly engaging because not only did I do groupwork with new people, but I also got an opportunity to hear about how a community burdened with environmental justice issues is changing the status quo and improving their economy.
For a large part of the afternoon, I spent time exploring the facilities, trails, and being directionally challenged on several occasions. I ran into a few faces I saw throughout that day and had the opportunity to reconnect, which is always fun.
I truly enjoyed being able to experience and bond at this event with the rest of the ALLARM group, while also networking with others that are new. The opportunity to network and see some beautiful scenery in West Virginia made me feel appreciative of ALLARM, and I am excited to return next year!