Chesapeake Bay: The Cultural Landscapes of a New Beginning

Dates: Sunday 12th July - Saturday 18th July, 2009
Departure Point: 1929 Kenny Rd, Columbus, OH 43210
Field School Location: Newport News Park, Newport News, VA
Students: 20 spaces available (students entering 10th through 12th grades)
Cost per Student: $915/ attendee

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Cultural landscapes are platforms, which present the past before us in a unique way and allow us to find attachment and a sense of place. In 1929, Saur, an American Geographer, stated that “culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, the cultural landscape is the result”(Saur 1929). The systematic interpretation of a cultural landscape is essential to the appreciation, understanding and ultimately, the protection, of our cultural and natural heritage.

To understand an American ‘sense of place’ there is no greater example than the historic settlement of Jamestown, our country’s founding settlement. The contact with Native Americans, the colonization and ensuing difficulties, epitomizes the struggles of these original pioneers. The decisions they made are reflected in the cultural landscape. Colonists from around the world, abandoned their homes and emigrated to a new world manipulating the landscape, intertwining with the Powhatan people and forever changing the face of one of North America’s great watersheds, Chesapeake Bay.

Students participating in the 2009 Chesapeake Bay Program will work along side archaeologists and historians, environmentalists and biologists, learning how to piece together the history and changes of this pivotal region that is so important to America’s past, present and future. The program is intended to immerse students in real scientific study, analysis and interpretation, producing real outcomes that can be shared and utilized.

The program will begin with an in-depth historical analysis of the cultural and natural landscapes surrounding Jamestown and the southern Chesapeake, known as the ‘Tidewater.’ Before students visit the area they will be given assignments, divided into learning teams and be responsible for an integral part of the research. During each day of the study one team will take the lead, ensuring that all the pertinent data is collected and that information is fed to a project website chronicling the study. Once in Virginia students will systematically explore the various periods of settlement examining how archaeological method culls information from minimal tangible evidence, creating interpretation and empowering stewardship of cultural heritage. Simultaneously, half of each day will be spent exploring the environmental and biological components of Chesapeake Bay. Since the Chesapeake is one of America’s largest watersheds it is critical to understand how the manipulation of the surrounding resources impacts the Bay. Students will explore habitats and participate in testing water quality as part of learning and understanding the natural side of the landscape.

By combining both the cultural and the natural aspects of the Chesapeake’s landscape the research team will be able to build a synthesized map that examines various pressures, uses, and abuses of the Chesapeake. This multi-disciplinary approach in the study of a cultural landscape helps students think critically, broaden association of subjects and grasp the importance of current environmental issues before them.

Upon returning the student teams will make a public presentation of their finding and create a synthesized podcast for use in their own school’s ongoing curriculum. The synthesis of work will also be presented to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities’ (APVA) to support their ongoing research.

6.29.09
online webinar Course work- Introduction to Cultural Landscapes

6.30.09
online webinar Course work – Introduction to historic Jamestown and The Chesapeake Bay

7.5.09
Travel to Chesapeake
Orientation at Newport News Campsite

7.6.09
Jamestown Settlement
Scientific Research on Lake Maury
A Kayak excursion which includes crabbing, seining and species identification

7.7.09
Yorktown
Natural history of the Chesapeake Bay

7.8.09
Flowerdew Plantation Maritime history at Mariners Museum.
Discovering the history of ironclad ships, the biographies of crewmen and the conservation of artifacts.

7.9.09
Colonial Williamsburg.
Journals and Web

7.10.09
End of Program Celebrations.
A fun day at Busch Gardens

7.11.09
Travel back to Ohio