Smith Island Environmental Education Center

USA

For the 250 residents of Smith Island, in the Chesapeake Bay just a few hours from Washington, DC, life revolves around the same things it has for more than 300 years: crabbing and oystering. The Smith Island Environmental Education Center, managed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, focuses on the integral role of the island’s watermen culture in environmental stewardship of the bay. Students and teachers throughout the state come to experience living on “island time” in tune with the cycles of nature, and to listen to residents speak – in their distinctive local dialect – about the economy, culture, and future of the island. Learn more about Smith Island in this Atlas Obscura article, and about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Smith Island program here.