Earth Day at Accokeek: Educating the Next Generation of Stewards

Next Tuesday, we celebrate the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, an annual event dedicated to inspiring environmental action across the globe. Since 1970, Earth Day has encouraged us to reconnect with the natural world, support conservation efforts, and build a future based on sustainability. Protecting the natural heritage of Piscataway Park is at the core of our mission at the Accokeek Foundation, alongside preserving the cultural heritage of the land. In honor of Earth Day, we would like to dig deeper into the idea of what a sustainable future could look like, and the central role that educational programs at the Accokeek Foundation are playing in creating that future.  

Today, “sustainability” may make us think of solar panels, electric cars, or wind turbines. But a truly sustainable future requires more than a change in power sources – it requires a change in how we relate to the world around us. As long as our relationship with the Earth is rooted in taking without tending, Earth Day will serve as a fleeting gesture—an echo of the healing that is truly needed. 

Different ways of thinking about our relationship with the land exist. Many indigenous worldviews, including that of the Piscataway People, don’t consider people as apart from nature, but rather a part of nature. Acknowledging this interconnectedness of life, and respecting it, leads to better outcomes for all. As author Robin Wall Kimmerer describes it, “All flourishing is mutual.” Many prominent environmentalists, like Rachel Carson and John Muir, have understood this and advocated successfully for collective action in support of the land. 

One of the main aims of our educational programs at the Accokeek Foundation is to share this worldview and inspire young people to become responsible stewards of the land. Through a multidisciplinary approach, our programs guide students to examine the shared histories of Southern Maryland’s communities and the evolving impact of their relationships with the environment. 

For example, in our flagship program, Land Echoes, students engage with primary sources from Southern Maryland to connect with the lived experiences of an English fur trader in 1645, a Piscataway tenant farmer in 1770, and an African American waterman in 1890. Though separated by time and culture, their stories reveal shared themes of survival, adaptation, and environmental impact.

7th graders explore Piscataway Park through an educational nature hike at the Accokeek Foundation.

Interactive activities demonstrate how beaver hunting, tobacco cultivation, and overfishing contributed to long-term ecological changes like water pollution and shoreline erosion in the Potomac. Students leave the program with a deeper understanding of how human choices ripple across generations, fostering empathy, critical thinking, and a renewed sense of responsibility for land and water stewardship.

Teachers from across the DMV region gather at the Accokeek Foundation for a professional development training on the Land Echoes curriculum.

Thanks to our partnership with the National Park Service, the Maryland State Department of Education, Prince George’s and Charles County Public Schools, and the Chesapeake Bay Trust, we’ve been able to reach over 1,400 students this school season so far and expect to reach over 2,200 students by summer break. These students, aged preschool through grade 12, visit from across the DMV region. The majority of those we serve are from urban areas, making their visit to Piscataway Park a rare opportunity to interact with nature and form personal connections with the land.

We have reason to be hopeful for the future of environmental stewardship. At Piscataway Park, signs of ecological renewal are becoming more visible each year – from cleaner waters and the return of the American Eel in the Potomac to the soaring presence of Bald Eagles and a resurgence in beaver activity. Continual progress towards a sustainable future will require strong place-based education programs that cultivate the next generation of environmental stewards. National Parks and their partners—like the Accokeek Foundation – are leading the way, demonstrating that with commitment and care, a more sustainable future is possible. 

Summer Interns at the Accokeek Foundation discover an American Eel in the Potomac.

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Get Involved!

Interested in supporting the Accokeek Foundation at Piscataway Park? Learn more about how to volunteer through our stewardship initiatives, schedule a class visit for students, and donate to our mission through the links below.

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