Chesapeake Bay Trust, AgTag report $16.8M in Shore grants and highlight agritourism education

Representatives of the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation described grant activity, license-plate funds and agritourism outreach for the Eastern Shore on Feb. 27.

Janet Davis of the Chesapeake Bay Trust said the trust manages funds from the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays license plates and a tax checkoff, and reported roughly $16,800,000 invested on the Eastern Shore over the past 11 years. She described grant programs that support water-quality projects, stewardship work, veteran outdoor engagement and small community projects.

Suzanne Richards of the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation highlighted ag-education programs that reach students across the Shore. Richards said the foundation’s mobile science lab visited elementary schools and that ag literacy week and garden grants connect students with farming and careers in agriculture.

Why it matters: Plate and checkoff programs funnel small, locally-directed grants to community groups and schools that might not otherwise receive state funding. Delegates asked for coastal-bays-specific lists of grants so legislators could track funds returned to those watersheds.

What happens next: Chesapeake Bay Trust said it will provide a separated list of coastal-bays grants on request and encouraged legislators to refer community groups for grant consideration.