Our list is constantly growing and we are always looking for new partners!

The goal of the alliance is to promote the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) as a 1) sentinel species to help us detect risks to ecosystem and public health and 2) flagship species for coastal conservation.

Our alliance includes experts in mammalogy, parasite and disease ecology, fisheries and estuarine ecology, veterinary medicine, animal behavior, and education. 

The Classroom Cultivation program is based on a previous program, Orchids in Classrooms (OIC). Orchids in Classrooms are scientists and researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) partnering with the North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC), Fraichild tropical Botanical Gardens, and the Million Orchid Project who partner with students and teachers in various regions to study and conserve native orchids.

This project is currently in the pilot phase and working with volunteers from partner riverkeeper organizations. We hope to expand participation in the future, so please check back!

Oysters play an important role in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. They create hard three-dimensional structures with their shells as they grow, providing habitat for other organisms, such fish and crabs. They also filter the water through their feeding activity, clearing the water of sediment and algae. Clearer water is important for underwater plants to be able to grow.

Traditionally, restored oyster reefs have been monitored by specially-trained SCUBA divers who conduct dive surveys on the reefs. These methods can require large amounts of time, money, and manpower. In order to more efficiently monitor reefs, scientists at SERC developed a new method using a camera rig constructed of GoPro cameras attached to a PVC frame. The camera rig can quickly be deployed on a reef, capturing images that can be used to determine the reef structure and associated biodiversity.