CBLP-A School Year Metric Reporting
Wetlands Watch leads training and certification initiatives for the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) program as founding Consortium member and State Coordinator for Virginia. This voluntary multi-level credential program is for professionals who design, install, and maintain sustainable landscapes and nature-based stormwater management practices. CBLP is administered Bay-wide by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC). Wetlands Watch has been vital in giving youth and young adults across Virginia hands-on experience in sustainable landscaping through classroom instruction through the CBLP-Associates (CBLP-A) program. In our “train-the-trainer” approach, we certify individuals of all ages in the CBLP-A program who can then take the CBLP Level 1 course and then lead their own CBLP-A program with the guidance of our Wetlands Watch team. In this work, Wetlands Watch is building an interest in and workforce to build sustainable landscaping practices.
This year, with growing partnerships and community-wide interests, Wetlands Watch has graduated over 100 students from the CBLP-A program. This accounts for 24 students from Teens with a Purpose (Norfolk), 10 from Gloucester County Public Schools, 52 from the City of Virginia Beach Environmental Studies Program, and 15 from an intensive ODU summer camp in Norfolk’s Southside. Wetlands Watch is committed to making conservation landscaping and environmental efforts digestible and wide reaching for all age groups. This helps create hands-on education that can lead to jobs, internships, and future career interests, all while making our communities better places to live.
Through this work, Wetlands Watch hopes to instill in individuals the importance of conservation work, to the economy, the workforce, and to building neighborhoods that can adapt to our changing climate. Getting young people involved through the CBLP-A program helps inspire the next generation to be a part of building and understanding the importance of green infrastructure for their communities and beyond.
