MPT Presents Chesapeake Bay Week
April 19-26, 2009
The Chesapeake Bay–the world's largest estuary–got its name from the Powhatan Indian word, chesepiooc, which means "Great Shellfish Bays." It was described by H.L. Mencken, the sage of Baltimore, as "an immense protein factory."
It's such an important part of our state's history and its identity, which is why Maryland Public Television (MPT) celebrates this important natural resource and highlights its most critical issues during its annual Chesapeake Bay Week.
The only programming initiative of its kind in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed region, Chesapeake Bay Week is part of MPT's year-round, ongoing commitment to the bay and our environment.
At the conclusion of Chesapeake Bay Week, MPT holds a Volunteer-a-thon to give viewers a unique chance to donate volunteer hours to help clean up the bay. Last year, more than 10,000 hours were pledged by MPT viewers and supporters, more than double the amount pledged the previous year
.
Complete line-up and details
Volunteer-a-thon
Take Action to Restore the Bay
Concerned about the Chesapeake Bay's future? Partner with MPT to restore and protect the bay.
The bay needs your help - with everything from planting bay grasses and removing litter to making phone calls and helping with mailings. Now, MPT makes it easy to get your group or organization involved to help restore the health and vitality of the bay and its environs.
Here's how to take action:
Sign up online to Volunteer
Watch and call during MPT's Volunteer-a-thon on Sunday, April 26, 6 p.m.
Call us at (410) 581-4270
Original Documentaries
New for 2009
Chesapeake Wine Country
In the past, a trip to wine country meant traveling thousands of miles to California or Europe. But today wine country is at our doorsteps. Slowly and quietly, the Free State has built itself a wine industry fitted with all the trappings. The Maryland wine scene has exploded in recent years and now stands ready to reward the curious, thirsty traveler with memorable encounters with unforgettable vintage wines.
Production Funders
MARBIDCO
Great Grapes - Moorea Marketing
Baltimore County Dept. of Economic Development in association with the Maryland Office of Tourism
Queen Anne's County Office of Tourism
Tourism Council of Frederick County
Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau
April 22 at 11pm
Eatin' Crabcakes: The Best I Ever Had
From G&M's goliath-sized crab cakes to time tried-and-true recipes that have survived kitchen-based tests and trials of the ages, Eatin' Crabcakes: The Best I Ever Had is the ultimate crab cake treasure hunt across the Chesapeake region. This follow-up to last year's popular Eatin' Crabs: Chesapeake Style is a fun-loving, kitchen-hopping adventure that traverses the state in search of Crab Cake Heaven.
April 23 at 9pm
Watermen/Chesapeake Crossroads
MPT offers a glimpse back into the endangered lifestyle of the Chesapeake skipjack captain with Watermen, a 1960s documentary featuring waterman Art Daniels. Watermen is followed by MPT's 2005 documentary Chesapeake Crossroads, which once again features Daniels, now in his 80s and the very last active skipjack captain on the Chesapeake dredging for oysters. Chesapeake Crossroads follows the long but now lonely Chesapeake tradition of skipjack oystering, a way of life that has almost entirely vanished.
Watermen: April 23 at 9:30pm
Chesapeake Crossroads: April 23 at 10:30pm
Bugeye: A Chesapeake Legacy
Follow self-proclaimed Renaissance man Sid Dickson as he handcrafts, with the help of John Hawkinson, a working replica of the Chesapeake Bay's waterborne workhorse, the Bugeye, that plied this region's waters for more than a century. The Bugeye did it all: oyster dredging, fishing, and transport. Now out of the shop and in the water, Dickson's Bugeye is ready for a stiff breeze that will that will push it up the Chesapeake.
April 23 at 11pm
WITF-FM's Radio Smart Talk to Discuss
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Tuesday, April 21 at 9am
For more than 20 years, Pennsylvania, along with the states of Maryland and Virginia, and the District of Columbia, has been spending millions of dollars and implemented dozens of environmental changes, all designed to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. According to its annual report, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the nation's largest estuary is still in danger. According to the report, the bay continues to be harmed by high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that come from sewage plant discharges, lawn and farm fertilizers, and animal waste. After 20 years, is there hope?
Guests:
Matthew Ehrhart, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Pennsylvania Office
Hedrick Smith Producer, Frontline's "Poisoned Waters"
During this live radio broadcast, phone calls (1-800-729-7532) and e-mails to smarttalk.witf.org will be taken.
Listen:
93.3 FM out of Chambersburg, PA
89.5 FM out of Harrisburg, PA
Online at smarttalk.witf.org (audio will be posted later in the day for on-demand listening)
100 Chesapeake Classics
You know them when you see them, those icons of the Bay, from blue crabs to William Donald Schaefer. Here's our salute to the region's unforgettable people, places, and things.
Read the full article here.
From the Mountains to the Sea
You Live in a Watershed
Explore Chesapeake Bay watershed conservation tips in an article by Elena Takaki.
Read the full article here.
