Life on the Chesapeake Bay

A joint program of Buttonwood Nature Center, Home of The Institute and the Antietam Watershed Association

Presented by Lara Lutz, editor of the Bay Journal and executive director of Bay Journal Media.

Admission is free.

The iconic Chesapeake Bay will be in the spotlight during this illustrated talk. Captain John Smith explored the bay in 1608 and reported at length on the life of the waterway, including its bounty of fish, oysters and other aquatic animals, as well as the topography of the surrounding land.  

Much has changed since the 17th century, but the bay is still home to an array of sea creatures, birds—and humans. The bay is central to the livelihood of generations of watermen living along its shores. 

The bay watershed includes six states and is fed by its main tributaries, the Susquehanna and the Potomac rivers. Lutz will talk about the problem of pollution, what progress has been made in clean-up efforts, and how can we help the bay. Tourists have long visited sites along the bay like Smith Island, Annapolis, and Crisfield, and Lutz will highlight places to visit. 

“To me, one of the most amazing things about the bay watershed is how connected everything is,” Lutz said. “From our streams to the open bay, from the way the air moves and the timing of when our plants bloom or when the crabs migrate, and how we live on the land—it really is an interconnected web of existence.”

Originally from Waynesboro, Pa., Lara Lutz is the editor of the Bay Journal and executive director of Bay Journal Media. She has been writing and editing for the Bay Journal since 2002, serving as managing editor and associate director before becoming editor in 2021. She has worked as a writer and editor dealing with environmental issues and heritage in the Chesapeake Bay watershed since 1995. Along with her work for the Bay Journal, she is the author of Virginia Indians at Werowocomoco (National Park Service 2015); Watershed Moments (Chesapeake Bay Trust 2006); and Chesapeake’s Western Shore: Vintage Vacationland (Arcadia Publishing 2009). She holds a B.A. in English from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in English from Binghamton University of New York.

This program is underwritten in part by Marge Kiersz, Lucinda D. Potter, CPA, and SEK CPAs & Advisors.

Additional support from Today’s Horizon Fund contributors: The Nora Roberts Foundation; Alma W. Oyer; and the Carolyn Terry Eddy Family: Carolyn, with daughters Connie Fleagle & Kim Larkin.