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Caroline County Recreation & Parks (CCRP) has long been a pillar of youth engagement, offering after-school and summer programs that keep children active, learning, and growing, and now thanks to a growing number of partnerships and collaborative programming, their reach continues to grow to serve more youth each year.
For the past 17 years, CCRP has cultivated these opportunities, and each year, enrollment continues to rise. But as the demand grows, so does the need for resources, and CCRP knows that building partnerships is key to sustaining and expanding its programs.
“Even though we operate on less than 2% of the county budget, we've never wavered in our commitment to serve Caroline County's youth,” said Jamie Beechey, director of CCRP. “County funding, partnerships, and grants are crucial for us to offer robust programming, and that's why collaborations like our new one with ShoreRivers are so important.”
The latest partnership between CCRP and ShoreRivers exemplifies this approach. ShoreRivers, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring Maryland’s Eastern Shore waterways, is teaming up with CCRP to launch an exciting educational initiative for fifth-grade students. Starting next summer, students will dive into hands-on learning activities focused on answering a vital question: “Are our rivers swimmable and fishable?”
Danny Mitchell, program services director for CCRP, emphasized how the collaboration will fill a crucial gap. “Many of the children we work with are disconnected from the waterways that surround them,” Mitchell said.
“Working with ShoreRivers gives us a chance to address that while providing unique learning experiences for our summer campers,” he says. “Most of these kids have never even held a fishing rod before, so getting them out on the water is going to be transformative.”
Through the partnership, students will learn science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills while engaging with nature. They’ll assess water quality, go canoeing, fish for invasive species, and work on environmental advocacy projects. These experiences aim to instill a sense of stewardship for local ecosystems.
The program is supported by a grant from the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and funded by the U.S. Department of Education. CCRP is one of only a few organizations on the Eastern Shore to receive this prestigious funding, which also supports the department’s well-established 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
“We’re thrilled about this new partnership,” said Morgan Buchanan, ShoreRivers’ education programs coordinator. “This funding allows us to ignite a passion for our local waterways and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. It’s about connecting these students to the natural world around them in a hands-on, meaningful way.”
For CCRP, partnerships like this not only enhance the programming but also allow the department to serve more students. The demand for CCRP’s summer camps, which hosted nearly 900 campers last year, continues to exceed capacity. If more partnerships or funding opportunities can be cultivated, CCRP hopes to expand its reach.
For Mitchell, he sees partnerships as building endless potential in expanding CCRP’s environmental offerings.
“We want these kids to have experiences that will resonate long after they leave our programs,” he said. “Whether it's learning how to safely enjoy our rivers or enjoying many of our other summer activities, we're empowering students to connect with the world around them.”
Beechey also sees this as an opportunity to raise future environmental stewards. “We hope that even the smallest experience with us might inspire these children to take larger actions later in life—whether it’s picking up trash at a local park or working toward making our environment more sustainable.”
CCRP’s mission to deliver meaningful out-of-school programming transcends timeframes and budget challenges, and the department remains committed to finding innovative ways to support the youth of Caroline County.
As Beechey puts it, “If there’s an opportunity to partner with content experts who can help us provide unique experiences for our youth, we’re always interested in exploring that. It’s all about enriching the lives of our children, and partnerships help make that possible.”
