Supporting an Inclusive Chesapeake Bay Park that Welcomes Everyone

Visitors to one of Maryland’s most popular parks can now learn about the Chesapeake Bay and its ecosystem at the new Sandy Point State Park Nature Center. The center features a Chesapeake Bay-themed playground and a redeveloped plaza. The nature center, located a few miles east of Annapolis, Maryland, was developed in partnership with Chesapeake Conservancy and the National Park Service (NPS) and provides educational opportunities about flora and fauna native to the Chesapeake.  

Part of $2.5 million in ongoing investments at the park, the center offers information on how the public can protect the Bay from the effects of pollution and climate change.  

Chesapeake Conservancy worked with the Maryland Park Service to outfit the Sandy Point State Park Nature Center with bilingual interpretive materials, led by the Conservancy’s Manager of Equity and Community Engagement Gabrielle Roffe. Chesapeake Conservancy partners with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) on the agency’s efforts to improve facilities as the number of visitors increases at parks and also to improve programming through the “Es Mi Parque” program.

Additionally, a partnership of NPS, Chesapeake Conservancy, MD DNR, the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funds two bilingual interpretive outreach assistant positions based at Sandy Point State Park to provide translation services and develop programming to better engage the Latinx community.  

In recognition of the Conservancy’s efforts to create more inclusive park experiences for Spanish-speaking visitors, Maryland Park Advisory Commission honored Chesapeake Conservancy with its prestigious “Partner of the Year Award.”