Crisfield Resilience Academy

Now accepting applications for Spring 2025. Apply by Monday, January 6th

Join Waitlist for applicants aged 18 and over

Overview

Since Crisfield’s founding on the Chesapeake Bay, the environment has been an important part of community life, economy, and culture. As part of its efforts to deal with current environmental challenges such as flooding, Crisfield is partnering with EPA and others to explore coastal resilience solutions with an educational training opportunity called the Crisfield Resilience Academy.

A flooded street in Crisfield MD during the aftermath of hurricane Sandy

The Crisfield Resilience Academy sessions will provide opportunities to interact with researchers and experts and gain practical knowledge of environmental challenges, policies, and programs that participants can share with their community networks.

Session Topics - Spring 2025

Session 1: Resilience - Saturday, February 1, 2025
Session 2: Ditches & Flood Warning Systems - Saturday, February 22, 2025
Session 3: Economics & Careers in Coastal Resilience - Saturday, March 1, 2025
Session 4: Nature Based Solutions (NBS) - Saturday, March 22, 2025
Session 5: Community Capacity Building - Saturday, April 5, 2025
Session 6: Celebration - Saturday, April 26, 2025

Program Participation

The Crisfield Resilience Academy will include attendance at six in-person training sessions at the Crisfield Public Library. Participants will have opportunities to engage with local researchers and experts. Participants will be eligible to receive a stipend of up to $300 for full participation in the program activities. Upon completion of the Academy, participants will receive a final certificate of completion. Employees of Salisbury University are not eligible for a stipend.

Can I participate in the Crisfield Resilience Academy?

You may be eligible to apply to the Crisfield Resilience Academy if you are:

15 years of age or older
A resident of Crisfield, MD and surrounding areas
Have an interest in and questions about environmental issues.

What will I be asked to do?

You will be asked to fill out a brief application and consent form. An initial cohort of 10-20 participants will be selected for the 6-session course.
Participants will be asked to attend 6 sessions which will be held on Saturday mornings at the Crisfield Public Library. Participants must attend each session in-person.
Participants will complete a survey before beginning and after finishing the program.
Participants will be asked to complete a brief evaluation of each session.
Participants may be asked to participate in a follow-up interview 6 months after the completion of the Academy.

The surveys and interviews are confidential and are for the purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the program.

There are plans to enroll a second cohort in 2025 if there is sufficient interest and capacity.

How can I sign up or get more information?

Interested applicants are asked to complete a consent form and recruitment survey found at the top of this page.

For questions, call us or send an email. Our office hours are Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm EDT. After hours, please leave a message on voice mail, and we will return your call promptly.

Jenna Hartley: hartley.jenna@epa.gov or (919) 541-2154
BEACON Program: BEACON@salisbury.edu or (410) 546-6001

BEACON at Salisbury University is assisting EPA with the logistics for this project, including registration and information for participants. You may receive communications from them regarding the Academy.

Approved by the U.S. EPA. For information about the research portion of this project, please contact the Institutional Review Board: IRB #21-3193 | IRB_subjects@unc.edu | (919) 966-3113.