DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz Explores Partnerships with Center for Environment and Society

The Secretary and senior team members met with CES staff, College leadership and students interested in environmental careers on April 10.

Following last week’s talk from Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s president & CEO, conversations around improving the health of Maryland’s natural resources and how students can play a part in sustaining the state’s greatest assets continued when Secretary of the Maryland Department of Resources (DNR) Josh Kurtz and his team paid a visit to the Washington College Center for Environment and Society (CES) on Wednesday, April 10.  

After a brief tour of CES’s “living building” headquarters, Kurtz and his staff sat down with President Mike Sosulski, CES Director Valerie Imbruce, Vice President for Advancement Susie Chase, Provost Kim Kiho, CES Deputy Director Beth Choate, GIS Program Director Tarek Rashed, Natural Lands Project Coordinator Dan Small, Cultural and Natural Resource Initiatives Director Micheal Chiarappa, and River and Field Campus Director David Kramar to learn more about CES’ mission and offerings and to discuss ways in which DNR may partner with and utilize the Center’s community engagement and research efforts. CES advisory board members Jay Griswold P'94, Truman Semans, and Clinton Daly were also in attendance.  

An Opportunity for Partnership 

“[CES] really is aligned with where we are moving within the Department,” said Kurtz, emphasizing that putting the people of this region first is the best path forward to “building durability” for all future solutions to protect and improve the health of the Bay and our natural lands.  

At the outset of the conversation, President Sosulski noted that thanks to the impressive work happening at CES, the College will become “the premiere institution for the study of the environment at the intersection of society” and he urged continued and deep collaboration with DNR wherever possible.  

“The Department of Natural Resources is an important partner for CES,” noted Director Imbruce following the meeting. “Through this visit we learned that not only do our mutual interests continue to grow, but the very approach that Secretary Kurtz and his leadership team bring to the agency is much like ours at CES. We both believe that environmental problems are interdisciplinary in nature, and that people—their histories, culture, and lived experiences—need to be at the center of proposed solutions. We also established that Washington College students are well positioned through the liberal arts education they receive here to make great contributions to DNR’s stewardship of Maryland’s coastline, fisheries, conservation areas and public parks.”  

Secretary Kurtz and his team highlighted several areas where research from other organizations and institutions had played a part in DNR’s approach to preserving the natural treasures of the state and ensuring its health for generations to come. In addition to citing the Chesapeake Research Consortium’s CESR Report as “the guiding light” for the Department’s approach to resource distribution and use, Kurtz identified several areas of focus and programming at CES that would be useful to DNR in their expanding community engagement and education efforts. Those efforts included the expansion of regenerative agriculture research; the conversion of marginal cropland into diverse native meadows, wetlands, and forests; and the ongoing messaging and community education needs around sustainable farming and conservation efforts. He highlighted the 80 sites and thousands of acres CES’ Natural Lands Project has converted and manages across the Shore and lauded the “sense of place” provided by the research projects completed under the Chesapeake Places program.  

“People care more about the creek behind their home than the entirety of the Bay,” he noted. “That’s where we have to meet them with our outreach.” 

Having gotten the itch to work in environmental conservation after working as a bird bander at the University of Delaware, Kurtz also took special interest in the work of Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory and their future new bird banding station and education center.  

Opportunity for Students within DNR 

Perhaps chief among the day’s discussion, however, was DNR’s need for building a more diverse pipeline for future employees. Following their visit to CES, Kurtz and his team met with a handful of students to discuss career opportunities and internships at DNR and to answer questions about working in environmental policy and management at the state level.  

“We’re really looking at making our state’s parks and natural resources accessible to all—from language diversity to physical access,” Kurtz said, noting that those efforts start with building a diverse and dynamic team at DNR.  

Highlighting CES’ many sponsored internships and experiences on the Chesapeake, Imbruce garnered approval and compliments from the DNR team for College efforts to assist Washington students’ pursuit of a life working in and around the environment.  

Kurtz noted the rich alumni network Washington College students have access to, especially those within DNR and organizations working to protect and provide access to the state’s natural resources. He lauded the career path of the recently appointed superintendent of the Maryland Park Service, Angela Crenshaw ’04, a Washington College alum, noting that she is a “phenomenal communicator.” 

“We want to give all of you who are passionate about this work the opportunity to grow your career,” said Kurtz. “The interdisciplinary nature of your Washington College education will certainly give you an edge in that pursuit.” 

To learn more about the many opportunities CES affords students to solve the most pressing issues facing the future of our planet and its people through experiential learning, community and civic engagement, and research, head to their webpage.  

- Dominique Ellis Falcon