Uniquely Women, Uniquely Chesapeake

HerChesapeake energizes and empowers all women, who work or volunteer in a field related to the Chesapeake Bay, with services and support that respond to the distinct challenges, biases, inequities, and expectations women experience. Gender equity has slowly improved, but many inequalities remain ingrained in social and cultural norms. As the needs of women change over time, so will the services and support HerChesapeake provides.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is an estuary, where fresh and saltwater mix to produce enormous natural diversity. This bountiful landscape, stretching from the rolling Appalachians in New York to the lowland coastal marshes of Virginia, supports over 18 million citizens who live, work, and play here. By 2030, the population within the Chesapeake Bay watershed is expected to grow to 20 million. The challenge for the Bay lies in the reality that a large area of land drains into a relatively small body of water. All the rivers, streams, and rainwater from 64,000 square miles of land flows into just 4,000 square miles of the Chesapeake Bay. Any pollution those waterways pick up along the way also ends up in the Bay.

Clean water is central to life, but the United Nations projects that by 2030, half the world’s population will be living in water stressed areas due to water extraction, pollution, and climate change (UNDESA). As a major water resource for so many people in one of the densest developing regions of the U.S., we all need to do our part to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed so that we’re able to continue to live, work, and play here for many generations to come.