A diverse class of children look through microscopes on a table set up outside in a forest

Education

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is the perfect place for students to learn about the environment and experience the natural world!  Educational and interpretive visits can be arranged with refuge staff and volunteers.  Educators are also welcome to use the refuge's facilities and equipment to conduct their own environmental lessons.

All visits must be arranged in advance by calling Ranger Tom Miller at 410-221-8156 or by emailing Thomas_J_Miller@fws.gov.  If you are seeking a staff-led program, please contact us as far in advance as possible.  We also recommend having several optional dates for your visit.  Because of our small staff size, we ask that group sizes be limited to 50 students.  We are happy to accommodate large schools over multiple days.

All activities related to environmental education are free to any educational group. Programs can be designed to accommodate young children and special populations. The Wildlife Drive entrance fee is waived for all educational-institution guided tours. The Visitor Center is free to all.

Most educational programs will meet at our Environmental Education Building, located just inside the entrance of Wildlife Drive. When using GPS to find the building, use the following address, which will lead you to the entrance of Wildlife Drive: 2431 Key Wallace Drive, Cambridge, Maryland, 21613.

Please Note: Though most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, a local surge in cases (as compiled weekly by the CDC) may require limits in group sizes and/or mandatory masking.

Picture of Blackwater's Junior Refuge Manager Field Journal and badge
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Junior Refuge Manager Program

New at the refuge! Young visitors can now learn about the refuge and become a Junior Refuge Manager! Ask for the "Junior Refuge Manager Field Journal" activity book at the Visitor Center information desk, and begin your refuge exploration! Activities are varied and appropriate for preschoolers (with parental help) and up. If you complete your Field Journal and return to the Visitor Center during business hours (Tues - Sun, 10am - 4pm), young managers will be sworn in and receive a unique wooden Blackwater Junior Manager badge!

Please note: Because Junior Refuge Manager activities are unique to Blackwater NWR and must be completed on-site, Field Journals will not be mailed out.