ForumPlus

The Next Level of Partnerships and Networking

ForumPlus, an extension of the Chesapeake Watershed Forum, is designed to provide organizations with continuous opportunities to learn, network, and inspire each other on a variety of environmental subjects through many social platforms. It aims to facilitate a continuous conversation, create partnerships between environmental groups across the watershed, and focus on information sharing.

ForumPlus encapsulates year-round, local, and interactive events designed to increase restoration and protection, facilitate new collaborations, and catalyze restoration actions.

Connecting the champions through ForumPlus

Looking ahead to the next generation of Chesapeake Bay restoration challenges and opportunities, the Alliance believes our long-term success will ultimately depend on the actions and support of the 18 million individuals who live, work, and play in the Watershed.

Connecting the champions from companies, communities, and conservation groups with each other is fundamental to our success. That is why we facilitate information exchanges, foster movements, and build partnerships through ForumPlus, ultimately to help ease communication and collaboration between these groups.

ForumPlus events include:

  • Panel events hosted in different cities that are centered around diversity initiatives in the environmental field.
  • Issue debates and/or regional one day forums to bring synergy to local groups in these regions.
  • A Local Government Forum that would focus on issues that are specific to local government implementation of the WIP’s and opportunities for local watershed group engagement with local governments.

Since 2017, the Alliance has held the PA Sportsmen’s Forum three years in a row with the purpose of bringing together conservationists and sportsmen/women to discuss shared goals and develop joint efforts in areas such as fish and wildlife habitat restoration, land conservation, forest management, stream restoration, and more. The event is a mix of educational presentations and immersive outdoor experiences designed to engage attendees and spark discussion that strengthens our common mission of healthier lands and waters.


The Sustainable Business Summit showcased local companies’ leadership in sustainability, discussed opportunities for continued action across all sectors, and brainstormed local and regional partnerships for change.


This Forum brought together practitioners to discuss collective efforts in green infrastructure project planning in Richmond’s East End neighborhood. As a result, a partnership was formed to pursue the design and implementation of a green street, which will help improve water quality, reduce “heat island” effect, and improve pedestrian and bike safety.


This Forum’s goal was to create a listening space where individuals throughout the region could discuss issues, concerns, and barriers regarding the region’s habitats. At the next Forum, we plan to go more in-depth in order to address issues, and devise solutions while engaging additional interested stakeholders.


The Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative has provided technical, logistical, and outreach support through 80 workshops over the last three years and has incorporated data from over 70 monitoring groups into the Chesapeake Data Explorer, reaching over 100,000 data points in 2019.


The focus of the 2019 Local Government Forum was to provide the Chesapeake Bay Program leadership with more specific recommendations to better meet the workforce needs in the communities across the Bay region.


The DC Green Jobs Workforce Roundtable brought together over 60 participants representing all aspects of the environmental and workforce fields with one goal: To better understand our green workforce development programs in the District and their needs. The event hosted multiple speakers and panels, each reflecting on the importance of cross-sector partnerships and a well prepared and supported green workforce in order to meet the Districts restoration goals. Takeaways and action items derived from this roundtable will help us address these issues through continued discussions, partnerships, and events.