2026 Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional

Last summer, I was talking to my niece Katie about her job in wetland delineation as an Environmental Scientist 2 with Bay Environmental in Chesapeake Virginia. I’m incredibly proud of the environmental work she does and love seeing her photos out in the field. We come from a family of educators and Earth science nerds so our conversations always jump to these topics.

Katie Petersen and I in front of the Science Museum of Virginia in August!

Katie was telling me about the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) Level 1 course she was taking for professional development and it sounded incredible. The entire course was about the maintenance of Green Infrastructure Best Management Practices (BMPs). That’s EXACTLY the work I had just started doing as an intern for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District! It covered everything from rain gardens to permeable pavers to bioswales and basins. I decided to take a week off work and sign up for the class myself. It would be a great way to spend time with my niece in Richmond and learn!

These are some fellow participants measuring the slope of the splash pad for a rain garden in front of a library. Notice the lush native plants!

The in-class portion of the workshop was at the Science Museum of Virginia. When we walked into the atrium where a large pendulum was swinging, I remembered bringing Katie and her brother Justin there as very little kids. That unlocked memory told me I was in the right place. 

We got the opportunity to travel to different BMP sites around Richmond to learn about the functions and maintenance of each type of structure. These sites appeared to be a few years older than the sites I help maintain in Cleveland. I was struck by how different the well-maintained sites were from the less maintained ones. One BMP that filtered parking lot runoff at a golf course featured gorgeous basins full of mature native plants and gentle waterfalls. It made sense that a golf course would have a highly-trained dedicated horticulture staff. I wish I had taken some photos, but we had limited time to complete inspection forms and I didn’t snap any.

This sad little swale once had flowing water after a rain and lush plants. It has been mowed down and filled with sediment.

The volunteer trees have been allowed to grow in this area. Some are native, but there are some White Mulberry and other invasives that shaded out the flowers of a native rain garden.

Another site behind a school had lost its functionality over the years. If someone didn’t point it out, I would not have known it was once a functional native-planted bioswale. Today it looked like a turf grass ditch with a mix of invasive species and pioneer native trees at the bottom. Of course I don’t blame a school maintenance team. I worked in school maintenance for three years and I know the demands of the job leave little time for landscaping. The highest priority is keeping the building safe and clean for children.

A redeeming factor behind the school was a beautiful native pollinator garden maintained by volunteers for the children.

My biggest takeaway is that even the best planned Green Infrastructure sites could lose all functionality without dedicated, well-trained maintenance staff. On the other hand, they could mature into beautiful native landscape features that host wildlife and filter stormwater naturally with the right care. I love being part of the latter situation.

Here is my only photo of the golf course BMP. I don’t know why I didn’t take one of the gorgeous basin behind me.

Why am I bringing this all up now? I finally kicked myself in the behind enough to take the CBLP Level 1 test and now I’m officially a Chesapeake Bay Landscaping Professional! 

Official! 

Of course, after class Katie and I drove to all different native gardens and mini forests around Richmond, VA!

Excellent pollinator habitat in a park!

Selfie in a native garden!

Me walking in a Miyawaki mini forest behind a school.