Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper Internship: Spotlight on Jen Plaskowitz

In July 2025, Blue Water Baltimore hosted our first-ever cohort of Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper interns for a two-week intensive “bootcamp” style immersive learning experience. The opportunity was generously funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Maryland Department of the Environment under the Healthy Environment, Healthy Communities Grant Program. Hear how the internship helped shape the next generation of Baltimore’s environmental stewards in their own words:

As humans in the United States, we have the right to drinkable, swimmable, and fishable waters. Here in Maryland, our economy and biological biodiversity also depends on the Chesapeake Bay, and the Bay in turn is dependent on its contributing waters. In light of an ongoing legacy of toxic industry and failing infrastructure, to ensure that the public can responsibly enjoy our greatest natural resource the Waterkeepers must remain vigilant in safeguarding and advocating for waterways throughout the watershed. I came to this internship to gain experience in the specifics of how stormwater management affects the health of Baltimore’s waterways, but that topic barely scratches the surface of the interconnected web of land use, industry, and aging infrastructure which contribute to the health of the water.

In the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper Bootcamp we had a chance to explore different watersheds and witness the unique challenges to water quality within them. We were trained in methods of collecting water samples and analyzing the different water quality metrics, keeping in mind that every sample is a snapshot of that body of water on that day. By keeping a rigorous log of data it is possible to observe patterns in the overall water quality. While exploring different watersheds we were also guided by community partners who were able to dive deeply into some of the political and industrial realities which continue to affect the watershed, airshed, and ultimately the living beings who reside within it. 

I am going to use my degree in Landscape Architecture to design spaces which will positively impact the watersheds and ecosystems they exist in. I will definitely be using the information I gained through the Waterkeeper Bootcamp in that endeavor. The program really drove home to me the reasons why certain infrastructural decisions were made, and how the sometimes detrimental effects of those decisions continue to affect the environment. As I embark on my career, I want to use the knowledge I gained to seek out stormwater management and landscape planning methods which are more beneficial to the watershed, and hopefully repair some of the damage done by previous actors. I also feel empowered to identify and report possible Clean Water Act violations, so that I can participate in water advocacy in my day to day life.