​Join Senator Bernie Fowler at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum on Sunday, June 9 at 1:00 pm, as he slips on his white sneakers and wades into the waters of the Patuxent River to establish this year’s “Sneaker Index.” Senator Bernie Fowler is a long-time Calvert County resident, and has been a chair of the Patuxent River Commission for many years. Throughout his career, Fowler worked to prevent the continued degradation of the Patuxent River, as well as the Chesapeake Bay. Fowler advocates through having a personal connection to the environment. Before his involvement in politics, Fowler was a waterman on the Patuxent. His own personal tracking mechanism for testing water clarity, known as the "Senator Bernie Fowler's Sneaker Index," has been used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a national example. The method involves walking out into a river until losing sight of one's feet or sneakers to determine the clarity of the water. The clearer the water, the less suspended materials and pollutants present.  The Patuxent River Wade In is free and open to the public. View displays from University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Morgan State University Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory (PEARL) while enjoying live entertainment.  Get a personalized tour of the new Smithsonian H20 Today exhibit.