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August 11, 2022

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The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Cambridge Community

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Ecosystem Eco Notes

More Acres, More Trails, More Space to Explore Campaign

August 11, 2022 by Pickering Creek Audubon Center
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For over 30 years, Pickering Creek Audubon Center has been the destination for students from Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester and Wicomico Counties to discover and connect with the natural world through exploration, science and engaged learning. During that same time, its 400 acres has offered a haven for individuals, community groups and families of all kinds who seek the peace, enjoyment, exercise and magical sightings that nature provides.

The Center completed a Master Site Plan in 2016 and Strategic Plan in 2020.  One of the highlights of both of those plans is expanding the habitat and trails that are part of Pickering.  As a result of their Master Site Plan, eleven acres were donated to the Center in 2016.  In 2018, Pickering leadership began a process with a neighboring landowner who holds two of the four highest priority parcels for the Center.  The definition of high priority parcels is twofold.  First, those that pose both a risk to guests experience at the center as well as disrupt local habitat if they are logged or are developed as home sites. Second, parcels that have the best opportunity for creating more outdoor exploration opportunities for our community on new trails.  The pandemic stalled the process for a while, but last fall discussions began again with the landowner.  Over the course of the pandemic other neighborhood parcels have been logged, which underscores the importance of preserving remaining forest habitat in the County as well as gives a stark reminder of what can happen on parcels near the center.  Discussions with the neighbor highlighted his desire to recoop his original investment through either logging the parcels or developing three home sites on them.

A steadfast supporter of the center offered a generous opening gift to get the process started.  In March the two parcels, totalling 63 acres were put under contract for Pickering and our fundraising effort began.  We have now raised 80% of the funds required to acquire the parcels, create trails, integrate the parcels into the centers overall campus, ensure we can maintain them over time and seed future protection of neighboring lands.

When students from near and far visit the Center we seek to give them a phenomenal outdoor experience that allows them to practice scientific methods in the field as well as truly experience the wonder and natural beauty of wild, undeveloped space. What makes that experience work so well is the Center’s ability to showcase the flowers and trees and frequent wildlife sightings that get kids (and adults) excited about being outside. Nothing beats seeing a northern harrier scream by or watching two eagles tangle with each other overhead. These experiences are as much a result of our own property management as the land use of our neighbors.

Pickering Creek Audubon Center surrounds these parcels on three sides, sharing in total 1.28 miles of common border. South of the parcels is our main campus’ back meadow, which includes a new trail and viewing platform. North of the parcels is Pickering’s Peterson Woods. On the eastern side, across Pickering Creek’s headwaters, and only 125 feet at its closest and 325 feet at its farthest, visible from our main campus’ “Farm to Bay Trail” that winds its way through the woods, which serves as the primary classroom for 70% of our school groups.

The landowner of these parcels purchased the two parcels in 2006 at the peak of the real estate market, envisioning them as a place for family hunting and recreation and possibly a retirement home in the future. Much has changed since 2006. The real estate market has declined significantly, depressing the value of the parcels, and the interests of the owners have evolved. The landowners have since subdivided the two parcels into three parcels, and have indicated interest in doing some degree of logging, stating that “the woods are ready but the market is not.” The landowner’s intent is to begin installation of septic systems, utilities and an entry drive through to the three parcels, as shown by some of the permits now in hand to carry out these “upgrades” in an effort to recoup the initial investment with a sale to owners ready and able to build up to three houses.

In Pickering’s eyes, the parcels are perfect for Pickering Creek and this community exactly as is.
Any of the modifications to these parcels proposed by the owner diminish their ultimate value for Pickering and this community, which means the time to act is NOW. We have seen firsthand the effects of timbering in the neighborhood recently. Timbering that occurred adjacent to our Peterson Woods parcel has not only diminished the beauty of the place in the near 5-10 year term, but has also caused significant expense in clearing the subsequent blow downs of remaining trees and limited our ability to use that portion of our campus in the ways we would like. We need to avoid these and other detrimental outcomes with the parcels that border the main campus of Pickering Creek. Two waterfront homes overlooking the Centers main campus would significantly diminish the wild and remote experience in the great outdoors that Pickering is known for and provides for the community.

From the most basic of needs, acquisition of these parcels would protect the wild experience for school students, summer campers, hikers, paddlers and essentially all of our guests to the Center. It would protect the gem that Pickering Creek is to Talbot County, and Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

We have negotiated with the owner an acceptable price, and have a contract in place, contingent on raising sufficient funds by September 2022 to purchase these 63 acres. Including funds to design and implement a trail system with associated signage which is fully incorporated into the existing Pickering campus, assure future care of the property and seed future land protection around the Center we need to raise $2.5 million.

An additional 63 acres of woods to explore will offer the community and students who visit Pickering at least two miles of new trails through a spectacular woodland adding to the existing trail system and connecting the main campus with the Peterson Woods. New trails will offer great walks through mature woods, and all the wildlife sightings that come with undeveloped land that provides critical habitat in the vicinity. Bushy tailed red fox and a gang of wild turkeys has been spotted marching through the woods, along with countless songbirds and this spring’s salamander eggs in the vernal pools. Spring woodland wildflowers abound, chorus frogs happily sing on spring nights, Barred Owls nest in beech tree hollows and mountain laurel flourishes. There are two notable creek overlooks, with views of the Center’s main campus woods directly across the creek. Two streams with amphibian laden vernal pools run through the property adding nice diversity to the habitats we already have. All of this could be protected from development and logging, and shared instead with visitors young and old.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of having the resource of trails and outdoor exploration for our community. Since the pandemic began, we have seen drastically more people using the Center’s trails, many of whom are first time trail users. The trails provided a chance for many to decompress, be away from their home in a safe place, spend time safely with family and friends, and find solace during difficult times.

With your help, Pickering Creek Audubon Center will be able to offer increased green space for the public to explore and expand the places for children to explore as they develop their understanding of natural systems and the part they play in them. By connecting people of all ages to birds, the habitats they need to survive, and the unparalleled beauty of the Chesapeake Bay region, we can inspire this and future generations to steward their surroundings. To learn more visit: http://pickeringcreek.org/getinvolved/morespacetoconnect/

Filed Under: Eco Notes Tagged With: Ecosystem, local news, Pickering Creek Audobon Center

ShoreRivers Safe to Swim Weekend Report

August 6, 2022 by Spy Desk
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Along with summer swimming comes ShoreRivers Bacteria Monitoring season has officially started. It is advised that people not to swim 24-48 hours after a major rain.

 

 

Filed Under: Eco Homepage, Eco Portal Lead

Md. Lawmakers Check In with new Agency Leaders on Bay Cleanup Progress

July 28, 2022 by Maryland Matters
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Sens. Ben Cardin (left) and Chris Van Hollen were among the members of the Maryland congressional delegation who discussed Chesapeake Bay health Wednesday with Kandis Boyd (far right), the new director of U.S. EPA’s Bay program, and Hillary Harp Falk, the new president and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. A portrait of former Sen. Barbara Mikulski is behind Van Hollen and Cardin. Photo by Josh Kurtz.

With a 2025 deadline looming for states to meet aggressive federal goals for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, members of Maryland’s congressional delegation met Wednesday on Capitol Hill with two women who will be integral parts of the public-private strategy for eradicating pollution in the nation’s largest estuary.

Eight of the 10 members of the Maryland delegation held a wide-ranging conversation with Kandis Boyd, the new director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay program, and Hillary Harp Falk, the new president and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The session was held in a U.S. Capitol conference room newly named for Barbara Mikulski, the long-serving former Maryland senator, and her visage loomed over the lawmakers from all four walls.

“There is no higher priority that we have as a delegation than the Chesapeake Bay,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D), the leader of the state’s congressional team. “There is no more iconic manifestation of the way we live than the Chesapeake Bay.”

It was largely a “getting to know you” session, as Boyd and Falk have only been on their jobs for a matter of months. Both gave introductory remarks, describing how they came to their positions.

Falk said she was first introduced to the Bay as a young girl, visiting with her father, a professional photographer. She had an internship with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation during college, then lived on Tangier Island for three years while working for Bay Foundation education programs. Later, she had a long career as a conservationist with the National Wildlife Federation, and came to focus on watershed protection programs in the Great Lakes, Columbia River and Mississippi River Delta regions.

“My background is in coalition-building,” Falk told the lawmakers.

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D), the majority leader in the House, noted that Falk’s predecessor, Will Baker, took over the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 1981, the same year Hoyer was elected to Congress.

“You can’t get rid of me,” Hoyer joked. “Will went voluntarily.”Boyd grew up in the Chicago area, and became enamored with a working farm in her suburban neighborhood that offered educational programs for youths. That sparked a lifelong interest in the sciences; she became the first Black woman to receive an undergraduate degree in Meteorology from Iowa State University in 1996, and has spent most of her professional career in the federal bureaucracy, rising to high-ranking positions in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation.“My job is to make the technical not so technical,” she asserted.

As lawmakers peppered the two women with questions, it became readily apparent that some of the federal goals for cleaning up the Bay by 2025 are within reach, while others remain elusive. While Maryland has a better compliance rate than many other states in the Chesapeake watershed, it’s clear that some upstream states — notably Pennsylvania — are impeding the overall regional effort, for now. But several officials said the 2025 pollution reduction goals, which the states agreed in 2010 to try to reach, should be seen as a yardstick of progress, rather than a final destination.

“We’re going to have some problems meeting our 2025 goals,” Cardin conceded. “We recognize that. But this is about 2025 and beyond.”

Senators and House members asked Boyd and Harp about a range of topics — including upriver pollution, the sediment build-up at the Conowingo Dam in the Susquehanna River, agricultural runoff, the alarming decline in the blue crab population, a proposal to create a Chesapeake Bay National Recreation Area, and education and environmental justice programs for Bay communities.

Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) recalled helping feed his family by fishing in the Bay as a boy near his home in Turner Station, catching catfish and perch. But he said he “never thought of the Bay as mine,” and wondered if efforts were being made to connect communities to the water and its history. He cited the work at Morgan State University’s Patuxent Environmental Aquatic Research Lab as an example.

“Growing up, the Bay was great for finding worms,” Mfume said. “It was great for swimming. It was great for fishing. But I never really thought of it as mine.”

Boyd, a proponent of “STEAM” education — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — said she is living proof that young people from a variety of communities can be taught to respect vital natural resources like the Bay, and said EPA has several ongoing programs that do just that.

“The focus is: This is local,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you are in the watershed. Everybody has a stake in the watershed.”

Some of the most vigorous conversation concerned the decline in the blue crab population and its impact on watermen, migrant workers who staff crab picking operations, and restaurants and seafood distributors who rely on the revenue.

“Is there a reason to be hopeful, not just for 10 years from now, but for a year or two?” Mfume asked the experts.

Falk did not sugarcoat her response.

“This is really complex,” she said. “We’re concerned. It’s an indicator [on Bay health]. It’s a concerning indicator.”

One of the factors keeping the crab population low is the growth of the blue catfish population in the Bay — an invasive species. The blue catfish is considered tasty in most quarters, and some Bay fishermen have had success catching and selling the fish.

But a 2008 federal law requires the blue catfish to be inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture rather than the Food and Drug Administration, which inspects most other fish. That creates a more cumbersome process and delays the sale of the catfish, hurting vendors’ attempts to sell it on the market. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican in the Maryland congressional delegation, has inserted a provision in an appropriations bill that would lift the USDA inspection requirement, and Maryland lawmakers and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are hoping the Senate adopts it.

“It’s one of the rare occasions where I agree with Congressman Harris,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) said Wednesday.

As the 75-minute meeting drew to a close, Cardin sought to tie the disparate subjects together.

“We talked about a lot of individual issues that we need to address,” he said. “But in the end, it’s all about addressing the pollution that’s going on in the Bay. It all comes back to the basic concept of the [federal pollution reduction] agreement.”

By Josh Kurtz

Filed Under: Eco Homepage, Eco Portal Lead

Toxic Algal Blooms Threaten Health of People and Pets

July 23, 2022 by Spy Desk
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Harmful algal blooms can pose significant risk to pets, young children, and anyone coming in contact with the water.

Every summer, news articles show up around the country about toxic blue-green algal blooms. When people and pets get sick or die from exposure to toxic blooms, it makes headlines. The Eastern Shore is no exception: in the summer of 2020, the Sassafras River experienced its largest, most toxic, and longest-lasting algal bloom on record, rendering much of the river un-swimmable for 12 weeks during the height of water recreation season. The toxin concentrations during this bloom were 300-500 times higher than the State’s threshold of risk and were responsible for the death of at least one dog and several cases of people getting sick.

In response, ShoreRivers, in partnership with local health agencies, has developed a program to proactively monitor algal blooms and alert the public of potential health concerns. Additionally, this summer, the Sassafras Riverkeeper will be hosting workshops with local veterinarians and pet owners to educate them on how to keep pets safe. A virtual workshop will be held on August 16 in the evening, with an in-person social event to follow later in August. Visit ShoreRivers.org/events for details, and follow the Sassafras Riverkeeper on social media for the latest updates. This work is supported by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

The three main types of algae exposure are inhaling aerosolized particles in the air, skin contact from wading/swimming, or ingestion of water. The degree of severity varies, with inhalation usually being the least severe, and ingestion being the most severe, but this varies depending on an individual’s health and immune system. Pets are so sensitive to algae that it doesn’t take much of any of these types of exposure to be serious.

“Harmful algal blooms are a serious threat to our ability to enjoy our rivers,” said Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher.“ShoreRivers’ monitoring and outreach efforts around these blooms are so critical, especially as we see these blooms increase in frequency and intensity. As a pet owner myself,” he added, “I’m thrilled we’ve received funding to raise awareness about this issue and keep local community members and pets safer each summer.”

Algae occur naturally in waterways, but increased levels of nutrients from human activities and higher water temperatures caused by climate change cause algae to bloom more often and more frequently. Over the past few years, ShoreRivers’ data show higher concentrations of toxin-producing species like Microcystis and blooms that start earlier and last longer than previously observed.

These blooms are fueled by excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus running off into local rivers and streams. Agricultural and lawn fertilizers, leaking septic systems, non-native ornamental plantings, tree removal, and other human activity contribute to these increases in bloom frequency and toxicity. Exposure to these toxins can be fatal to pets within just 12 hours of exposure. Unfortunately, most pet owners and veterinarians don’t know the symptoms of algal poisoning.

The ShoreRivers Harmful Algal Bloom program will educate pet owners and veterinarians throughout the mid and upper Eastern Shore about the causes of blooms, the negative health impacts on pets and livestock, and actions people can take to reduce the excess nutrient loading and runoff that triggers major blooms. ShoreRivers will partner with local veterinarians to distribute essential information about the health risks and how to respond when a pet has potentially been exposed to algal toxins.

Local pet owners or interested community members wanting to learn more, please contact Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher at zkelleher@shorerivers.org.

ShoreRivers is pleased to bring significant state and federal resources into the region to support integral work for healthy rivers on behalf of our communities. Follow the progress of these projects:@shorerivers on Facebook; @shoreriversorg on Instagram; or subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter at shorerivers.org/subscribe.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

Filed Under: Eco Notes Tagged With: Ecosystem, local news, Shore Rivers

Keeping the Soul of Cambridge’s Packing House with ESLC’s Carol Bean

July 20, 2022 by Cecile Storm
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Editor’s note: While it is rarely discussed at length or found in the blueprints of building restoration projects, one of the ultimate challenges facing architects, developers, and future tenants is how a historic site can maintain its soul after it has been renovated and modernized.
Beyond form and function, the markings of a successful restoration are preserving the aura of a building’s past.

That was certainly the challenge when the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy undertook repurposing the McCord Dry Cleaning building into a regional conservation center. And to ESLC’s credit, the historic sense of place is still very much alive in what is now known as the Eastern Shore Conservation Center.

With that in mind, we asked Spy agent Cecile Storm to chat with ESLC’s Carol Bean about the restoration work being done on the Packing House in Cambridge. In keeping with her organization’s work in revitalizing Eastern Shore communities, Carol is working with a collection of other stakeholders to bring new life into this historic structure while keeping the powerful memories of a unique space intact.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and the Packing House project please go here.

Filed Under: Eco Homepage, Eco Portal Lead, Spy Chats, Spy Top Story

Bay Ecosystem: A Chat with Riverkeeper Annie Richards

July 13, 2022 by Dave Wheelan
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Before the recent pandemic, the Spy made it a point to check in with our ShoreRivers riverkeepers on the state of things with their programs. While not every interview was an upbeat update on the progress made, it’s always encouraging, nonetheless, to hear how devoted these frontline conservation stewards are to their rivers and the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

That is certainly the case with Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards.

A native Kent Countian, Annie, with the exception of her four years at Roger Williams College in Rhode Island, has spent her life and career, first as an environmental educator and now as the Chester River’s most prominent advocate, enjoying and helping to protect the Bay.

In our long-form interview with Annie (she was appointed Chester Riverkeeper in 2021), she points to some of the most optimistic signs she’s found on the river. Still, she matches those reports with a candid assessment of the impact that climate change and sea level rising will have on the entire Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

Filed Under: Eco Homepage, Eco Portal Lead, Ecosystem, Spy Highlights

Miles-Wye Riverkeeper Announces Operation Build-a-Reef: Eastern Bay

July 13, 2022 by Spy Desk
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ShoreRivers, Oyster Recovery Partnership, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have set an ambitious goal to plant 100 million juvenile oysters in Eastern Bay by the end of 2023. DNR has committed to fund the initial planting of 70 million oysters and ShoreRivers has raised the stakes—and the impact—by committing to plant an additional 30 million oysters. To learn more about Operation Build-a-Reef: Eastern Bay and donate to the effort, please visit shorerivers.org/ways-to-give.

The waterways of Eastern Bay, including the Miles and Wye Rivers, suffer from excess nitrogen and sediment pollution. Increasing oyster populations will not only result in cleaner water, it will also increase crucial habitat. “There used to be enough oysters in the Chesapeake Bay to filter the entire volume of water in just one week. We are grateful for partners like ShoreRivers because together we can work hard to restore oysters and their critical ecosystem functions so that the Bay may again thrive,” explains Ward Slacum, Executive Director of Oyster Recovery Partnership. By providing hiding places for small fish and juvenile blue crabs,as well as a stable foundation to help protect shorelines, planting 100 million new oysters will have a major impact on the health of Eastern Bay.

ShoreRivers announces an effort to plant 30 million oysters in Eastern Bay with the support of Oyster Recovery Partnership and their planting vessel, the Robert Lee.

Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) is the nonprofit expert in Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration, planting more than 9 billion oysters on 3,000 acres of reef since their founding in 1994. ORP will be providing the oyster spat and conducting all plantings in Eastern Bay for Operation Build-a-Reef. The first reef chosen for restoration is located off Tilghman Point, Claiborne, and the first planting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 12. A subsequent planting will be held the week of July 25 and more plantings will be held throughout the summer. Community members are invited to watch the plantings by boat.

Operation Build-a-Reef: Eastern Bay is a community stewardship restoration project, where donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations support direct oyster restoration work. Learn more about your Miles-Wye Riverkeeper and ShoreRivers’ comprehensive environmental restoration efforts at shorerivers.org. ORP leads the conservation of the native oyster in the Chesapeake Bay and beyond through oyster restoration, shell recycling, and sustainable fishery practices. Find out how at oysterrecovery.org.DNR leads Maryland in securing a sustainable future for our environment, society, and economy by preserving, protecting, restoring, and enhancing the state’s natural resources.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

Filed Under: Eco Notes Tagged With: Ecosystem, local news, Shore Rivers

Harris Adds Language to FY23 Appropriations Bill to Address Invasive Blue Catfish Species

July 13, 2022 by Spy Desk
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Acting Ranking member of USDA Appropriations Subcommittee Rep. Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01), has issued the following statement on language included in the House USDA, Rural Development and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill. This language addresses the invasive blue catfish species in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Under the language, included at the request of Ranking Member Harris, the USDA must create a system of providing waivers from USDA inspection requirements to invasive blue catfish processors that are in compliance with less burdensome FDA regulations for the safe processing of fish. The language will assist both processors and anglers in bringing this fish to market and facilitate reduction of the invasive blue catfish populations in the Bay in alignment with the State of Maryland’s Bay conservation strategies.

“Blue catfish are an invasive species which feed on many species native to our Bay, including blue crabs.  As our watermen have demonstrated time and time again, one of the most formidable tools we have at our disposal in reducing the blue catfish population is to fish them out of the Bay and bring them to market. Because of burdensome USDA inspection procedures, it has become increasingly difficult for watermen to do just that. New language included at my request in the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill will require the blue catfish inspection process to be moved from USDA to a less burdensome but just as safe regime under the FDA. In doing this, we are eliminating unnecessary regulation and allowing easier commercial catch of blue catfish which would help control the growing population of this harmful species.”

For media inquiries, please contact Congressman Harris’ Washington, DC office at 202-225-5311, or contact Anna Adamian at: Anna.A@mail.house.gov.

Filed Under: Eco Notes Tagged With: Ecosystem, local news

ShoreRivers Volunteers Plant River-Friendly Marina

July 12, 2022 by Spy Desk
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Pictured (left to right) are ShoreRivers staff and interns Kyle McKim, Meagan White, Darran White Tilghman, and Lexi Norman.

ShoreRivers’ office at the Chestertown Marina Cerino Center is now a beautiful and purposeful demonstration of river-friendly plantings. If you look closely, you can see that the native shrubs and perennials—with their showy yellow, orange, and purple flowers—are removing pollution from stormwater before it flows to the Chester River. All of the gutter downspouts have been rerouted into a large pipe that runs under the deck and empties into a rock-lined retention basin in front of the building. There, water can slowly filter into the surrounding plantings, leaving the soil and nutrients in place.

“Instead of rain rushing across the turf grass and the impervious parking lot, picking up pollution and carrying that load straight into the Chester, we capture that rainwater and let the plants work their magic. In addition to absorbing runoff, native plants also provide critical habitat benefits and food sources that non-native landscaping cannot,” says ShoreRivers Sassafras Riverkeeper Zack Kelleher, who helped with the design and plant species selection.

Learn more about how you can make positive change in your own backyard (or front yard, workplace, church, or school) with advice and incentives from ShoreRivers’ River-Friendly Yards program at shorerivers.org/river-friendly-yards.

This innovative project was made possible by a grant from the Robert F. Schumann Foundation and the design team at South Fork Studio Landscape Architecture. Essential support and expertise were provided by Wye Gardens, Anthony’s Flowers and Landscaping, Owen Excavation, and Edge Roofing. ShoreRivers volunteers put all 320 plants in the ground at a First Friday “Dig and Drinks” event in June.

“What I love most about this project is that you immediately see the benefits to the whole ecosystem,” says ShoreRivers Director of Community Engagement Darran White Tilghman. “Our workplace is now alive with birdsong and buzzing with pollinators. It also transforms the space for humans. Whether you arrive at our town marina by boat, car, or on foot, you’ll feel welcomed into the beauty of this little landscape.”

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education.

shorerivers.org

Filed Under: Eco Notes Tagged With: Ecosystem, Shore Rivers

Pickering Creek Audubon Center August Public Programs

July 10, 2022 by Pickering Creek Audubon Center
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Starry Night: Perseids & Summer Constellations
Friday, August 12, 2022
8:30 – 10:00 pm
$5 per person
The perseids are some of the year’s most exciting meteor showers and the best place to see them is somewhere without a lot of external lights. That’s why Peterson woods is an ideal getaway for viewing not just the perseids but also our fantastic summer constellations! Relax and enjoy the view from the Peterson woods lawn as Pickering Creek naturalists regale stories of the constellations, facts about the perseids and hopefully catch some shooting stars to boot! REGISTER HERE

The Art of Nature: Nature Journaling
Saturday, August 27, 2022
10 – 11:30 am
$10 per person
A practice spanning centuries, nature journaling is a great way to sharpen your observation skills, think critically and practice drawing! Without nature journals we wouldn’t have the works of some of the great ecological thinkers like Aldo Leopold, Charles Darwin, Jane Goodall & Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Learn how to do your own nature journal with detailed observations and sketches while enjoying a hike around Pickering Creek led by Pickering Creek naturalists. Journaling materials will be provided but feel free to bring your own as well! REGISTER HERE

Filed Under: Eco Notes Tagged With: Ecosystem, local news, Pickering Creek Audobon Center

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