Delaware News

Join DNREC in celebrating American Wetlands Month

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Watershed Stewardship | Date Posted: Thursday, May 4, 2017



Wetlands Celebration and Get in Gear Family Bike Rally to be held May 6

DOVER – Join DNREC in celebrating American Wetlands Month in May with a spectrum of events and activities honoring an important natural resource that plays key roles in cleaning our drinking water and protecting all Delawareans from storms by buffering our coastal areas. To kick off the month, the 14th Annual Get in Gear Family Bike Rally and inaugural Wetlands Celebration will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6 at Trap Pond State Park in Laurel.

Wetlands Celebration Day“The Wetlands Celebration and family bike rally offer fun and engaging entertainment for the whole family while promoting awareness of Delaware’s vital wetlands and the wildlife habitat they provide,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We also invite everyone to participate in our other wetlands events all month long – and to learn about, appreciate and care for our wetlands all year round.”

Beginning at 9 a.m., the Wetlands Celebration features interactive stations, exhibitors, demos, live music and live animals including horseshoe crabs, macroinvertebrates, geese and even an opossum. Families are invited to take a wetland Storybook Walk, learn how wetland health is assessed, become a wetland scientist in the Volunteer Olympic Games and more.

Exhibitors will include: DNREC’s Aquatic Resources Education Center, 3 Palms Zoo and Education Center, Ward Museum, Salisbury Zoo, Delaware Wild Lands, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, Delaware Division of Public Health, Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, The Archaeological Society of Delaware and Trap Pond State Park.

In addition, free pontoon boat tours of the pond will be offered every hour, with the last tour at 3 p.m. Tours include a brief history of the pond and offer a look at some of the plants and animals that call the pond home. The park’s canoes and kayaks will also be available to rent, and the Bald Cypress Nature Center will be open, along with the park’s trails.

Breakfast, lunch and dessert will be available for purchase from Backyard Louie’s, Abbott’s Grille, Hotdogs from the Beach and Rita’s Italian Ice.

The Get in Gear Family Bike Rally, which is run by Trap Pond Partners, begins at 10:30 a.m. and will circle the perimeter of Trap Pond. Registration for the Bike Rally is $10 per person or $25 per family, and it is requested that you bring your own bike. All funds go to support Trap Pond State Park. Visit the website to register or for more information about the event.

Park admission will be covered by the Bike Rally admission fee, or mention the Wetlands Celebration at the fee booth; the first 150 cars will receive free park admission. This outdoor event is rain or shine, but some activities are weather permitting.

Other Delaware American Wetlands Month activities include:

  • Wetland Warrior Award Nominations
    The Delaware Wetland Warrior Award, now in its 10th year, is presented to students, teachers, classrooms, citizens or organizations that have demonstrated exemplary efforts to benefit Delaware wetlands. The award has two categories, education and professional.
  • Conference Program Cover Art Contest
    The winner of the new Delaware Wetlands Art Contest will be featured on the cover of the 2018 Delaware Wetlands Conference program, and will be the sole art vendor at the Conference. Any medium is acceptable, but the format must be 8.5”x11” portrait and content must be wetland-related.
  • Social Media Campaign
    Each week during the month of May, the Delaware Wetlands social media accounts will focus on a different aspect of wetlands, including working in wetlands, invasive plants, how to identify wetlands and wetland migration.

DNREC’s American Wetlands Month activities are organized by the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program. For more information about wetlands, visit Delaware Wetlands.

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Join DNREC in celebrating American Wetlands Month

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Watershed Stewardship | Date Posted: Thursday, May 4, 2017



Wetlands Celebration and Get in Gear Family Bike Rally to be held May 6

DOVER – Join DNREC in celebrating American Wetlands Month in May with a spectrum of events and activities honoring an important natural resource that plays key roles in cleaning our drinking water and protecting all Delawareans from storms by buffering our coastal areas. To kick off the month, the 14th Annual Get in Gear Family Bike Rally and inaugural Wetlands Celebration will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6 at Trap Pond State Park in Laurel.

Wetlands Celebration Day“The Wetlands Celebration and family bike rally offer fun and engaging entertainment for the whole family while promoting awareness of Delaware’s vital wetlands and the wildlife habitat they provide,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We also invite everyone to participate in our other wetlands events all month long – and to learn about, appreciate and care for our wetlands all year round.”

Beginning at 9 a.m., the Wetlands Celebration features interactive stations, exhibitors, demos, live music and live animals including horseshoe crabs, macroinvertebrates, geese and even an opossum. Families are invited to take a wetland Storybook Walk, learn how wetland health is assessed, become a wetland scientist in the Volunteer Olympic Games and more.

Exhibitors will include: DNREC’s Aquatic Resources Education Center, 3 Palms Zoo and Education Center, Ward Museum, Salisbury Zoo, Delaware Wild Lands, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, Delaware Division of Public Health, Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, The Archaeological Society of Delaware and Trap Pond State Park.

In addition, free pontoon boat tours of the pond will be offered every hour, with the last tour at 3 p.m. Tours include a brief history of the pond and offer a look at some of the plants and animals that call the pond home. The park’s canoes and kayaks will also be available to rent, and the Bald Cypress Nature Center will be open, along with the park’s trails.

Breakfast, lunch and dessert will be available for purchase from Backyard Louie’s, Abbott’s Grille, Hotdogs from the Beach and Rita’s Italian Ice.

The Get in Gear Family Bike Rally, which is run by Trap Pond Partners, begins at 10:30 a.m. and will circle the perimeter of Trap Pond. Registration for the Bike Rally is $10 per person or $25 per family, and it is requested that you bring your own bike. All funds go to support Trap Pond State Park. Visit the website to register or for more information about the event.

Park admission will be covered by the Bike Rally admission fee, or mention the Wetlands Celebration at the fee booth; the first 150 cars will receive free park admission. This outdoor event is rain or shine, but some activities are weather permitting.

Other Delaware American Wetlands Month activities include:

  • Wetland Warrior Award Nominations
    The Delaware Wetland Warrior Award, now in its 10th year, is presented to students, teachers, classrooms, citizens or organizations that have demonstrated exemplary efforts to benefit Delaware wetlands. The award has two categories, education and professional.
  • Conference Program Cover Art Contest
    The winner of the new Delaware Wetlands Art Contest will be featured on the cover of the 2018 Delaware Wetlands Conference program, and will be the sole art vendor at the Conference. Any medium is acceptable, but the format must be 8.5”x11” portrait and content must be wetland-related.
  • Social Media Campaign
    Each week during the month of May, the Delaware Wetlands social media accounts will focus on a different aspect of wetlands, including working in wetlands, invasive plants, how to identify wetlands and wetland migration.

DNREC’s American Wetlands Month activities are organized by the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program. For more information about wetlands, visit Delaware Wetlands.

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.