DNREC and Center for the Inland Bays to host Water Family Fest on June 8

OCEAN VIEW – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship and the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays will host their first annual Water Family Fest from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 8 at the James Farm Ecological Preserve, 30048 Cedar Neck Road, Ocean View, DE 19970. Admission is free. This family-friendly event highlights areas each organization works on to improve Delaware’s natural resources including wetlands, water, and recreational shorelines.

Visitors will enjoy “feet-wet, hands-dirty fun” through outdoor recreational and educational opportunities, multiple vendors, and native plant giveaways. Wear your best walking shoes to explore hiking trails, wetland Storybook Walks, and the beach, or take the Orienteering Challenge, and even try your hand at kayaking or paddle boarding. Educational exhibits will provide opportunities to explore a variety of environmental topics including seagrass, shellfish, waves, beaches, wetlands, tax ditches, rain gardens, and more.

Short talks on topics such as horseshoe crabs, aquaculture, green infrastructure, and native plants will be scheduled every half hour starting at 10:30 a.m. and running until 2:30 p.m. A select number of vendors will be selling nature-based products, art, and books. A tentative schedule is available online.

For the latest information about the Water Family Fest, please visit de.gov/waterfamilyfest, the Facebook Event, or email Brittany Haywood, of DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, at Brittany.Haywood@delaware.gov, or Amy Barra with the Delaware Center for Inland Bays at abarra@inlandbays.org.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902