Delaware Receives an Additional Round of Specialty Crop Grant Funds from USDA
Department of Agriculture | Newsroom | Date Posted: Thursday, May 6, 2021
The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) received an additional round of funding to enhance the competitiveness of Delaware-grown specialty crops through USDA’s Pandemic Assistance Program. USDA awarded each state department of agriculture an allocation based upon their most recent available value of specialty crop cash receipts and acreage of specialty crop production in the state. As a result, Delaware received an additional $465,433 under H.R. 133 – the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 133 Stimulus Funding) to distribute through a competitive grant process.
Gov. Carney celebrates Arbor Day in Rehoboth Beach
Department of Agriculture | Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Forest Service | Former Governor John Carney (2017-2025) | Newsroom | Sussex County | Urban and Community Forestry | Date Posted: Friday, April 30, 2021
Governor John C. Carney, Jr. proclaimed Arbor Day in Delaware at a ceremony at Rehoboth Elementary School attended by 5th-grade students and staff, members of the General Assembly, and city and state officials. The event recognized Mayor Stan Mills and the City of Rehoboth Beach for its 30th year as a Tree City USA. Governor Carney also honored student winners in the Delaware Forest Service’s annual Arbor Day School Poster Contest. Two new oak trees were planted on the school campus for the event.
2021 Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners
Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Kent County | New Castle County | Newsroom | Sussex County | Date Posted: Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Grade 5 student Alyssa DeLuca of Brandywine Springs Elementary is the state winner of the Delaware Forest Service’s annual Arbor Day School Poster Contest.
This year’s contest attracted entries from 44 schools and 73 classrooms, with a total of 2,748 students participating. This year’s theme was “Trees Are Terrific…in Many Wonderful Ways!” Posters were judged on originality, use of theme, neatness, and artistic expression. Each winner receives a gift card, a tree-themed book, and a tree planting at their school. Twelve winners were selected from each county in four grade categories: kindergarten, grade 1 and 2, grade 3 and 4, and grade 5. The complete gallery of winners is at de.gov/arbordaypostercontest
Delaware Forest Service leads tree planting in Milton
Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Newsroom | Sussex County | Urban and Community Forestry | Date Posted: Monday, April 26, 2021
The Delaware Forest Service and its new “Tree Stewards” program led more than 50 volunteers and town officials to plant 160 trees in Milton, Sussex County on Saturday, April 24. The trees will enhance the town’s hiking and biking trail near West Shore Drive, part of DelDOT’s “Rails to Trails” project in Sussex County. Delaware’s urban and community forestry program funded the cost of the trees and provided technical assistance.
Forest Service to conduct controlled burn in Lewes
Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Sussex County | Date Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2021
The Delaware Forest Service plans to conduct a 48-acre controlled burn in the City of Lewes on Friday, April 23, beginning around mid-morning. Residents and visitors in the area might see smoke and should not be alarmed. The 48-acre site is primarily coastal marsh with phragmites and other vegetation. The purpose of the burn is to reduce hazardous fuel buildup and restore native marsh habitat. The area was last burned in 2008. The area has been treated several times over the past ten years to control phragmites, (Phragmites australis), which outcompetes native vegetation and lowers the local plant biodiversity.
