A new African American History Trail at the Iron Hill Museum was funded by a DNREC grant. DNREC photo

With today’s unveiling of a new African American History Trail on the grounds of the Iron Hill Museum and Science Center in Newark, visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the 1923 schoolhouse that houses the museum and the unique story of the free Black community that formed on Iron Hill in the 1830s. The trail – along with a new Monarch butterfly waystation and a project that removed invasive plants from the grounds to help clear the way for them – was funded by a Community Environmental Project Fund (CEPF) grant from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

“The CEPF grant program was created to support community environmental restoration projects. This project encompasses a broad spectrum of DNREC’s mission, from historical and cultural education and environmental justice to natural habitat restoration, invasive plant removal and supporting the life cycle of Monarch butterflies,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Today, we also recognized Eagle Scout Cameron Mills, the volunteer who built and installed the trail’s sign posts. DNREC is proud to support and be part of the Iron Hill Museum’s important work.”

“The African American History Trail allows the Iron Hill Museum to broaden its interpretation of the schoolhouse by including the under-recognized history of an independent, long-standing free African American community of landowners on Iron Hill, placing it into the context of a society in which free and enslaved Blacks co-existed before the Civil War. The families remained strong through the post-war periods of reconstruction and the era of segregation, where every-day struggles for economic and educational justice was supported by community church, and family,” said Debbie Keese, museum board member and researcher. “It is hoped that today’s families visiting the site will be able to make comparisons between past and present-day politics, social norms, family structures, and educational practices while inspiring thoughtful discourse about issues of equity and justice, both social and environmental, in a safe, comfortable, and beautiful space.”

The Delaware Academy of Science was established in 1968 with the purpose of promoting science in the First State, and to support their work established the Iron Hill Museum in the former Iron Hill School 112C, one of 87 schools built throughout the state by Pierre S. du Pont to educate Black children in the 1920s. Today its mission continues to promote and preserve scientific education including natural history, archaeology and anthropology of the area, technology, service, museum collections, programs, and community collaborations. A science center was added in 2016, with the schoolhouse now focused on the Black school experience and history of the area and the people who lived there, including Native Americans, free and enslaved African Americans, miners and farm laborers. The museum received a prior CEPF grant for a Pollinator Garden and Education Project.

The Community Environmental Project Fund was created by the Delaware General Assembly in 2004 to provide funds to support environmental restoration projects in communities that were damaged by environmental pollution. The legislation authorizes DNREC to establish a grant fund by withholding 25% of funds collected as penalties for violations of environmental regulations. These funds are returned to the communities where the violations occurred as competitive grants to nonprofit organizations to support community environmental projects. Eligible community environmental projects are pollution mitigation, environmental enhancement recreational opportunities. More information about the program can be found on the DNREC website at de.gov/cepf.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, Joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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LEWES – The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) will close the Gordons Pond elevated boardwalk along the Gordons Pond Trail at Cape Henlopen State Park on Wednesday, Feb. 5 and Thursday, Feb. 6 for repairs to its railing. Access to the boardwalk where it meets the trail on the north and south points will also be closed during this time.

The popular boardwalk is located at the beginning of the trail near the Biden Center and the Herring Point parking lot, between the 2 and 2.5 mile markers if traveling north along the Gordons Pond Trail. If traveling south, the boardwalk is located between the .5 and 1 mile markers.

DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation plans to repair the railing where it has pulled away from the rest of the boardwalk over the years to keep it safe for use. To repair the railing, bolts must be driven through supports under the bridge to keep the railing in place, which requires decking to be removed.

All other Cape Henlopen State Park trails will remain open during the repairs. For a map of the park’s trails, including the Gordons Pond Trail, stop by the Park Office or go to destateparks.com/Beaches/CapeHenlopen.

YORKLYN – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation has announced that the Farm Lane Bridge and Auburn Valley trail in Yorklyn will be closed for construction from Monday, August 20 to Tuesday, September 4. The bridge and trail will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians.

The work is necessary to prepare abutments and piers for a new bridge. Trail visitors are encouraged to use the Yorklyn Bridge and Oversee Farm trails during the construction period.

More information is available at AuburnHeights.org, at www.destateparks.com, or by contacting Laura Lee, Park Superintendent, Auburn Heights Preserve, at 302-729-4278.

LEWES – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation announced today that restoration work on portions of the Junction & Breakwater Trail has moved ahead faster than expected, making it possible to reopen repaired segments of the trail Friday, July 15 (with the entire trail remaining open through the weekend), before the work resumes Monday, July 18, closing other parts of the J&B trail through Friday, July 22.

Repairs and renovation of the J&B trail, originally constructed in 2003, began July 11. Nearly two miles of trail surface are being restored on sections lying between Hebron Road, at the south end, and the Holland Glade pedestrian bridge on the north side of the trail. Other smaller segments of the trail will be repaired between the Hawkseye community and the Wolfe Neck parking lot trailhead.

Repairs focus on reconstructing rough exposed rock trail sections, to be resurfaced with stone dust to create a smooth walkable and bikeable tread. Other repairs include eliminating areas of standing water and washouts, and replacing fencing.

DNREC’s contractor on the Junction & Breakwater Trail restoration, George & Lynch Inc., completed the first stage of the project a day early, allowing for the “bonus” reopening. The second stage of restoration spans Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 22, with the entire J&B trail expected to open from July 23.

The Junction & Breakwater Trail and the Gordons Pond Trail are part of a 15-mile regional network linking Lewes and Rehoboth. The Junction & Breakwater Trail between Gills Neck Road and the Hawkseye community will be open continuously. Trail users also are encouraged to use the Gordons Pond Trail for recreational activities while the Junction & Breakwater Trail restoration is in progress.

The trail restoration is a cooperative project between DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation and the Federal Recreational Trails Program. For questions on this project and for up-to-date information about it, please contact Susan Moerschel, Trails Program Manager, 302-222-3711, or, Superintendent Paul Faircloth at the Cape Henlopen State Park Office, 302-645-8983.

CONTACT: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 255

DOVER (March 26, 2013) – DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation will host a public open house for the proposed Gordons Pond Trail in Cape Henlopen State Park. The Open House will be held from 4 p.m. through 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 at the Lewes Library, Second Floor Meeting Room, 111 Adams Avenue in Lewes.

This project is part of Governor Jack Markell’s Statewide Trails and Pathways Initiative. The proposed trail will provide a key link in a 15.5-mile regional trail system through Lewes and Rehoboth including the existing Junction and Breakwater Trail.

The proposed trail will extend from the wildlife observation platform at Gordons Pond Area to the Walking Dune Trail near Herring Point in Cape Henlopen State Park. Approximately two miles long, the new trail will improve and reroute an existing primitive trail. The proposed trail will consist of a .4 mile elevated segment and 1.5 mile trail with a crushed stone surface.

More trails for walking, hiking, biking, and jogging rank consistently as the highest outdoor recreation need identified by Delawareans throughout the state. In addition, trail networks promote healthy lifestyles and take cars off the road, reducing air pollution and traffic. The Gordons Pond Trail will offer an excellent opportunity for young Delawareans to be outdoors to experience and learn about nature.

Visitors at the Open House can view the Gordons Pond Trail Plan and related information including exhibits, maps, and trail alignments, models of a bridge/boardwalk, trail tread cross sections, and decking material.

For more information on the Gordons Pond Trail Open House, contact Susan Moerschel, Planning Chief, DNREC Park Resource Office, 302-739-9240 or susan.moerschel@delaware.gov.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 43, No.108

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