SMYRNA – The Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill (DHCI) is recruiting volunteers to adopt residents for its annual Friends & Families Day event on Saturday, Sept. 12, on the facility’s grounds in Smyrna.

Boot Scootin’ Family & Friends Day Bash, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., will include a DJ entertainment, a picnic lunch, watermelon, snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy, as well activities for kids including line dancing, water balloon toss, face painting, and mini-horse visits. The long-term care facility is at 100 Sunnyside Road, Smyrna.

Because many residents will not have loved ones or family members who can participate in the event, the facility is recruiting volunteers to adopt a resident for the day. Volunteers will escort residents to lunch, fun outdoor activities and special treat stations, while also spending quality time with the individuals.

“For individuals who volunteer to adopt residents, you will get back so much more than you give,” Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf said. “This annual event is an incredible way to give back and to spend quality time with residents of the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill.”

Participants may bring a picnic lunch to share with a resident (any meal restrictions will be provided), or guests may enjoy a sub provided by Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill.

Groups and organizations are also welcome to adopt a resident. Depending on the size of the group, they may adopt a unit, which typically consists of 20 to 30 residents.

The long-term-care facility, which is operated by DHSS, has about 140 residents. Admission requires both a financial and a medical need.

If you or your group is interested in adopting a resident for Friends & Families Day, please contact Jennifer Bobel, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at Jennifer.Bobel@delaware.gov or call 302-223-1011 no later than Wednesday, Aug. 26.

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Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.

For more information, contact Jill Fredel
Delaware Health and Social Services
Director of Communications
(302) 255-9047 (office) or (302) 357-7498 (cell)

DOVER – Do you know a Delaware student who is working to make a difference for the environment? The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is encouraging teachers, classmates, parents, club or group leaders and others to nominate these students for the 2015 Young Environmentalist of the Year Awards. Nominations must be based on actions or projects which have taken place between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015.

Nominations will be accepted between Wednesday, April 22 and Wednesday, June 24, 2015. A winner will be chosen from each of the following categories:

• Elementary for students in grades 1-4
• Middle School for students in grades 5-8
• High School for students in grades 9-12

The Young Environmentalist program honors Delaware students whose actions have resulted in the protection, restoration or enhancement of Delaware’s natural resources through one or more of the following means:

• Demonstrating Environmental Stewardship
• Initiating an Innovative Project
• Increasing Public Awareness
• Demonstrating Environmental Ethics

This is the 22nd year for the award, which was established by colleagues and friends in honor of Dr. Edwin H. Clark II, who served as Secretary of DNREC from 1989 until 1993.

A gift card and a Delaware State Parks prize pack will be awarded to each category winner in recognition of his or her contribution to the community.

Winners will be honored in a special ceremony on Governor’s Day at the 2015 Delaware State Fair Thursday, July 30.

For more information, including nomination forms, please contact Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, at 302-739-9902 or by email at Joanna.wilson@delaware.gov, or visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Admin/Pages/YoungEnv.aspx.

Vol. 45, No. 117

DOVER (April 19, 2013) – Delaware is home to eight species of bats, several of which have begun their annual move from winter hibernation sites to summer maternity colonies. Female bats return pregnant to the colonies where they congregate to give birth and raise their pups. In Delaware, these colonies can often take up residence in barns, garages, attics and homes.  

In Delaware, bats feed at night on insects, many of which are pest species like mosquitoes. Some eat moths and beetles that damage our crops. “They’re providing us with a valuable and free service, so it’s to our benefit to have them around,” said Wildlife Biologist Holly Niederriter of DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife.

A study published in Science magazine’s Policy Forum suggests that bats could be one of the most economically-valuable groups of wildlife to North American farmers, saving farmers at least $3.7 million annually by reducing the amount of pesticides needed.

Even though bats play an important role in our ecosystem, they are often unwanted visitors inside homes, garages and other outbuildings. If you, or a friend or neighbor, has bats roosting in an undesirable location, excluding bats from the building may be warranted.

For a list of permitted nuisance wildlife control operators that can conduct bat exclusions and to review best management practices for excluding bats, as well as more information on the Delaware Bat Program, please visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/bats/. The Delaware Bat program is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

In the spring, it is crucial that bat exclusions be completed before May 15, when female bats typically settle into their colony sites and begin giving birth. If done after that date, flightless young may be trapped inside buildings and permanently separated from their mothers, without whom they cannot survive.

If you know of non-nuisance bat colonies, DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife biologists are seeking volunteer bat spotters to help in locating and counting the state’s bat colonies. The Delaware Bat Count is a statewide research study of bat populations, breeding activity and the overall health of the bats that inhabit our state. The bat program is always looking for reports of new bat colonies.

To report a bat colony, or for more information on volunteering as a bat spotter, or on bat exclusions, please contact Holly Niederriter or Sarah Brownlee-Bouboulis, at 302-735-8674, or by email at  sarah.brownlee@delaware.gov.

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

Vol. 43, No. 160

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Almost 200 volunteers donated over 440 service hours as part of a conservation project to plant 4,000 oak and pine tree seedlings on a 10-acre parcel of Blackbird State Forest on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7. Taking advantage of the somewhat seasonable spring weather, 194 volunteers from the Smyrna area – which included 84 adults and 110 youths from local Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, and Girl Scout Troops – spent the better part of two days to complete the effort. Many of the young people satisfied requirements for various conservation awards and rank advancement in their scouting programs with the project.

State Forestry Administrator Michael A. Valenti, who has also been actively involved with the Boy Scouts for many years, was pleased with the two-day effort: “Everyone had a great time, nothing but smiles all around and the satisfaction of having contributed to a worthwhile project.”

During a similar planting project in 2012, a total of 73 youths and 49 adult volunteers planted 4,000 oak seedlings on a 10-acre planting site. To date, forestry officials estimate that over 90 percent of the trees have survived.

Contact: Michael A. Valenti, (302) 698-4550 or email: michael.valenti@delaware.gov

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NEW CASTLE COUNTY – DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara encourages volunteers to join the Christina River Cleanup along the river and several of its tributaries on Saturday, April 6 from 8 a.m. until noon at 12 sites throughout northern New Castle County. Due to other activities that day, two sites will begin the cleanup early – the City of Newark at 7:30 a.m. and the Naamans Creek site at 8 a.m. 

“Helping to beautify our waterways is the perfect way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning,” said Secretary O’Mara. “Clearing debris from the Christina watershed not only improves the landscape for residents and visitors to enjoy, it improves the health and water quality of the river and its tributaries, the primary sources of public water supply for New Castle County.”

The annual cleanup, now in its 22^nd year, will be held rain or shine. Since the cleanup began in 1992, more than 350 tons of tires, appliances, household items, and plastic and styrofoam have been cleared from the Christina River, White Clay Creek and other tributaries.

DNREC has been a sponsor and an integral part of the Christina River Watershed Cleanup since its inception, providing funding and other support. Specifically, DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife provides staff, boats, and specialized equipment to move volunteers and remove trash from remote locations. The cleanup of the river within the city of Wilmington benefits DNREC’s ongoing marsh restoration work at the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge.

For a list of cleanup sites with directions and to register, visit www.ChristinaRiverCleanup.org or call 302-838-1897. Volunteers are encouraged to register for one of the 12 sites before Monday, April 1 so adequate supplies can be provided to each site captain. Due to insurance requirements, volunteers under the age of 16 must have adult supervision.

Participants are encouraged to wear brightly-colored clothing, long sleeves and pants, boots or water-resistant shoes, hats and heavy-duty gloves and to use insect repellent and sunscreen. Waders or hip boots are also helpful for the City of Wilmington and Churchman’s Marsh-Christiana and Newport sites. Additional jon-boat-type work boats are still needed for Wilmington’s Riverfront and the Churchman’s Marsh-Newport area. All participants must wear a life jacket while on board any boat. 

All volunteers will receive a 2013 Christina River Watershed Cleanup t-shirt designed by Daniel Cortes, an 11th grader who attends Delcastle Technical High School near Newport.

More than 50 organizations and businesses sponsor the cleanup each year. Primary sponsors besides DNREC include: Christina Conservancy, Inc.; Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; Artesian Water Company; United Water Delaware; Noramco, Inc.; GE Ceramic Composite Products and Dow Chemical.

For more information on DNREC’s programs, visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov.

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

 Vol. 43, No. 104

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