Volunteers sought for spring cleanup day March 11

DOVER – The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife facility located in the heart of Delaware’s Bayshore Region, will reopen Saturday, April 1 after being closed for the winter. The center will operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays through the end of April. From May 1 through Aug. 31, spring and summer hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. For the month of September, the center will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays only.

Prior to opening day, the DuPont Nature Center will hold a volunteer spring cleanup day from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 11. Projects include exhibit and tank set-up, deck maintenance, clearing sand/debris from sidewalks, planting beach grass and cleaning the center and the surrounding grounds. Volunteers under age 18 must provide a parental consent form, and volunteers under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, contact Lynne Pusey at lynne.pusey@delaware.gov or 302-422-1329.

The center also will be hosting a volunteer orientation from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, April 9. The orientation will be for both new and previous volunteers interested in participating in activities at the nature center. Staff will review volunteer opportunities and procedures at the center and volunteers will learn about horseshoe crabs, shorebirds and some of the other aquatic species in the Mispillion Harbor. For more information or to sign up for the orientation, contact Lynne Pusey at lynne.pusey@delaware.govor 302-422-1329.

Located on the edge of Mispillion Harbor at the intersection of the mouths of the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek, the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve offers a variety of interactive exhibits and educational programs. Indoor freshwater and saltwater tanks allow a close-up look at a variety of aquatic species, from horseshoe crabs to diamondback terrapins.

In the spring, the center’s large deck overlooking the harbor offers wildlife watchers an unparalleled view of the spectacle of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, including red knots that depend on horseshoe crab eggs to help fuel their 9,000-mile journey.

The DuPont Nature Center is located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, near Slaughter Beach, east of Milford. The center is open to the public and admission is free. For general information about the center, please call 302-422-1329 or visit DuPont Nature Center. For inquiries about the center’s programs and operations, please contact Lynne Pusey, lynne.pusey@delaware.govor 302-422-1329.

The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve supports DNREC’s Delaware Bayshore Initiative, a landscape approach to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat, increase volunteer participation in habitat stewardship projects, enhance low-impact outdoor recreation and ecotourism opportunities, and promote associated environmentally compatible economic development. For more information, click Delaware Bayshore.

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

Vol. 47, No. 52

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DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship is now accepting applications from Delaware artists for participation in a rain barrel painting contest aimed at educating Delawareans on the benefits of using rain barrels to reduce rainwater runoff and improve water quality. Artists selected will be invited to paint creative designs on rain barrels that will be prominently displayed in public areas.

To enter the contest, adult artists must complete and submit an application by Friday, March 17, which includes providing a description and preliminary sketch of their design. Watershed Stewardship staff will choose participants in the contest based on their application and design ideas. Once contest participants have been selected, they will have five weeks to finish their barrel painting and submit final photographs and information requested.

Participating artists must be willing to give of their time and must provide materials, including paint and brushes or other application tools, an interpretation of their work and a short biography. In exchange, DNREC’s Watershed Assessment and Management Section will provide a fully-assembled 55-gallon plastic rain barrel with two coats of primer applied, plus cans of clear top coat. This year’s barrels have been donated by Tidewater Utilities, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Coca-Cola.

Photos of the finished rain barrels will be posted online for public voting at www.delawarewatersheds.org. The barrels also will be displayed at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village in Dover from May 31 through July 19. Five finalists will be chosen by online voting at www.delawarewatersheds.org. All five finalists will receive prizes. A professional judging panel will choose the grand prize winner, whose barrel will be displayed at the DNREC Building at the 2017 Delaware State Fair. The winner will also participate in Governor’s Day, Thursday, July 27 at the fair. The winning barrel will then be displayed in a prominent location to be determined.

Applications can be found at www.delawarewatersheds.org. Completed applications and sketches should be emailed to sara.wozniak@delaware.gov or sent by close of business March 17 to:
DNREC Watershed Assessment and Management Section
C/O Sara Wozniak
2430 Old County Road
Newark, DE 19702

For more information, please contact Sara Wozniak at sara.wozniak@delaware.gov or 302-382-0335.

What is a Rain Barrel?
A rain barrel is a container that collects and stores water from roofs and downspouts for uses such as watering lawns, gardens, and house plants; cleaning off gardening tools; and washing your car. Rain barrels help lower your water bills, particularly in the summer months by collecting thousands of gallons of water a year. Rain barrels are also important for our environment because they help reduce water pollution by decreasing the amount of stormwater runoff reaching our streams and rivers. An average rainfall of one inch within a 24-hour period can produce more than 700 gallons of water that run off a typical house. This stormwater runoff picks up anything on the ground such as litter, excess fertilizer, pet waste, and motor oil, transporting it to storm drains that dump the untreated water directly into our waterways.

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

Vol. 47, No. 48

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DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship is now accepting applications from children and student groups in grades K-12 to participate in a rain barrel painting contest aimed at educating young Delawareans on the benefits of using rain barrels to reduce rainwater runoff and improve water quality. Selected children or groups will be invited to paint creative designs on rain barrels for later public display.

To enter the contest, young artists must complete and submit an application by Friday, March 17, with a description and preliminary sketch of their design. Watershed Stewardship staff will choose contest participants based on their application and design ideas.

Once contest participants are selected, they will have five weeks to finish their barrel painting and submit final photographs and information requested about their works.

Young artists who participate in the contest must be willing to give of their time and materials, including paint and brushes or other application tools, and provide a short biography. In exchange, Watershed Stewardship will provide a fully-assembled 55-gallon plastic rain barrel with two coats of primer applied, plus cans of clear top coat. This year’s barrels have been donated by Tidewater Utilities, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Coca-Cola.

Photos of the finished rain barrels will be posted online for public voting at http://delawarewatersheds.org/. The barrels also will be displayed at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village in Dover from May 31 through July 19. The top five painted entries as chosen by online voters will be displayed at the 2017 Delaware State Fair in Harrington from July 20-29, where they will be voted on again by fair visitors for best painted rain barrel. The five finalists also will be recognized with the first place barrel announced during the annual DNREC Awards program on Governors Day, Thursday, July 27, at the Delaware State Fair.

Applications are available online at http://delawarewatersheds.org/. Completed applications and sketches should be emailed to sharon.webb@delaware.gov or sent by close of business March 17 to:
DNREC Nonpoint Source Program
C/O Sharon Webb
State Street Commons
100 West Water Street, Suite 6B
Dover, DE 19904

For more information, please contact Sharon Webb at sharon.webb@delaware.gov or 302-739-9922.

What is a Rain Barrel?
A rain barrel is a container that collects and stores water from roofs and downspouts for uses such as watering lawns, gardens, and house plants; cleaning off gardening tools; and washing your car. Rain barrels help lower your water bills, particularly in the summer months by collecting thousands of gallons of water a year. Rain barrels are also important for our environment because they help reduce water pollution by decreasing the amount of stormwater runoff reaching our streams and rivers. An average rainfall of one inch within a 24-hour period can produce more than 700 gallons of water that run off a typical house. This stormwater runoff picks up anything on the ground such as litter, excess fertilizer, pet waste, and motor oil, transporting it to storm drains that dump the untreated water directly into our waterways.

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

Vol. 47, No. 47

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Last of three statewide public workshops set for Thursday, Feb. 23 in New Castle County

DOVER – The last of three statewide public workshops for gathering comment about Delaware’s Open Space Program Plan – following amendments made last year to the state’s Land Protection Act (7 Del. C. Chapter 75), and public concern about certain components of the Open Space Program – is set for Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Blue Ball Barn in Wilmington. The workshop begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Blue Ball Barn’s Calving Room, 1914 West Park Drive, Wilmington, DE 19803.

The workshops – two of which were held earlier this month in Sussex and Kent counties – are intended to generate public comment on the draft outline of the Open Space Program Plan, which is now required by the amended code. The plan will include the Delaware Open Space Council’s and state agencies’ (including DNREC) strategies, goals, and priorities for the application of funds available for the permanent protection of land.

The Open Space Program plan also may include analysis and discussion of various creative and innovative methods to secure the permanent protection of open space land.  After public comment is incorporated into the draft plan, the full Open Space Council will review it at its March 1 meeting. A final version will go to a public hearing March 8 at the Dover Public Library. The draft Open Space Program plan outline is available for review on the DNREC website:

These workshops are intended to gather public comments on the draft outline of the Open Space Program Plan, which is now required by the amended code. The plan will include the Delaware Open Space Council’s and state agencies’ (including DNREC’s) strategies, goals, and priorities for the application of funds available for the permanent protection of land. The first of three statewide workshops was held Feb. 9 in Georgetown for comment from Sussex County residents.

The Open Space Program Plan also may include analysis and discussion of various creative and innovative methods to secure the permanent protection of open space land. After public comment is incorporated into the draft plan, the full Open Space Council will review it at its March 1 meeting. A final version will go to a public hearing March 8 at the Dover Public Library. The draft Open Space Program Plan outline is available for review on the DNREC website at: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/OpenSpaces/Pages/OpenSpaces.aspx

For more information about the plan, please call Elena Stewart, land preservation specialist, DNREC Division of Parks & Recreation, at 302-739-9935.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 47, No. 40

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DOVER – The seventh installment of DNREC’s “Wetlands 101” video series – “Freshwater Wetlands” – is now available for viewing on DNREC’s YouTube Channel. The series is produced by the Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program within DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship to educate Delawareans about wetlands, while promoting the idea that everyone can make a difference in the continuing challenge of wetland preservation.

In Delaware, freshwater wetlands make up roughly 75 percent of all wetlands, cleaning and replenishing our drinking waters, reducing flooding and providing food and shelter for all sorts of plants and animals. Most freshwater wetlands are forested and come in many different shapes, sizes and types.

The new “Freshwater Wetlands” video addresses just three of these types of freshwater wetlands found in Delaware: Bald cypress swamps, Coastal Plain ponds, and freshwater tidal marshes while distinguishing the difference between freshwater wetlands and their brackish or saltwater cousins. It also emphasizes that not all wetlands look like “wetlands” due to their ever-fluctuating nature where water levels rise and fall throughout the changing seasons.

There are many simple choices Delawareans can make to help preserve the state’s remaining freshwater wetlands and they include avoiding wet areas when building new construction or clearing land for agriculture, planting native plants and removing invasive ones, or leaving a planted buffer between open land and large ditch or waterway. For more information about Delaware’s wetlands, please visit de.gov/delawarewetlands.

In addition to the “Wetlands 101 Series,” the DNREC YouTube Channel offers more than 50 fun, interesting and educational videos, taking viewers from the unique steam car collection at Auburn Heights Preserve to the trails and pathways of Cape Henlopen State Park, and from the Delaware Bayshore to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and many of the First State’s great outdoors places and spaces in between. Most of these videos are written and produced by DNREC’s Public Affairs Section.

To view “Freshwater Wetlands” and other DNREC YouTube Channel videos, please visit youtube.com/delawarednrec.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 430