As many of you know, the James Farm Ecological Preserve experienced a small fire back in February. Thankfully, a visitor to the Farm called the Millville Fire Company who responded quickly, limiting the damage to a charred area down near the beach – an area less than one acre. Also thankfully, no injuries were reported and no […]
The turtles of Delaware are a pretty diverse group. We have about 10 species of solely freshwater turtles and 4 species of sea turtles that spend almost their entire life in the ocean. But there is only one species that spends its life in the great mixing zones of Delaware’s estuaries: the diamond back terrapin. […]
Just as the swallows return annually to the Mission at Capistrano on St. Joseph’s Day, the osprey that inhabit our Inland Bays will begin returning to their nesting areas around St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. By the end of October last year the last stragglers began their 2,500 mile southern migration across Florida (some will […]
Two thousand years ago the Amazonians discovered the secrets of “Biochar” – a carbon-based substance that is created with same physical properties as charcoal. These secrets include increasing crop yields, soil moisture, reducing harmful runoff, sequestering carbon, and improving storm water control. The Amazonians have a lot to teach us about maintaining earth’s health. They figured out that adding […]
Though many visitors to the James Farm Ecological Preserve may not realize this, this little slice of natural heaven is owned by Sussex County and managed and maintained by the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays. This project fit perfectly into our mission: “to preserve, protect and restore Delaware’s Inland Bays, the water that flows […]
What is the most iconic bird of the Inland Bays? Most of us would say the osprey or the bald eagle – the commanding predators of the water that have become symbols of the coast. But there is another raptor that I think completes this estuarine avian trifecta… It stands (or, rather, flies) apart from these […]
It is no secret that there are a number of different advantages that come along with living near the Delaware Beaches. The proximity to both the Inland Bays and local beaches with everything that they have to offer should be enough to make anyone want to live here, but another huge benefit that people get […]
As Program Manager for the CIB, I was fortunate enough to attend the “Restore America’s Estuaries” conference this year, a trip that took my colleagues and I to the Big Easy – New Orleans! This annual pow-wow provides a wonderful opportunity for coastal restoration scientists and practitioners to network, share techniques, and swap stories. Because […]
Over Thanksgiving, I helped the Virginia Eastern Shore (VES) Land Trust plant 150 native pine and oak trees on my parents’ farm in Onancock, Virginia (located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay). Our goal was to increase the width of a forested buffer along Pungoteague Creek – a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. […]
Recently my work life and social life converged in the form of a MOMS club of southern Delaware field trip to the James Farm Ecological Preserve. Karen Knight, a 9-year teacher with the CIB’s James Farm Middle School Education Program led me, my 1-year old son, Jack, 9 of his preschool friends and their moms on a scavenger […]
