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Get on Board – we’ve got stories to tell!
Every day we’re out and about around the Inland Bays: on the water, in the woods, on the beaches. Every day, we see things that we just can’t keep to ourselves. We want to share these stories with YOU – our friends and neighbors around the Inland Bays. We hope you enjoy and come back for more!
A Volunteer’s Perspective: A New Adventure with Every Sign-Up
/By John Hanson Excited and equipped with my survey sheets, binoculars, and a pair of water boots, I was ready to venture out to the Diamondback Terrapin Survey sites I had volunteered for. It would be my first time surveying, on Tuesday, May 25, at 2 p.m., but the weather had different plans. The sky was mostly overcast and wind ...A Summer Spent at the Preserve: How Environmental Education Reinforces a Connection to the Natural World
/By Jared Ryan Welcome to a tour of Jared Ryan’s time as an Environmental Educator at the Center for Inland Bays! For the duration of this tour, we will be exploring the memory trails of his time at the James Farm Ecological Preserve. We hope you’ve brought your binoculars, as this story is destined to include lots of wildlife and ...How Ospreys and Volunteerism Gave One Local Photographer a New Perspective
/By Kevin Lynam, Center Volunteer This was my first year ever volunteering for the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays’ citizen science surveys, and I feel blessed to have had a chance to experience wildlife and our local osprey population through this experience, which for me, was incredibly moving and fascinating. Over the last few months, I had lots of ...Finding Backyard Bliss During the Pandemic
/By Dr. Marianne Walch In March 2020, the Center’s office was closed due to the pandemic, and telework and Zoom meetings became the work life of our staff. I particularly missed my office window's daily view of the Indian River Inlet and Delaware Seashore State Park beaches. Then I realized I had a different way to enjoy a great view ...Connecting with Nature is Priceless at the James Farm Ecological Preserve
/By Maddy Goss, Communications Specialist One of the very first stories Jared Ryan, the Center’s environmental educator, tells during public programs at the James Farm Ecological Preserve is that of Mary Lighthipe. She always dreamed the 150-acre Preserve she gifted to Sussex County would become an oasis, a haven for environmental education, and a place beloved by its neighbors and ...Making the Most of Your Piece of Inland Bays Paradise
/By Liz Nalle, Center Volunteer and Inland Bays Garden Center Staff Member We share our piece of paradise here in Dewey Beach with a variety of creatures, and one in particular is enchanting. We see it going about its business, heading across the driveway, involved in something, likely looking for food. It’s a box turtle, a Woodland Box Turtle, which ...A Remarkable Journey: The Spring Rite of American Eels
/By Zachary Garmoe, Science Technician at the Center for the Inland Bays Andrew McGowan, the Center’s Environmental Scientist, and I crouched on a slip of land nestled between a pond and a roadway one chilly February morning, our backs feeling the cold breeze made by cars rushing by on their way to work or school or some other destination. While ...A Man’s Best Friend: Lifelong Memories are Made at the Preserve
/By Bob Collins, Program Manager at the Center for the Inland Bays For the 22 years (plus or minus) that I’ve been visiting the Preserve, I’ve noted that Wilma Rudolf Tucker was “a Damn Good Dog.” A sign at the Pasture Point beach area told me so. Wilma, it turns out, was a Cairn Terrier (think Toto from Wizard of ...Embracing the Bays as a Winter Wonderland
/By Maddy Goss, Communications Specialist On an otherwise normal Wednesday morning, I got an exciting phone call. The Center’s Environmental Scientist, Andrew McGowan, was heading out of the Indian River Marina and had spotted a seal. He tried quieting the boat’s engine to avoid disturbing it, offering me some hope that if I moved quickly, I might be able to ...Magic is in the Air at the James Farm Ecological Preserve
/National Recognition for Local Scientist Highlights Benefits of Citizen Science Project that Kicks Off on April 10!
/Rehoboth Beach, DE - The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays is seeking volunteers for their Annual Horseshoe Crab Survey and tagging citizen science project. The project sends hundreds of volunteers to survey the number of horseshoe crabs found around the sandy beaches of the Inland Bays on each full and new moon in May and June. Both new and ...Ditching the Salt Marsh Ditches
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by Marianne Walch, Ph.D. The Center for the Inland Bays sometimes receives questions about the straight, parallel ditches that are a prominent feature of many of our local saltmarshes. Who made them and why? Are they good or bad for the marsh? Salt Marshes Matter Salt marshes are important and highly productive coastal ecosystems that support an ...Interning on the Bays: How My Experience with the Center Sparked a Passion!
/By: Bryanna Lisiewski, Intern In 2016, during my senior year at Sussex Technical High School, the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays allowed me to volunteer as an intern. This has created an array of wonderful opportunities and career-benefiting learning experiences as well as the development of some amazing friendships. The Center heavily relies on partnerships and volunteers to complete their ...Returning to the Forest
/by Victoria Spice, Restoration Project Manager As the holidays come to an end and we are forced to fully embrace the winter months, warmer thoughts of spring are certainly welcome. Especially, when they involve creating 62 acres of habitat for spring migrating songbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators that flourish within the Inland Bays Watershed. This spring, the Center will be ...The James Farm: A Look into the Past and a Tool for the Future
/by: Angela Trenkle, CIB Volunteer Just off the beaten path and away from the hustle and bustle of Bethany Beach, lies a hidden oasis unknown to many of the tourists and locals that visit the shores of the Inland Bays: the James Farm Ecological Preserve. Whether you go for a stroll in the meadow or head down the red trail ...Fall Fishing is Plentiful in the Inland Bays
/by Roy Miller (Volunteer) Fall can be the best time of the year for fishing in Delaware’s Inland Bays. Falling temperatures trigger resident and migratory fishes to feed in earnest prior to either migration to the south or further offshore. Migratory forage (bait-size) fishes like striped and white mullet and juvenile Atlantic menhaden that have spent the summer in the ...For the Love of Trees
/Years ago, it would be 90 degrees — sunny — the quintessential beach day...and you would find me and the neighborhood kids in the woods in our backyard. You see, I grew up locally in a development, but our house was located at the end of a cul-de-sac, and it had the largest, most exclusive wooded lot. (Also, the largest ...Flounder and Bluefish and Stripers – Oh my!
/Each weekend, tons of boats descend on Indian River and Rehoboth Bays, targeting flounder, bluefish, stripers, and crabs. The inlet is fished almost constantly, with lures being thrown into eddies from sun up to sun down - and sometimes, from sun down to sun up! The Inland Bays are indeed a fishing destination for many in the region, but they ...Where Do The Ospreys Go In The Fall?
/A Guest Blog by Center volunteer, Jodi McLaughlin: I used to migrate between CA and PA. Life changed dramatically when I became a caregiver for my dad who was housebound most of each day. But l was blessed. Not only did I get to be with dad all day, we have a colony of 9 osprey nests viewable right outside ...Using 3D Printing to Save Our Coasts
/If I had asked you 10 years ago if you knew anyone who had a 3D printer, you probably would have said no. Many of you may not have even known what 3D printing was — I know I didn’t! But when I talk to people now about 3D printing, most are familiar with the basics of these sophisticated, yet ...3 (Super Simple) Ways to Prevent Trash Pollution!
/Trash in our Inland Bays is SO much more than just an eyesore. It can be harmful to the health and safety of visitors and marine life. Each year, the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays hosts a cleanup — and it’s always a hit! In fact, this past June saw 54 energetic volunteers who hopped aboard boats and scoured ...Why I Chose “Here”
/My first conversations with people often go something like this: “So where are you from?” Me: “New York.” “WHAT?!? Why are you here??” First, I am not sure how people peg me as a “come here” so quickly, and second I always quickly clarify that I mean NY state, not the City. I’ve only been to the city a handful ...Experience the Bays Budding with Life!
/Spring is finally in the air...along with the pollen, but that’s another story. It’s the time of year we dust off our paddles, seat backs, and boards and head back to the water! Ecobay kayak & stand up paddle is embarking on our fourteenth year offering educational based tours departing from the James Farm Ecological Preserve and we couldn't be ...Early Spring Sightings at James Farm
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With the weather finally on the warmer side, plant and animal activity at James Farm Ecological Preserve awakens! Observant visitors will notice the spots of blue-purple in the brown mowed grasses of our meadows. This is the grape hyacinth, often cultivated in our gardens and lawns. Thousands of these single stalked flowers are scatted throughout our meadows. ...3 Things Volunteering Taught Me
/As a kid, I remember volunteering with my parents. From time to time, we would hop in the car on a Saturday and head out to plant a tree along a new highway, take our puppy (and myself as a cute little kid) to visit the residents of a local nursing home, or even run a table chatting with people ...Spring’s Arrival Sparks the Beginning of Citizen Science Surveys!
/by: Angela Trenkle (CIB Volunteer) Each year in the Inland Bays watershed, as the snow melts and the temperatures begin to turn warm, CIB volunteers begin their preparations for two citizen science surveys! The Center's Inshore Fish Survey tracks changes in the fish community with data spanning back seven years. Taking place between April and October, fish are collected at 16 sites around the Bays ...A Dog-gone Shame
/As of March 1st, both United and Delta Airlines placed additional restrictions on emotional support animals and (as I understand) now require more documentation for service animals to board their flights. Anyone who has paid attention to the news reports of pet owners testing the bounds of their “animal-freedoms” likely understands. As a dog-owned human, I particularly enjoy taking Oban ...Nor’easter vs. Coastal Delaware
/When Delawareans think of catastrophic local storm events, they often come back to the infamous “Storm of ‘62” / “Ash Wednesday Storm”— a level 5 nor’easter that occurred in the Mid-Atlantic region from March 6 - 8, 1962. During its wrath, waves battered Delaware’s shores, destroying homes, boardwalks, and roadways in an impressive show of mother nature’s power. This weekend’s ...We LOVE the Inland Bays!
/February 14th is a time to celebrate love. It’s a mushy subject, yes, but it’s difficult not to get caught up in the excitement of Valentine’s Day. Here at the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, however, we’re doing things a bit differently. Here, our the Inland Bays are our BAE*....get it? So without further ado, here is why we <3 the ...Predicting the Blue Crab Blues
/Atlantic blue crabs are a summer delicacy in this area. For people who grow up along the Delaware or Maryland shores, crab picking is practically a sport. For visitors, it’s a sign that summer is in full swing. But blue crabs are more than just delicious. They also are also an important link in the local food chain! Blue crabs ...Meet Michelle!
/In the summer of 2006 I was going into my sophomore year of high school and I still didn’t have any defined ambitions for my future. There was a lot I was interested in, of course, but there was nothing that I was overly passionate about. I had been living in Montgomery County, MD, where I had grown up, and ...Fall Color Isn’t Just for Trees
/Fall on Delmarva brings an explosion of reds and golds in the woods as chilly mornings and shorter days arrive. Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year in our watershed. Fall foliage displays near their peak in early November, so it’s a great time to get outdoors. In the Inland Bays, vibrant fall color is not limited ...Get Triggered!
/“Does anyone know what this fish is,” was a common post on a favorite bay-related Facebook page of mine this summer. Accompanying were photos of a vertically-flat fish with a big head tapered down to a small mouth with sharp plate-like teeth. They were grey in color and sported two spines on their dorsal fin. As a defense mechanism, the ...Dirickson Creek Faces Significant Pollution / Bacteria Issues
/Over the summer, the Center celebrated the release of the Dirickson Creek Report at an event held at Mulberry Landing on Dirickson Creek, which is the largest tributary of Little Assawoman Bay. The event was attended by Senator Tom Carper and members of the Dirickson Creek Team. The Team is a group of local citizens who are concerned about water ...Sea Level Rise: An Issue That Affects Every Coastal Community
/The devastation occurring in Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey should be sobering for all of us who live in coastal communities. (Find out how you can support recovery efforts here.) Unfortunately, we know that disasters like this are only going to become more frequent, and more damaging. Climate change is making powerful storms more likely while sea level ...We Need to Talk about Plastic
/This past June, the CIB held its annual Inland Bays Clean-Up. Once again, it was a fantastic event. Over 60 people joined us to hop on boats, zip around the Bays, and explore their shores to pick up over HALF A TON of trash! The sun was bright, the temperature was perfect, and it was a beautiful day! What was ...Maintaining Oyster Gardens: A Day in the Life of a CIB Intern
/It’s another warm July morning as Alex and I hop in the company truck to begin a long day of oyster gardening. Looking over our list, we see that we have just a few more houses left to visit. These are the final oyster pickups of the summer, after which we will begin redistributing spat to new and existing oyster ...Birding the James Farm: Check it off your list!
/On a cool, drizzly, late May morning, my colleague Katie Goerger and I set out from the parking area at the James Farm Ecological Preserve, binoculars in hand. Our mission – to complete an eBird checklist for the Farm. Marginal weather, combined with insufficient coffee, meant we got started on our walk a bit later than hoped, so we missed ...Reconnecting with the Natural World
/“All education is environmental education. By what is included or excluded we teach students that they are a part of or apart from the natural world,” notes author and environmentalist David W. Orr in Earth in Mind. While modern distractions such as smartphones and tablets increasingly disconnect us from the world around us, the Center’s education program strives to reconnect ...Rising from the Ashes
/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 structures were damaged.
So ...How did the Diamondback Terrapin Evolve?
/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. This interesting fact is what recently ...COMING SOON: Ospreys to Return to the Inland Bays!
/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 overwinter there) to their overwintering areas ...The Secrets of Biochar
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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 biochar to their soils increased its fertility ...Preserving the Wild: The James Farm Master Plan (Phase 1 Update)
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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 into them, and the watershed around ...The Other Raptor
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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 famous fish eaters ...Bay-Friendly Dining: Delaware Restaurants That Give Back
/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 from living in or visiting ...Talking Shop in the Big Easy
/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 one of the projects I manage ...Once They’re Gone, They’re Gone: Protecting Natural Spaces
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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. The buffer will protect the ...Following the Tracks – MOMS Club at the James Farm!
/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 hunt.We followed the red trail ...Making Waves in the Inland Bays
/It’s a coastal Delaware pastime to sit back, relax, and watch the waters of the ocean and bays as they rise and fall. Our Inland Bays are tidal, after all! But how many of us really know what causes this ebb and flow?
The tide, defined as the vertical rise and fall of the water, is created by a ...Boots In the Water: My First Seining Experience
/Recently, Bayside Fenwick Island held it’s second annual ‘Links to the Bay 5k’, an excellent 5k event benefitting us here at the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays.As the new Development Coordinator for the CIB, I was originally going to assist other coworkers and volunteers with a living shoreline display… Then, one week before the event, I was asked to ...Taking Stock: Why Our Volunteers Count Fish!
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The CIB’s Inshore Fish Seining Program is just preparing to wrap up for the season. An almost entirely volunteer-based effort, this project gathers data on the fish species found in the shallow shore-zone areas of the Inland Bays. Every year from April to October, these volunteers hop into the waist-deep bay waters and drag a seine net along the ...3 Facts You Didn’t Know About Delaware’s Inland Bays
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1 - Blowing Open an InletWhat makes the Rehoboth, Indian River and Little Assawoman Bays considered Inland Bays? The long strip of barrier beach and the Indian River Inlet make all the difference. This is where the freshwater rivers and streams of Sussex County mix with the salty Atlantic.You likely recognize the Indian River Inlet by its iconic bridge, lit ...3 Unexpected Fish Species Found in the Inland Bays
/Mummichogs, horseshoe crabs, and shrimp galore! Seining in the Inland Bays can turn up a number of common species that call our estuary home. But what about the surprise species - the one's you don't always expect? Let's take a look at some of the more interesting fish scooped up by our Inshore Fish Survey teams this summer! Found: Holts Landing State ...Plastic, Plastic, Everywhere!
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With all eyes on Rio during these summer Olympics, it’s difficult to ignore the shocking images of debris clogging the city’s bay. While our own bays may not be overwhelmed with trash, that doesn't mean that it’s not there. Marine debris, particularly of the plastic variety, is a problem in the Inland Bays.This past June, I joined a crew ...Wait, Don’t Eat that Crab!
/While I was out enjoying a beautiful Saturday at the Delaware Seashore State Park beach (…well snoozing in my chair…) , I was abruptly awoken to the vision of a small crab, its legs being dangled in front of my face. Then came the excited question: “Can I eat it?!” No, no you can’t. Unlike blue crabs, I don’t recommend eating ...Widgeon Grass in the South Bethany Canals
/Recently, a friend and I took a morning paddle from his house located in South Bethany out to the Little Assawoman Bay. We’ve been doing this together since we were kids and these trips were my first introduction to Delaware's Inland Bays. Today, these trips are a way keep an eye on how they are changing.As soon as we hopped in my ...
