Delaware Center for the Inland Bays

Rehoboth Beach, DE –  Join the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays to plant 5,800 seedlings this spring at Assawoman Wildlife Area in Frankford or the Sussex Landfill site in Lewes, projects that will restore wildlife habitat and improve water quality in our local Inland Bays!

Over one-hundred volunteers are needed for each planting event! The planting at Assawoman Wildlife Area will take place on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30 at a site located off of Double Bridges Road in Frankford, across from the Ocean Farm and Clearwater Villages communities.  Then the following weekend, on Saturday, April 6, a planting will occur at the Sussex County Landfill #3 Buffer Site in Lewes, just off of Dorman Road near Lochwood.

Since the time of European development, forestland on coastal Delaware has declined as agriculture increased and development began to take over. Between 1992 to 2012 alone, eastern Sussex County lost over 14 square miles of upland forest, further intensifying the negative impacts of human influence on wildlife and water quality.

These impacts include a loss of habitat for native wildlife like songbirds, deer, and turkeys, as well as an increase in nutrient pollution to our creeks, rivers, and bays. Excess nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen can have harmful effects on commercially-important species like blue crabs and rockfish by creating “dead zones” or areas that don’t have enough oxygen in the water to support aquatic life.

By converting agricultural land to forestland, these projects will  reduce approximately 400lbs of phosphorus and 10lbs of nitrogen from entering our water each year. As the forests grow, the trees will store also carbon; a vital process called carbon sequestration that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and mitigates climate change.

In addition, the planting will create almost 5 acres of interior forest habitat. Many neotropical migratory songbirds such as Eastern Towhee, Yellow-breasted Chat, and American Redstart, depend on these corridors for nesting, feeding and raising their young.

For addresses, parking information and to RSVP, please visit our Eventbrite pages:

Assawoman Wildlife Area (March 19 and 30):
www.awaplanting2019.eventbrite.com

Sussex County Landfill #3 Buffer Site (April 6):
www.sussexcountytreeplanting.eventbrite.com

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The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays is a non-profit organization established in 1994, and is one of 28 National Estuary Programs. With its many partners, the CIB works to preserve, protect and restore Delaware’s Inland Bays and their watershed.

For more information call Amy Barra at (302) 226-8105 x 103, send an email to abarra@inlandbays.org, or visit us online at www.inlandbays.org.

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