PDE’s Engagement Director John Harrod (left) and PDE’s Delaware Community Assistant Coordinator Kristie Arlotta at the City of Wilmington Earth and Arbor Day Festival.
NATIONAL ESTUARIES WEEK WAS SEPT. 16 TO 23. DURING THAT TIME, PARTNERSHIP FOR THE DELAWARE ESTUARY CELEBRATED THE ECOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT AREAS WHERE RIVERS MEET THE SEA AND WHERE TIDAL WATERS FLOW.
At Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, you might say every week is National Estuaries Week because we’re always out and about conducting scientific research and public outreach. We listen to bird calls in the marsh, dive in the Delaware River to see freshwater mussels, recycle oyster shells to build new wildlife habitats, and get out in the community to share our love of the Delaware Estuary.
At PDE, we are a hard-working crew that is often up before dawn, toting heavy equipment, digging in the dirt, lifting oyster barrels, sweating in the heat of the day, wading in cold water, spending hours at public events, and collecting data. We fall in mudflats, make unusual finds, and – true story – sometimes critters eat our equipment. That may sound chaotic to some, but there’s nowhere else we’d rather be than in this beautiful, wild, and fabulous estuary. We strive daily toward what a healthy estuary should be – a place we call home with clean waters, healthy habitats, and strong communities.
PDE’s Science Coordinator Kelly Faller in a mudflat in Lawrence, New Jersey.
PDE’s Philadelphia Community Coordinator Chesa Blom (left) and Urban Waters Program Coordinator Erica Rossetti present on the importance of dog owners “scooping the poop” at an event in Philadelphia.Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Water Department.
Rossetti (left) explores the Estuary by map at the Brandywine Shadfest in Wilmington, Delaware.
Spotfin killifish (Fundulus luciae) found in the Mispillion River, Delaware
A field survey microphone in New Jersey after a raccoon chewed off the foam cover.
PDE staff holds up a big check that indicates the total amount of conservation grant funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the William Penn Foundation, and Astra Zeneca. PDE received $228,000 in funding for the implementation of a 300-foot living shoreline and riparian habitat improvement project in Wilmington, Delaware. From left, PDE’s Urban Resilience Assistant Manager Ella Rothermel, Development Director Elizabeth Horsey, Executive Director Kathy Klein, Business and Operations Director Brian Yerger, and Assistant Manager of Shellfish Programs Matt Sarver of Sarver Ecological, LLC.
PDE’s Restoration Specialist Ken Williamson leans in to get the proper measurements in a Fortescue, New Jersey marsh.
PDE’s Assistant Science Manager Matt Gentry shows five freshwater mussel species from the Delaware River.
Left to right, Faller, PDE’s Programs Director Martha Maxwell-Doyle, and PDE’s Assistant Science Director LeeAnn Haaf head out for annual vegetation assessments in the salt marshes of Dividing Creek, New Jersey.Photo by Jenny Shinn, Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory.
HOW THIS ARTICLE RELATES TO THE CCMP: ALL THREE THEMES, CLEAN WATERS, HEALTHY HABITATS, STRONG COMMUNITIES
