Announcements
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You’re Invited to the 2020 Nanticoke River Report Card Release!
Thanks for your interest in the 2020 Nanticoke River Report Card! If you missed our launch event, catch up by viewing our release video on our YouTube Channel. You can now view or download the PDF at our website.
Thanks to our 2020 Nanticoke Creekwatchers, as well as the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative for their support!
2021-22 AmeriCorps Member Placed with NWA
A Full Time AmeriCorps Member has been placed with us for the 2021-22 service term. If you are interested in applying next year or would like to serve with us as a Minimum Time Member, please check out the ShoreCorps AmeriCorps site.
Thanks for your interest in Nanticoke Watershed Alliance and the AmeriCorps Program.
Summer Green Infrastructure Interns Hired
Thanks for your interest in our Green Infrastructure Internship program. Our 2021 GI Interns have been hired. If you’d like to be notified about our 2022 program, please contact BethWasden@NanticokeRiver.org or sign up for our mailing list.
Small Spaces, Big Places Workshops on April 10 and April 17
Thanks for your interest in our Residential Plantings for People and Pollinators program! Small Spaces and Big Places were held on April 10 and April 17, respectively. The workshops will be available on our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW3i2aDhfWjGD2gDBCfnz8A/ in the coming weeks, so subscribe to our channel or follow us on social media for notification.
Tour a Bioreactor
Tour Date:
July 23,
2020 | ANYTIME 11a-2p
Rain Date: July 24
Approximately 45% of the land that drains to the Nanticoke River is in agricultural production. For years, farmers have reduced runoff using vegetative buffers and cover crops.
Bioreactors are another great way to reduce harmful runoff.
Benefits of a Bioreactor:
– A proven technology
– Require little maintenance
– Use very little farmable land
– Last up to 20 years
– Can improve drainage effectiveness
– Funding is available for design & installation
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Bioreactors remove nitrates from farm runoff to send cleaner water downstream. A bioreactor is basically a Mac-truck-sized pit filled with wood chips. These wood chips hold healthy bacteria that can reduce nitrate levels for up to ten years! Joe Layton, a local family farmer.
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A wood chip bioreactor is basically a hole in the ground 20’ wide by 100’ long by 5’ deep, filled with wood chips. The site is usually selected on the low edge of the farm field where the rainwater drains from the field into a ditch that feeds into a local waterway. Water from the farm is diverted into the bioreactor where a natural organic process takes place, removing 90% of the nitrates. The rainwater with the nitrates, filters through the carbon from the wood chips in this low oxygen environment, causing a reaction with bacteria that make the nitrates come out of the water and turn into harmless nitrogen gas. The air we typically breathe is 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen.
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Joe Layton, NWA board member and farmer, grows poultry feed on a 120-acre property in Dorchester County near Route 50. The NWA is partnering with additional organizations like Ridge to Reefs to install a bioreactor on Joe’s farm to remove excess nutrients that would normally run off into the local waterways. Stay tuned; in August farmers and interested folks will be invited to see the bioreactor under construction and learn more!
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Learn More about bioreactors on Ridge To Reef‘s website. You can watch a video here that explains how bioreactors filter water and handle high flows during storms.
We look forward to working with more farmers to implement on the ground projects that keep our waterways clean and our farming community profitable.
“Stay Home, Stay Healthy” Native Tree Sale
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Thank you for your interest in planting native trees on your property! Please fill out the form below or learn more by downloading our info packet.
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Trees are younger and about 2-3 feet in height, though some species will be smaller.
Young trees may take longer to reach a height you consider “full-grown,” however, trees planted at a young age develop a better root system than trees replanted when they are older. This gives the younger trees a better chance of survival.
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Click the image below to see our list of $10 native trees
Links to all the individual files in the packet can be found at the bottom of this page.
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Due to restrictions on our funding, the $10 price and free delivery are only available to Delaware residents within the Nanticoke River Watershed (some MD residents within the watershed my qualify too). The watershed covers most of western Sussex County and small areas of Kent County south and west of Harrington. Click here to check your watershed address.
Downloads:
Official Flier | Native Tree Facts
Maintenance Agreement | Safety Guidelines
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Get SAV-vy with Nanticoke River Grasses This Summer and Autumn!
The 2020 Nanticoke River Grass Watchers season is now over! Stay tuned for more info about future training opportunities. If you are curious about the program, you can continue to view the “Getting SAV-vy with Nanticoke River Grasses” presentation on our YouTube channel at any time.
2019 Fall Newsletter – OUT NOW!
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We just published the 2019 Fall iteration of the Nanticoke Currents.
Click Here to see all of our previous newsletters, including the most recent one.
Sign up for our newsletter mailing list here.
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New Rain Barrel Brochure!
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Head over to our new webpage about Rain Barrels to see the brochure and learn how you can install your own, or just read the brochure below!
www.NanticokeRiver.org/Restoration/RainBarrels
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D5 Creation