The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Center for the Inland Bays (CIB) are again partnering to host Water Family Fest and Annual Native Plant Sale. The family-friendly event with free admission will be held at the James Farm Ecological Preserve in Ocean View from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 14, 2022. Water Family Fest highlights the work done by DNREC and the CIB in the Inland Bays to improve Delaware’s environment and preserve the area’s natural resources, including wetlands, water quality and living shorelines.
Water Family Fest visitors will enjoy exhibits from more than 20 nature-based and non-profit organizations while taking advantage of the opportunity to explore a variety of environmental topics including native plants, shellfish, buffers, beaches, wetlands, tax ditches, rain gardens and more. Visitors also can explore hiking trails, take a guided hike, and even try paddle boarding and kayaking.
Short talks on topics such as horseshoe crabs, aquaculture, green infrastructure, and native plants are scheduled every half hour at Water Family Fest from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. The event also features family activities such as seining, bird identification and horseshoe crab tagging. An event program can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.
Also, as part of Delaware Flood Awareness Week, DNREC’s Floodplain Management Program will unveil a working model of a floodplain at Water Family Fest that helps young people understand flooding and its impacts. The Enviroscape tabletop model at Water Family Fest offers a hands-on creative way to demonstrate flooding and floodplain management concepts. The model also shows how flooding on the floodplain can be caused by unplanned development – and the importance of wetlands in helping mitigate flooding impacts.
Sponsors of the event include Inland Bays Garden Center, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, WSFS Bank, Coldwell Banker Realty, Real McCoy Group, Sussex County Association of Realtors, Coastal Plant Care, Jolly Trolley, G&E Hardware, Bethany Club Tennis and Delmarva Public Media.
More information about the Water Family Fest can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.
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~ DNREC