November 2018
In This Issue
Fall MWEEs!
This fall our MCBP education team were invited to help with both Pocomoke River State Park and Assateague Island State Park's Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience Program. Addie, Arianna, Brianna, and Myia got the opportunity to assist with programs including canoeing, shelter building, fishing, forestry, and seining. Our staff worked with over 320 5th and 6th grade students over the span of eight days.
Chesapeake Watershed Forum
Arianna and Brianna attended and presented posters at the Chesapeake Watershed Forum earlier this November. Arianna presented on the Assateague Living Shoreline project and Brianna presented on the Discover Your Watershed event series. 
Bee Homes Constructed!
Stephen Decatur Middle School students participated in a day of service this October by making over 80 cavity-nesting bee homes! These colorful homes will be installed both at the school and around the county, so be sure to keep your eyes out.
Electrofishing
Fall is a busy time for MCBP! Staff sampled fishes in the upper reaches of Bunting Branch near Bishopville and upstream of Big Millpond near Stockton using an electrofisher, which temporarily stuns fish. This allows for capture, enumeration, and then release unharmed. 
Association of National Estuary Programs Meeting
MCBP's Science Coordinator, Roman Jesien, recently attended the Association of National Estuary Programs Technology Transfer in San Francisco. Representatives from the 28 National Estuary Programs
gathered to discuss issues that are commonly faced throughout our coasts. Issues such as over enrichment, climate change, habitat degradation/restoration, and sea level rise are common problems and folks were able to compare notes on their attempts at finding solutions.   
Oyster Gardening
MCBP staff have been busy oyster gardening this fall. Staff have counted over 3,000 oysters collected from volunteers' cages, with more still to count! 
Check Out Our Calendar!
Want to know what's happening in the Coastal Bays? Check out our calendar here

Interested in volunteering? Check out our list of volunteer events



Giving Tuesday
Support MCBP this Giving Tuesday!
 
Tuesday, November 27th is Giving Tuesday, a national day for online charitable giving. This year, MCBP is once again partnering with the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and its Shore Gives More campaign to raise money for our environmental education programs. 

All you have to do is go online any time on November 27th, follow this link and make a donation of $10 or more and your support will be directed to our environmental education efforts in 2019. Or you can join us on Giving Tuesday for an evening of philanthropic fun at West-O Bottle Shop in West Ocean City from 5:00 - 8:00 pm where you can make your online donation while tasting luscious libations and marvelous munchies and vying for rarefied raffle prizes. 

Whatever your donation delivery preference may be, by supporting our education programs, you will be:
  • Educating local children and families with knowledge of our bays and the challenges they face; 
  • Engaging our community in hands-on conservation and restoration projects that respond to these challenges; and 
  • Empowering our youth to be the next generation of environmental stewards to ensure that our Coastal Bays become and remain a healthy natural resource for them and their children to appreciate and enjoy. 
So mark your calendars for November 27th as Giving Tuesday, a day to support MCBP and the future of our Coastal Bays!

Discover Your Watershed
Thank you to everyone who attended!
 
We had so much fun with all of the community members who joined us for the 2018 Discover Your Watershed Series! From macroinvertebrate sampling, to blazing trails, to picking up trash, we cannot thank you enough for participating and showing your love for our Coastal Bays. If you missed this event series in 2018, we will have another set of events in 2019 focused on adventuring through restoration sites, education, and service activities...
Stay tuned!    
Assateague Outfitters Closes for Season
Thank you for a great season!
MCBP's fundraising partnership, Assateague Outfitters Concession Stand at the National Seashore, had another great season. The for-profit partnership grossed $64,000 for the program. Left over beverages and snacks were donated to the hard working staff on this island which included maintenance and the rangers. Of course MCBP staff enjoyed some leftovers as well! We're looking forward to another great season and hope to expand on a few new initiatives next year. This was the fifth year of a ten year commitment.
Mini Grants
MCBP-Funded Mini Grants Completed!
This past year, MCBP funded six mini grants to support watershed-based community and educational initiatives. Through these mini grants, recipients were able to: 
 
The funds from the MCBP Mini-Grant assisted Buckingham Elementary School with the construction of their brand-new Outdoor Classroom. This classroom is utilized by teachers to offer hands-on experiences right in their school's backyard, and helped the school gain their Maryland Green School's certification.

The Snow Hill Middle School COBALT Project, conducted by 70 7th graders, combined environmental education, community clean up, and habitat enhancement to create a lasting impact on the Chincoteague Bay. The project empowered these students to improve aquatic habitats through a bay cleanup and gave students the real-world experience to understand the need to reduce nutrient inputs in their bays.

The Coast Kids program at Assateague Coastal Trust provided scholarships to four low-income children to attend their Nature Explorers Summer Camp and purchased eight microscopes for use in Coast Kids education events.

The Town of Berlin designed and installed six interpretive signs in the Berlin Falls Park to help visitors understand the history, natural features and wildlife at the Park.

Funding from MCBP supported Lower Shore Land Trust's efforts to prioritize land conservation in the Coastal Bays, galvanize existing partnerships, identify new interest from landowners interested in implementing voluntary land conservation programs, and create a draft strategic land conservation plan for the Coastal Bays. 

Audubon Maryland-DC created a Coastal Bays State of the Birds report for colonial waterbirds. This user-friendly report will include available data on the abundance and breeding success of colonial waterbird species in the Coastal Bays, as well as updates on the conditions of nesting islands. 
| Maryland Coastal Bays Program | |  mcbp@mdcoastalbays.org
8219 Stephen Decatur Highway
Berlin, MD 21811