August 2019
In This Issue
International Coastal Cleanup
Join MCBP, Ocean City Surf Club, and the Town of Ocean City Saturday, September 7 at the Ocean City Town Hall located on 3rd Street for the International Coastal Cleanup. Registration begins 10:00 am. We will be providing gloves, bags, and t-shirts while supplies last. Hours spent at this event count for community service and Day to Serve. For more information or pre-registration contact Sandi at [email protected] or 410-213-2297 ext 106.
Estuary Explorers Summer Camp
What a week we had at our Estuary Explorers camp through OC Recreation and Parks. It was chock-full of kayaking, exploration of the bays, boat building, dissecting turtle "stomachs", nature journaling, and team building. We all left with a bit more knowledge in our brains and dirt on our hands!
Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve 
Work at the Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve continues through the summer, and the native bog vegetation, such as the Meadow Beauty shown in the photo, is an example of the diversity that we see following the logging of the pine plantation
Terrapin Survey Results In!
The results from this year's annual Terrapin Survey are in! This year was the highest recorded number at 668 terrapins counted! Weather conditions were close to ideal during the survey period and we also had the largest number of volunteers participate in the survey. Keep an eye out for information on next year's survey!
Zion Lutheran Church!

Thanks to the Zion Lutheran Church for volunteering this month with MCBP! They built a trail throughout the Lizard Hill Restoration Site to be used for data collection and educational programing! They also removed invasive wisteria; wisteria is a plant that wraps around our native trees and plants and suffocates them. Additionally, the volunteers cleaned up the storm drain outfalls throughout Ocean City.
Bay Day at Ocean Pines
Only one more month until Bay Day!

Maryland Coastal Bays Program and the Ocean Pines Association are hosting the 2nd Ocean Pines Bay Day, a free event, on Sunday, September 8 from 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at White Horse Park, located at 235 Ocean Parkway. The goal of the event is to encourage bay-friendly practices to improve the health of our Coastal Bays. This day has something for all ages with a workshop pavilion, 30+ environmental exhibitors, free boat tours and kayaking, live music by the George and Pat Bilenki Duo,  a bay-friendly garden demonstration, and live animal exhibits .
Farewell to our CCCers and Summer Intern
It's never easy to say goodbye to staff who have devoted their time, energy, and passion to MCBP projects. And it's even harder when they are such incredible people. This month, we have to part with not one, not two, but three wonderful scientists. Arianna Russo and Brianna Fragata are our two Chesapeake Conservation Corps members for the 2018-2019 service year. Throughout their time at MCBP, they have worked on numerous projects such as anadromous fish monitoring, water quality sampling, oyster gardening, environmental education, and more! For their capstone projects, Arianna worked on the source reduction campaign "Protect Our Sand & Sea" and Brianna worked on the Greys Creek Nature Preserve. 

During her summer internship at MCBP, Carly has been instrumental to helping kick-start the wetland assessment program. She has also worked on projects such as anadromous fish monitoring, terrapin surveys, and water quality sampling. 

All three of these amazing scientists have been wonderful assets to MCBP and will be sorely missed. We wish them the best as they continue their work in the environmental field!
Source Reduction and Butt Huts
Press release to unveil Protect Our Sand & Sea source reduction program!

Ocean City Green Team's Source Reduction program was officially launched in July with MCBP taking the lead. The program encourages local businesses to make greener choices by providing eco-friendly products for consumers. Businesses that make a pledge to this commitment receive promotional recognition through social media, newspaper, and radio advertisements thanks to NOAA and DNR funding. EPA, Keep America Beautiful, Keep Maryland Beautiful, and Walmart are also providing funding for additional components of this initiative.
 
Additionally, 104,300 butts (104 pounds) have been collected and sent to be recycled to date. We are working on acquiring more huts for businesses and hope to have benches made from these materials by late September.  For more information on this program please contact [email protected] .
Discover Your Watershed
Join us for Discover Your Watershed!

Get ready for the third event of the year in the series of Discover Your Watershed on Saturday, October 12th from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm! The Rubbish Roundup is an event that will be held throughout your local back roads. This is a clean-up event that will consist of collecting garbage and litter around our watershed. RSVP to [email protected] or 410-213-2297 ext. 107. 

We will meet at one of Maryland Coastal Bays' restoration sites, give you a tour, and then start the cleanup! See you soon!
| Maryland Coastal Bays Program | |  [email protected] | 
8219 Stephen Decatur Highway
Berlin, MD 21811