Host Our Coast : Nature Preservation

Two Coasts, One Community, One Cause

July 15, 2010 4:00 PM | Posted By : Host Our Coast
Nature Preservation

Can you believe the Gulf Oil Spill has been carrying on for almost 3 months now?! As this crisis wears on into its 86th day, concern for wildlife sanctuaries in towns that line the Gulf Coast greatens as more and more wildlife dies or suffers from the millions of gallons of oil being dumped on these fragile landscapes.

The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays teamed up with Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program to organize a fundraiser on Dewey Beach to aid in relief efforts in Louisiana from the devastating oil spill which has threatened the lives and destroyed the habitats of numerous species of wildlife.

Their goal was to raise $100,000 and by the time we were about to leave, they had already raised $70,000 from organizations, local businesses, and people of Dewey Beach and neighboring communities.

To find out more about this event or to make a donation, visit www.inlandbays.org.

Maintaining the Marsh

July 2, 2010 8:45 PM | Posted By : Host Our Coast
Nature Preservation

Queen Anne's County takes care of numerous parks and wildlife reserves, and the one we had the chance to visit was a gigantic swathe of land called the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center. This area is also known as Horsehead Farm, on account of the peninsula being shaped like the head of a horse. Tall pines lined the road leading into the Environmental Center, and once we were on that road, we were officially out of civilization. As we passed through the pines, we came upon a vast marshland spreading out before us under the hot sun, and we knew this was the right place. It was very quiet, with little sound save a few birds and the wind rustling the reeds and grasses.

Horseshoe Crab Spawn

June 7, 2010 11:00 AM | Posted By : Host Our Coast
Nature Preservation

It's horseshoe crab spawning season in Delmarva, and Host Our Coast follows wildlife expert, Jeff Gordon as he takes us along the shoreline of Delaware's Slaughter Beach, where shorebirds are frantically buffeting the buffet of horseshoe crab eggs, before their strenuous miles-long migration up north.

Riding the Underground Railroad

August 28, 2009 9:51 AM | Posted By : Host Our Coast
Parks, History, African American History, Nature Preservation, Biking, Farms

Riding the 25 miles around the Blackwater Refuge it's hard not to imagine the struggle and dedication that Harriet Tubman went through during the years of the Underground Railroad. The land is covered in high grass and muck, a proper marsh. Biting flies and mosquitoes cling to your legs and your arms, reminding you who's in charge. Though the landscape is utterly beautiful and timeless from the safety of the non-congested road that forms the loop around the refuge, it is clear that any trek through this marsh would be an uncomfortable and tedious trek to freedom.

Road Trip: Weekend

August 25, 2009 8:41 AM | Posted By : Host Our Coast
Sports, Nature Preservation, Town, Road Trip

The morning dew sat thick on the car and the soil when the sun rose on the Eastern Shore on Sunday. Hurricane Bill was flooding the airwaves with promises of killer waves and tumultuous seas. So the decision was made; it was mandatory to witness the mayhem first hand. To get to the destination in mind, one must take some sort of water craft, be it a motor boat, jet ski, or, in our case, kayaks.

In what could be describe as a floating caravan, six of us put in somewhere near Daugherty, Virginia and began the beautiful hour paddle through the pristine salt marshes, down Folly's creek towards Cedar Island in hopes of great tempest waves, but instead what we found was a much needed day or serenity and tranquility.