The Nonpoint Source Program staffed an exhibit at the Blackbird Creek Fall Festival in Townsend. The event was hosted by the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve and fosters stewardship of the Delaware Bayshore by celebrating the richness of estuaries and Delaware’s cultural traditions.

Coast Day is an educational event that takes place in Lewes, allowing attendees to interact with researchers and educators, try hands-on activities, and attend presentations on a range of topics. The Nonpoint Source Program staffed an exhibit highlighting practices residents can use to help improve local water quality.

The Nonpoint Source Program staffed an exhibit at the Tree for Every Delawarean event at the Kent Conservation District office. The exhibit consisted of Conservation Program resources and provided information to homeowners that will help reduce nutrient and sediment pollution entering local waterways.

The Division of Watershed Stewardship hosted an exhibit at the Delaware State Fair as part of the collection of exhibits in the DNREC Building at the Fair. The exhibit consisted of information from the Conservation Programs Section, the Shoreline and Waterway Management Section and he Watershed Assessment and Management Section and included displays on freshwater mussels and recycled glass sand.

In conjunction with DNREC and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, Governor John Carney proclaimed May 20 to 24, 2024 as Delaware Flood Awareness Week. The goal was to better inform residents about flood risk, likelihood of flooding from extreme weather events brought on by climate change, preparation and effects on water quality. The DNREC Nonpoint Source Program contributed to the promotion of the awareness week which included a social media campaign, flood awareness quiz, trainings, an article in Outdoor Delaware Online Magazine and a DART bus wrap.

The Conservation Programs Section staffed an exhibit at the Water Family Fest and Native Plant Sale at the James Farm Ecological Preserve, in Ocean View. The event, hosted by DNREC and Center for Inland Bays, highlights the work of each organization to improve Delaware’s wetlands, water and recreational shorelines. The exhibit included information on actions that help improve local water quality, with resources available to the public.

The Division of Watershed Stewardship staffed an exhibit at a native plant sale and pollinator workshop at the Laurel Public Library, hosted by the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance. The exhibit consisted of information on actions that help improve local water quality.

The Division of Watershed Stewardship staffed an exhibit at the Trap Pond Nature Festival in Laurel. The exhibit consisted of information from various conservation programs on actions that help improve local water quality. The annual event is hosted by the Friends of Trap Pond.

The Division of Watershed Stewardship, in partnership with the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, hosted a cleanup at Concord Pond in Seaford. Volunteers removed trash and invasive species around the pond in celebration of Earth Month.

More than 575 students from six elementary schools participated in the annual “Make a Splash” festival, an event that educates students on the diversity of estuary life and the importance of Delaware’s water resources. The Conservation Programs Section staffed an activity that helped students learn about practices that can be followed at home, which help improve local water quality.

Volunteers are the backbone of Delaware’s shoreline stabilization. Every spring since 1990, except when pandemic conditions prevented it, dedicated volunteers have stabilized Delaware’s sand dunes by planting more than five million stems of Cape American beach grass along ocean and bay beaches. Nonpoint Source Program staffed the annual event, hosted by the Division of Watershed Stewardship, this spring at Delaware Seashore State Park where 58 volunteers planted beach grass.

DNREC’s Nonpoint Source Program and the Center for Inland Bays partnered to plant hundreds of flower plugs creating vegetated filter strips which improve water quality and increase habitat for pollinators. The planting took place at the Stockley Center in Georgetown.

The Division of Watershed Stewardship staffed an exhibit at the Delmarva Soil Summit in Salisbury, Maryland. The Summit is the leading regional conference offering soil health information for farmers at every scale bringing in hundreds of attendees including farmers, experts and professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. The exhibit focused on conservation programs and practices that homeowners can use to help improve local water quality.