NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

Vol. 40, No. 345

For more information contact Jennifer Holmes, Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, 302-739-3436 or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Celebrate autumn at the Blackbird Creek Fall Festival Saturday, Oct. 23

TOWNSEND, Del. (Oct. 8, 2010) – Autumn’s vibrant foliage, the pristine waters and lush landscape of the Blackbird Creek Reserve will be showcased 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Blackbird Creek Fall Festival. The festival will be held, rain or shine, at the reserve – located at 801 Blackbird Landing Road near Townsend – one of the most beautiful and ecologically valuable areas in Delaware.

“The festival is free and offers something for the entire family,” said Jennifer Holmes, festival coordinator. “We encourage people to come and explore this scenic area – by foot, canoe and hayride – and enjoy the musical talents of The Bog Turtle Band, 3Buds, Celtic Harvest, and Nice Like Dat, who will entertain us on our festival stage.” 

The festival features guided hikes, hayrides, canoe trips, kids’ craft projects and hands-on activities, a straw maze, local artisans, vendors, exhibitors, craft demonstrations and loads of fun along the beautiful Blackbird Creek. The Del Bay Retriever Club will demonstrate waterfowl retriever exercises, and Quiet Thunder (Dick Gilbert) of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe of New Jersey will present a Native American demonstration. Local food vendors will also be on-site to provide refreshments for purchase.

Prior to the festival and beginning at 9 a.m., the Appoquinimink River Association will hold the Race for Our Rivers 5K Run and Walk over the Reserve’s trails to benefit projects that preserve and protect the river and natural resources of southern New Castle County.

For more information on the Blackbird Creek Fall Festival, visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/coastal/DNERR/Pages/DNERRBlackbirdCreekFallFestival.aspx. For information on the Appoquinimink River Association Race for Our Rivers 5K, visit http://www.apporiver.org

The Blackbird Creek Reserve and St. Jones Reserve are two components of the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNERR), a cooperative program between the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Delaware Coastal Programs and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The goal of the program is to establish, protect, and manage natural estuarine habitats for research and education. The Blackbird Creek and St. Jones Reserves include both brackish and freshwater estuaries, and represent the diverse estuarine ecosystems found throughout the Mid-Atlantic. 

Directions to the Blackbird Creek Reserve:

From the NORTH:  Take Rt. 1 S to Exit 136 toward Odessa (Rt 299). From Rt. 299, turn right onto Rt. 13 S in Odessa. Turn left onto Blackbird Landing Rd. Continue to the Reserve on the left.

From the SOUTH: Take Route 13 N to Blackbird Landing Rd. Turn right onto Blackbird Landing Rd.  The Reserve is located on the left.

For more information on DNERR, visit DNREC’s web site, www.dnrec.delaware.gov and click on “Division of Soil and Water Conservation” and click on “Estuary Research.”