We are thrilled to announce that we have received a $100,000 grant from the MD Historical Trust’s Historic Restoration Capital Grant program! WC is one of only seven awardees from across the state. With these monies, we will begin restoration of the more than 50 steel-frame windows in the Waterfowl Building in downtown Easton. Not to worry though! The project will go in phases so that we can remain open for business and events! Continue reading
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2018 Mini-Grant Program Open – Accepting Initial Inquiries
Our “Community in Conservation” small grant program is now open for business for 2018! Does your organization have an initiative or project that makes connections between communities and either environmental education, waterfowl or wetland science, and/or restoration activities that benefit waterfowl? This funding program might be for you. Learn more about past awardees, the program and how to apply >>
Festival Reveals 2018 Featured Sculpture!
The 2018 Waterfowl Festival has revealed this year’s Featured Art piece, a sculpture by Canadian artist Eric Tardif, which is unlike any work selected before. The impressionistic bronze stunningly showcases the “grace, calm, peacefulness and formality” of two long-tailed birds, which very much follows the founding wildlife mission and tradition of the Festival from the 1970’s. Read more about the 46-inch-tall piece titled “The Lovers” here.
Showing of “High Tide in Dorchester”
Why would four local non-profits team up to show one film? Because the Bay Journal film in question, “High Tide in Dorchester,” covers a local issue all feel is incredibly important.
Produced and directed by local artists Sandy Cannon-Brown, Dave Harp, and Tom Horton, the film debuted in fall of 2017 and explores the impacts of climate change on our coastal communities. The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge of Cambridge is featured, where the impact of the rising tide is already being reckoned with. In depth interviews with experts and locals alike will give an idea of how sea level rise can and will affect us in our lifetime, using Dorchester county as an example of what could arise worldwide to coastal areas.
Join Waterfowl Chesapeake along with our friends in conservation the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and ShoreRivers for a special showing of the film at the Easton Avalon on Thursday, May 31, 2018.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a cash bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres, followed by the screening at 6:30 p.m. and interpretation from the filmmakers themselves! Tickets are $15 and may be purchased in advance at https://tickets.avalontheatre.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=981 or at the door, pending availability.
Students! Have You Been a Festival Ducksitter? Apply for a Scholarship!
If you’ve been a Waterfowl Festival youth volunteer, called a “Ducksitter”, you are elible to apply for a college or higher education scholarship from the William A. Perry Scholarship Fund, now through May 31, 2018. Learn more here >>
Interested in becoming a “Ducksitter” for the 2018 Festival, so you can apply in the future? Send us your info here!
Clean Up at Bay Street Ponds
Kick off Earth Day weekend by joining Waterfowl Chesapeake at our Clean Stream Project at the Bay Street Ponds! Home to the Retriever and Fly Fishing Demonstrations during the Festival, several Easton residents enjoy the spot throughout the year.
To keep it welcoming for feathered friends and otherwise, we’ll be partnering with Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay for a Project Stream Clean for Clean Up on the morning of Saturday, April 21st from 9am-12noon.
Register here to volunteer- be sure to pick “Waterfowl Chesapeake’s Bay Street Pond Clean Up” from the drop down. Let us know that you can make it so we have a count of number of gloves and bags to be provide- as well as coffee and festive treats!
3 Projects Get WC “Seed Funding”: Match Challenge is On!
Three worthy organizations’ projects in 3 areas – education, research and community engagement – are receiving “seed funding” from our Community In Conservation grants program. We’re asking our stakeholders, community and Festival visitors to them fully funded through our Match Challenge campaign! Learn about the projects or add your match of ‘green feathers’ online today!
WC Partners Up for “Birds & Birding on the Shore” Class
If you’re interested in getting into ‘birding’ and outside this fall, former WC Board Member and avid birder Dr. Wayne Bell is the man to give you a wonderful start and a rich experience. WC is thrilled to be partnering with the Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to engage more people in the world of our Eastern Shore birds, including fall waterfowl as the return to our area. For more information on the 5-week class that includes several field experiences trips, too, check out ALL’s fall catalog, now online! Class starts September 18. You do not have to be an ALL member to register.
“Community in Conservation” – New Funding Initiative
We are very excited to launch our new “Community in Conservation” funding initiative that marries the values of the Festival with our conservation mission. Regional non-profits and other entities can apply for support, which comes from restricted Festival proceeds. For more >> or To Apply >>
Why Waterfowl? For the love . . .
Make a gift to our spring Waterfowl Annual Fund campaign! Whether you are a conservationist, a collector, an artist, a volunteer, a hunter or a lover of our region, we know nature is your muse. And we are working for you and for the waterfowl and wetlands that make Delmarva and the Chesapeake Bay region unique. Thank you for your love of waterfowl and your support!