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Volunteers are encouraged to assist with the Ashland Hawk Watch, which DelNature has been conducting since 2007. Photo by Joe Sebastiani (Adkins photo below by Jim White)
It Takes More Than A Village New Delaware Nature Society leader Jennifer Adkins is relying on plants, animals, a waterway, a high-tech tower and you By Ken Mammarella
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DelNature owns 617 acres and manages 1,924 across Delaware. The four biggest sites are Abbott’s Mill Nature Center near Milford, Ashland Nature Center near Hockessin, Coverdale Farm Preserve near Greenville and the DuPont Environmental Education Center, on the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge in Wilmington. “The new executive director is a shepherd of the whole organization,” said Coverdale site manager Michele (Wales) Quinlan, one of three dozen DelNature staffers. “Between the pandemic and the crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and social injustice, connecting with nature is more crucial than ever,” Adkins said. “I’ve come to believe the most important outcome of our work is not the rivers, forests or wetlands we restore, but the relationships we restore with them and each other in the process. I love that connectivity is so central to our mission, and that we have such unique and special places to offer people for building these connections.” To build those connections, Adkins is relying on the staff, 200 volunteers, lots of flora and fauna, plus inanimate objects. Here are some of the most interesting (that includes you, too).
The Tower Is Listening A Motus tower (“motus” is Latin for movement) at the DuPont Environmental Education Center listens 24/7 for animals with radio-tags. It has detected 135 tagged animals, including several rare birds and bats. DelNature is partnering with the University of Delaware and Delaware Audubon to track purple martins, America’s largest swallow. “This will help us identify the areas in which they spend most of their time,” DelNature says. “These high-value areas can then be protected.” Beaver Deceivers American beavers are masters at creating shallow pond habitats, but their dams can sometimes flood agricultural and residential land. At Abbott’s Mill, DelNature is partnering with the Sussex County Conservation District, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Delaware Tax Ditch program to install “beaver deceivers” that allow beavers to construct their dams but maintain water levels behind the dam to a safe level. ► AUGUST 2022 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM
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Photo DelNature
ennifer Adkins brings a lot to her new job as executive director of the Delaware Nature Society. She has a background in environmental leadership (at American Rivers and the Jennifer Adkins Partnership for the Delaware Estuary), two degrees from the University of Delaware (in economics and environmental and energy policy) and experience with DelNature staff (on the Clean Water for Delaware campaign and the lower Christina and Brandywine Rivers Remediation, Restoration and Resilience plan.)
