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A Million Trees & Beyond: Building Delaware’s Natural Infrastructure
Restoring Delaware’s Tree Infrastructure One Tree at a Time From the loss of primeval old-growth stands to the suburban subdivisions that fragmented what remained, Delaware’s forest canopy has endured centuries of heavy pressure. While our three state forests serve...
Beyond the Lawn: Reconnecting Delaware’s Fragmented Habitats
Beyond the Lawn in Post-War Delaware In our previous post, we looked back at how centuries of shipbuilding, charcoal burning, and agriculture cleared roughly three-quarters of Delaware’s native forest canopy—and how working state forests like Redden and Blackbird are...
Rebuilding Delaware’s Canopy: Learning From the Forests We Lost
Delaware's Canopy: Before Asphalt and Industry Long before concrete highways, sprawling subdivisions, and neatly manicured turfgrass lawns defined the landscape of the First State, Delaware was almost entirely covered by a continuous, unbroken blanket of trees. From...
Beyond the Dunes: How Living Shorelines Are Safeguarding Delaware’s Coasts
Continuing the Shoreline Conversation When we think about coastal defense in Delaware, our minds often jump to the dramatic Atlantic shoreline. The towering sand dunes along Cape Henlopen and Rehoboth Beach stand as the state's first line of defense against powerful...
Food Deserts or Food Hubs? Why Delaware’s Songbirds Need Keystone Plants
Keystone Species: Functional Impact of Suburban Plant Choices If you look out into your yard this spring, you might spot a robin, a bluebird, or a Carolina chickadee hunting for breakfast. To us, it’s a charming backyard view. For our local songbirds, however, it is a...
The Living Shoreline: Exploring the Ecology and Resilience of Delaware’s Sand Dunes
Sand Dunes: Delaware’s First Line of Defense When you look past the sun umbrellas and beach towels along our 62-mile coastline, you find an environment that is constantly in motion. Sand dunes do far more than just frame the beach for summer tourists because they act...
More Deer, More Problems: Why Chronic Wasting Disease Changes the Conversation
Delaware has confirmed its first case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a Sussex County white-tailed deer, a development that highlights the critical link between deer overpopulation and the health of our native ecosystems. By understanding how high population...
Vernal Pools at Risk in Delaware: Looking Deeper Through the Window into the Water Table
Vernal Pools: A Fragile Future for Seasonal Wetlands Vernal pools may only appear for part of the year, but the threats they face are constant. Across Delaware, these small wetlands are increasingly vulnerable, often overlooked in planning decisions and largely...
Windows Into the Water Table: What Are Vernal Pools and Why They Matter
Vernal Pools: Hidden Habitats in a Changing Landscape They appear briefly, vanish quietly, and are easy to miss. But for a few critical months each year, Delaware’s vernal pools come alive with the calls of wood frogs, the flash of salamanders, and the shimmer of...