Maryland Coastal Bays Program

Our 2024 Mini Grant Recipients have been working on amazing projects this year. Over the next few days, we are going to begin highlighting the recipients. Our first mini grant spotlight is Go Green OC.

Go Green OC was awarded $3935 to support the expansion of operation capacity and the securement of necessary permits. This year they were able to triple their space by expanding their cement pad. This allowed them to save 1.5 hours per day and accept more food waste in a single day than in previous years. In 2024, Go Green OC collected over 305,000 pounds of food waste from restaurants, businesses, and major festivals in OC.

To learn more visit Go Green OC - Ocean City, MD or check out their website https://www.gogreenwithoc.org/

The Maryland Coastal Bays 2023 Report Card is now available! The Coastal Bays had an overall score of a 64% (B-), which is the highest score that the Coastal Bays have ever received!

For the report card data, Coastal Bays health is defined as the progress of four water quality indicators (nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen) and two biotic indicators (seagrass, hard clam) toward scientifically derived ecological thresholds. The B- rating was driven by slight improvements for seagrass scores in the southern bays and hard clam scores in a majority of the watershed. Partners and community members gathered at Micky Fins on October 24th for the official unveiling.

A big thank you to all the partners who play a key role in our report cards!
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
U.S. EPA Mid-Atlantic Region
Assateague Island National Seashore
Maryland Department of Natural Resources

https://ecoreportcard.org/report-cards/maryland-coastal-bays/

Join the Maryland Coastal Bays Program for our November Discover Your Watershed volunteer event!

We’re hosting our last Discover Your Watershed event of the season on Tuesday, November 19th from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm at the Lewis Rd. Kayak launch day use area. The kayak launch is situated on Ayres Creek, directly across from a trail head at the Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve, making it an ideal water access site that also offers visitors a chance to paddle to the preserve and explore one of our areas fascinating forested wetlands. We will be tackling the pesky wisteria wine!

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/ycydrapd

If you have any questions about the event, feel free to email Billy Weiland at [email protected]

Mark your calendars now! Bay Day 2025 is scheduled for May 18, 2025 from 10-2 pm at White Horse Park in Ocean Pines.

Stay tuned for updates on NEW activity additions to the day!

We are so grateful for each and every one of our volunteers! Our wonderful volunteers joined us at our office on a beautiful autumn afternoon for our Annual Volunteer Celebration. From oyster gardening, to rescuing stranded spawning horseshoe crabs, to water quality monitoring, and so much more, we could not accomplish all that we do without our mighty volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please reach out via the volunteer page on our website.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! HELP NEEDED!

Join the Maryland Coastal Bays Program for our October Discover Your Watershed (DYW) volunteer event!

This DYW will take place on Saturday, October 19 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM at Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve (IFNP) in Showell, Maryland. Here’s your chance to check out the new trail system and explore a gem of a forest at IFNP! This 400 + acre preserve managed by MCBP is a beautiful forested wetland with a series of trails that meander through several stages of ecological succession. Attendees will join MCBP staff for seasonal maintenance of existing trails and development of additional trails.

Link to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuAwL5UqVZ8h3lXTU_g1JWTI58F3ocmiHEhhvYlXtIOwhCKA/viewform

As air temperatures cool, Autumn is a premier time to get outside and explore the coastal bays watershed. MCBP manages several forested properties throughout the watershed that offer a chance to experience these unique habitats. Visting these areas is an excellent way to learn about the history, diverse ecology, and the importance of each property to the health of our local waterways and community at large.

One of these properties, the Ilia Fehrer Nature Preserve (IFNP), is located just down the road from the MCBP office. With a small parking area located off Sinepuxent Rd. MCBP has implemented a series of low impact primitive trails that traverse this 450 acre forested wetland located right here in Worcester County. If you’re looking to get outside and take in the Fall foliage and all the wonderful nature that abounds this time of year, we encourage you to visit the first completed trail at IFNP. Marked in yellow trail markers, this portion of the trail at IFNP takes visitors through mixed pine/hardwood stands and two impressive mature hardwood stands before ending at Ayres Creek. At the parking area you’ll find a kiosk with information about the preserve, trails maps, and rules to following while visiting. The trail at IFNP is open to the public from sun up to sun down. Those interested in visiting should keep in mind that the site is dominated by wetlands, and can be wet at times along certain sections of trail. Appropriate footwear is recommended to ensure you get the most out of your experience. Trail development at IFNP is ongoing. Additional trails are planned for Winter 2024 – 2025.

Map by: Delmarva Trails & Waterways

If you have any questions about IFNP, please contact Billy Weiland at [email protected] .

The Maryland Coastal Bays Program stands on the values of collaboration, impact, and stewardship. This past weekend, the new Storybook Walk reveal event for “Keep Our Beaches Clean! What If Everybody Did That?” was a prime example of a project that glues all these values together. Although the collaboration of essential partners started work to bring this book to life back in April, the real work began in the fall of 2020 when a local class of 2nd graders from Showell Elementary developed an idea to write a book that encourages stewardship of the place you live. Something we know to cause immeasurable positive impacts.

To the partners we have been proud to work alongside:
Mackenzie Laurenfor her passion to create change. And to her 2nd graders for your imaginations and creativity- your voices are so important. Showell Elementary School
Town of Ocean City - Government- Susan Petito Ocean City Recreation & Parks, Jenelle Gerthoffer, and the Marketing and Public Works teams for embracing this opportunity wholeheartedly and for seeing the benefits of such a unique park installation.
Plak That Printing Co.- Wyatt and Reeves- the talented heroes behind the scenes who worked their magic to ensure the panels were printed and installed professionally.
Mark Huey who freely gave his time to beautifully design the first and last panels for the walk.
Di Angelo Publications- Your team received this request with open arms and supported us every step of the way.
1% for the Planet for providing a platform for environmental giving
Kelly Slater- your kind, compassionate energy is intertwined in every part of this project.

We encourage everyone to go visit the new Storybook Walk at the Bayside Park at 3rd Street in Ocean City to enjoy a book, spend some time outdoors, and hopefully, feel inspired to keep our home and beaches clean.

We love our local farmers! In Worcester County, there is approximately 100,000 acres of active farmland and over 300 farms. We want to thank all the agricultural professionals who dedicate their time to providing fresh products to our community while protecting the environment. This fall remember to support local, shop small and thank a farmer!

Happy National Farmers Day 🌾

Photos by Sarah Murray Photography

Thank you to everyone who submitted and tagged us in photos for National Estuaries Week. We had so much fun seeing what parts of the Coastal Bays were special to you. Here our staff picks of some of the amazing photos that were submitted. Check out these critters captured on camera by

National Estuaries Week may be over but the love for the Coastal Bays remains. Thank you to everyone who came out to our National Estuaries Week events to learn about the Coastal Bays, show support, and help clean our waterways. Swipe through to see pictures from the week!

Photo 1+2: Cruise the Coastal Bays

Photo 3+4: Marine Debris Plunder

Photo 5+6: Discover Your Watershed

Our Volunteer Celebration is 1 week away!

As a thank you for all the hard work and dedication our volunteers put into being stewards of our Coastal Bays, the Maryland Coastal Bays Program is inviting you to join us for a fun night of celebration in honor of all our amazing volunteers!

We will have food, drinks, and music so come hungry and ready for a good time! We ask that you please bring your own lawn/camping chair as we will most likely not have enough for everyone.

Please see the attached flyer for details of the event and RSVP at this link https://tinyurl.com/f6ffvnde We look forward to celebrating with you all!

Volunteer with us!!

Join the Maryland Coastal Bays Program on October 19th for our Discover Your Watershed volunteer event! This will take place at the Illia Fehrer Nature Preserve in Berlin, MD from 9:00am-12pm. Volunteers will help with trail maintenance and development. Click the link below to register and learn more!

https://tinyurl.com/ekv8rr7u

Join us October 13 at 11:00 for a family-friendly ribbon cutting event for a new Storybook Walk at the Bayside Park on 3rd in OC!
What started as an idea to further promote local stewardship and awareness surrounding trash clean ups, has metamorphosed into a multi-partner endeavor to bring a story to life. Maryland Coastal Bays Program, in collaboration with the Town of Ocean City, Plak That, 1% for the Planet, and Di angelo Publications, has implemented a Storybook Walk for the locally authored “Keep Our Beaches Clean! What If Everybody Did That?” at the newly renovated Bayside Park at 3rd Street in downtown Ocean City.

The event itself will feature guest speakers, including teacher author Mackenzie Keyser, an official ribbon cutting, and a book signing by the student authors themselves! There will be books on site for purchase from Coastal Bays, or attendees can bring their own to get signed. Please help spread the word about this awesome event!

Click here to read all about it:
https://www.worcesterk12.org/article/1783697

If you would like to provide aid to those impacted by Hurricane Helene, please see the information below. Worcester County is collecting necessary materials at several drop-off zones in our area. We encourage you to help those in need!

Celebrate our public lands on Saturday, September 28th on National Public Lands Day! Admission is FREE at Assateague National Seashore and Assateague Island National Seashore is hosting an island clean up event from 9am-12pm (meet in the North Beach parking lot by the pavilion and bring work gloves). Whether you choose to pick up trash, dig for mole crabs at the tideline with your kids, or watch the dunes glow during golden hour, we hope you share our gratitude and love for these wild public lands we are fortunate enough to have in our own backyard.

BIRDING. One of the biggest tourism draws in the USA, yet, how do people actually get started?
Join the Maryland Coastal Bays Program for a crash course on bird identification and birding techniques! This course will specifically cater to beginner birders. We will be heading out of a 1.5 hour boat trip aboard the OC Bay Hopper to soar into the amazing world of birds and the sport of birding.

This free program will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. As a reminder, the MCBP Explore the Estuary program caters specifically to adult learning.

Link to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqW445ZBOUCbAcQPjYUsSqJAsG3woEQbyZtOWRExxhlZT10w/viewform

Photo: Kim Abplanalp