Beautiful Weather Forecasted for Creek Fest!

Bring your sunscreen and grab some friends and family to celebrate the White Clay Creek this Saturday, May 4! Commemorate Mason Dixon's arrival in Philiadelphia 250 years ago with a hike to Arc Corner and the Tri-State Marker. Relax in the sun and take in the live performances on stage. Kids will receive a watershed passport to fill with stamps while visiting exhibitors and learning more about the White Clay Creek! Live music, performances, animals, great food, and more...See you there! SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

11:00 a.m.  -  Pre-Fest Hike to Arc Corner & Tri-State Marker with Friends of the    Pennsylvania Preserve.

STAGE LINE UP

11:45-12:30                 Unity Reggae

12:30- 1:00                  Jugglers

1:00 -1:45                    Unity Reggae

1:45-1:55                     Bird setup / Announcements

1:55-2:40                     Conservation Partners Live Bird Presentation

2:40-3:10                     Jugglers

3:10-3:55                     Unity Reggae

3:55-4:00                     Concluding announcements

Map to White Clay Creek State Park, Carpenter Recreation Area, 880 New London Rd, Newark, DE 19711.The event is free, but park entrance fees will be in effect (3$/vehicle DE resident, 6$/vehicle out of state).

Invasive Vine Removal at Old Curtis Papermill!

DATE: Saturday May 4, 2013 TIME: 7:30 a.m.- noon

LOCATION: Old Curtis Papermill site on Papermill Road in Newark, DE.

The City of Newark will provide coffee/milk/orange juice/doughnuts for all to munch on prior to starting work! Come the entire time or just for an hour or two to help cut invasive vines and small trees (Norway Maples!) out of the woods in an effort to help restore the native vegetation along the creek. This is a job for grown-ups as we will be using sharp tools. Please bring work gloves, sturdy tools (loppers, handsaw, pruners), and dress to get dirty! Contact tzaleski@newark.de.us if you have any questions or need more information. Please register for the event here!

Earth Day Garlic Mustard Pull at the PA Preserve in Landenberg.

Thank you Blue Hen Leadership Program for sending a group of students to help pull the invasive Alliaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard) from the Pennsylvania White Clay Creek Preserve last Saturday. The group of 34 students from the University of Delaware and area high schools traversed over 4 miles of the PA Preserve trails, hiking and pulling the invasive plant from the woods as part of a day of service celebrating Earth Day.

The students learned about the invasive plant and the the threats it poses to native ephemeral wildflowers. Opportunistic plants that have not co-evolved with other species in our area often have fewer threats to their viability. In other words, they may have fewer natural pests and predation threats, as well as the ability to rapidly colonize an area. This  often gives them a competitive edge over our native species allowing them to displace or greatly reduce the population of natives.

It was a day of service, but there was also time for some sight seeing. We spied a spotted turtle basking in the sun, heard spring peepers singing in a nearby wetland, and saw some of the many beautiful spring wildflowers blooming along the trail such as Jacob's ladder, may apple, trout lily, spring beauty, and the emerging fronds of the Christmas fern. All of which make the White Clay Creek Preserve such a treasure to visit.