Back in November 2013, President Obama issued Executive Order 13653 which directed Federal agencies to work with states, tribes, and local governments to improve disaster preparedness. Section 3 of the Order directed Federal agencies with responsibility for managing natural resources to:
“[C]omplete an inventory and assessment of proposed and completed changes to their land- and water-related policies, programs, and regulations necessary to make the Nation’s watersheds, natural resources, and ecosystems, and the communities and economies that depend on them, more resilient in the face of a changing climate. Further, recognizing the many benefits the Nation’s natural infrastructure provides…”
[Read more…]
New Book for Gardeners who live by the Bay
For many of us in Cape Charles and on the shore, it is that most wonderful time of the year, time to once again be reunited with our beloved gardens. Whether your garden is located in town, on seaside or on a beautiful creek, the new book “Chesapeake Gardening & Landscaping: The Essential Green Guide” by Barbara Ellis can help you plant a more healthy, sustainable garden, that will also promote the health of our local waters. The question that Ms. Ellis asks is, what if, one step at a time, we could make our gardens and landscapes more eco-friendly?
Ms. Ellis told the Daily Press, “Matching plants to sites is at the core of becoming a successful gardener. It means that you start a garden by selecting plants that will be happy with the soil, exposure, and other conditions on that site. Matching plant to site stacks the deck in favor of success. There is lots of information on this principle in ‘Chesapeake Gardening & Landscaping,’ along with lots of list of different kinds of plants for different site conditions.”
VIMS Eastern Shore Lab Live Webcast March 31st
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science Eastern Shore Laboratory in Wachapreague will provide live webcasts from the VIMS Gloucester Point campus “After Hours Lecture” series on the big screen in Seaside Hall. Questions from the audience can be relayed to the presenter.
After Hours Lecture for Thursday, March 31, 2016, 7 pm to 8:30 pm.
Whimbrels: the wide-ranging wader with Dr. Bryan Watts, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology
Join Dr. Bryan Watts, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology, as he highlights efforts to study this wide-ranging shorebird and the importance of its springtime stopover on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
From the Amazon River to Arctic Canada, whimbrels undertake one of the world’s most amazing avian migrations. Join Dr. Bryan Watts as he highlights efforts to study this shorebird and the importance of its springtime stopover on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Watts will also describe the Center’s whimbrel-tracking research and introduce Project Whimbrel Watch.
Reservations to this free public lecture series are required. To make your reservation to join the webcast, please contact Linda Ward at 757-787-5816.
To receive this webcast at home, please see: https://events.wm.edu/event/view/vims/66186
ES RC&D Presents a Two-Day Intensive High Tunnel Workshop
In partnership with Future Harvest CASA and VSU Extension Specialists
The Eastern Shore Resource Conservation and Development Council (ES RC&D) has teamed up with a powerful team of experts from Future Harvest CASA and VSU Extension to present an intensive two-day, hands-on workshop on construction of high tunnels. The construction of the high tunnel will take place on a small re-emerging family farm in Birdsnest, VA in Northampton County. The program will include a ½-day classroom presentation on the Production of Specialty Crops in High Tunnels, as well as a presentation about financial assistance available from USDA.
THIS WORKSHOP WAS PRESENTED IN 2015 IN MARYLAND AND SOLD OUT AT $100 A PERSON. Thanks to funding by a USDA/VDACS Specialty Crop Grant, the RC&D is able to present the workshop for the special rate of only $50 per person which includes lunch and refreshments for both days. Participation is limited and we expect this to sell out quickly. Some scholarships are available for members of underserved communities including veterans, African Americans and Hispanics.*
What: Two-Day Hands-On High Tunnel Workshop
Where: Smith Street, Birdsnest, VA 23307 on VA’s Eastern Shore
When: Thursday and Friday, April 7-8, 2016
Presenters: Experts from Future Harvest CASA and VSU
How Much: $50 PER PERSON SPECIAL EASTERN SHORE PRICE!
High tunnels, also known as hoop houses, are plastic-covered greenhouses used for fruit and vegetable production. Their unique design allows growers to extend the growing season giving farmers increased marketing opportunities for commercial fruits and vegetables. High tunnels are frequently used by growers looking to expand production as well as traditional farmers seeking to diversify operations. Backyard growers may use high tunnels to generate part-time supplemental revenue streams or year-round kitchen gardens. No prior high tunnel experience is needed.
Like an old-fashioned barn raising, participants will actually participate in the construction of a 90’ x 20’ high tunnel from the ground up during the two-day the workshop. The program includes a ½ -day classroom presentation and a healthy lunch both days.
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Day 1, Thursday, April 7
8:00-8:30 Registration/Introductions
8:30-1:00 Hands-on Construction
1:30-4:00 Lunch and Classroom Presentation at the nearby Barrier Island Center
Topics covered at the two-day workshop include site preparation, high tunnel selection, pricing, construction techniques, soil management, irrigation, pest management, bed design, cropping systems, environmental control, tools to help growers succeed, new crops to consider, and effects of plastic color.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/two-day-intensive-high-tunnel-workshop-tickets-22074946760
High Tunnel Workshop Presenters
Future Harvest Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA) Team
Blain Snipstal of Black Dirt Farm in Preston, Maryland will be heading up the Future Harvest Construction Team. In addition to being a full time urban/rural farmer and establishing a rural farm cooperative on what was formerly Harriet Tubmann’s land in Maryland, Blain has developed a hoop house construction business and has recently built 11 hoop houses for the District of Columbia.
Aleya Fraser, Future Harvest CASA’s New Eastern Shore Program Manager, farmer and community organizer will also be on site throughout the program. She has managed an urban farm in Baltimore (5 Seeds Farm) and co-managed a larger farm on rural land in Preston, MD (Black Dirt Farm Collective) using agroecological practices. During her Future Harvest training, Aleya interned on Two Boots Farm in northern MD and spent weekends working in a greenhouse in Frederick, MD.
VSU’s Small Farm Outreach, Training and Technical Assistance Team
Chris Mullins has been an Extension Specialist at Virginia State University since 1999. His main area of responsibility is research and education in commercial vegetable production, particularly high tunnels for season extension and greenhouses. He has also been directly involved with construction and retrofitting of approximately 80,000 square feet of greenhouse space in several different regions of Virginia.
Dr. Reza Rafie is a Horticulture Extension Specialist with Virginia State University. His current research and extension interest is working with high-value specialty vegetables and small fruits. Dr. Rafie takes a marketing approach in identifying crops with proven market trend potential that will ultimately help the growers’ bottom line. He has many years of international experience and in the past has worked with privately-owned fresh fruit and vegetable companies.
Patrick Johnson, VSU Eastern Shore Small Farm Outreach Specialist. Another invaluable resource for local growers, Patrick holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development From Cornell University in NY and is an experienced urban farmer. He is available to provide one-on-one advice and assistance to local growers.
The Location: A Re-Emerging Family Farm
Our Host Farmer: Beginning Farmer Thelonius Cook is reclaiming what was once a family farm producing ornamentals and cut flowers for local retail sale. After many years of allowing the land to be farmed by a local wheat/soy grower, Thelonius has begun the process of reestablishing the 7.5-acres as a working family farm. He plans to start growing specialty crops on small parcels and in hoop houses, slowly expanding and eventually building a house and other buildings on site.
In addition to earning a Master’s Degree in Practicing Sustainable Development from Royal Holloway University of London in the UK, Thelonius has spent 2 and a half years in Africa…one year in Tanzania and one in Ethiopia working as an ICT Specialist for an international relief and development organization. Upon returning to the States, he completed Future Harvest CASA’s one year Beginning Farmer Training Program, during which time he apprenticed at Colchester Farm in MD. He has enrolled in NRCS’s Transition to Organic program and has been developing business plans for his new vision of the family farm as one day becoming what he has named the Mighty Thurdercloud Edible Forest.
Additional Collaborators
Butch Nottingham, Marketing Manager, Virginia Department of Agricultural Consumer Services (VDACS)
Jane Corson-Lassiter District Conservationist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will both be on hand at the Barrier Island Center classroom presentation to provide information and first-hand advice about USDA financial assistance available.
*For scholarship information contact Josephine Mooney at 757-710-7266 or by email at: esrcdc.projectsdirector@gmail.com.
This program is sponsored by a USDA/VDACS Specialty Crop Grant.
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Resource Conservation and Development Council (ES RC&D) is a not-for-profit organization created by the federal government in 1964. The all-volunteer Council works to improve, enhance and preserve the quality of life on the Eastern Shore by educating the community and protecting natural resources.
Cruelty and the Truth about Dairy
Besides humans, no species drinks milk beyond infancy, and never consumes the milk of another species. Cow’s milk is a refined substance especially suited to the nutritional needs of calves (calves have four stomachs and gain hundreds of pounds in a matter of months, sometimes weighing more than 1,000 pounds before they are 2 years old). According to the American Gastroenterological Association, when people ingest it, problems such as food allergies among infants and children can occur. Most people begin to produce less lactase, the enzyme that helps with the digestion of milk, when they are as young as 2 years old. This reduction can lead to lactose intolerance. Millions of Americans are lactose intolerant, and an estimated 90 percent of Asian-Americans and 75 percent of Native- and African-Americans suffer from the condition, which can cause bloating, gas, cramps, vomiting, headaches, rashes, and asthma.
[Read more…]
CBES responds to Crockett attacks
At the February 3, Accomack County Public Hearing for proposed new regulations on Industrial Poultry Operations, Vice-Chairman Robert Crockett took the floor for 15 minutes after the close of public comment. In front of the large crowd, he attacked two nonprofit organizations, Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore and Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper, for what he perceived to be a concerted effort to dismantle the poultry industry. “I believe they want to end the poultry business,” Crockett said. “The longer that we study over this issue, the more chances they have to put out the fear and to put out the propaganda.”
Here is the responsed from CBES:
Attacks Shut Down Dialogue: Good Debate Aids Good Decisions A letter from Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore’s president
Last week the Accomack Board of Supervisors voted in new zoning regulations for poultry growing operations. I believe most folks agree that the new rules are an improvement over the current regulations. The new regulations are not perfect – none ever is. However, I would like to recognize that the Accomack Board of Supervisors had a difficult task balancing an important sector of the economy with a desire to make sure that industrial chicken operations do not damage the livability of the community or harm other important sectors of the economy like tourism or aquaculture. This ordinance reflects that desire for balance.
The attendees and newspaper accounts agreed that the conversation at the public hearing was largely civil, respectful, and balanced. There were poultry growers worried that the new regulations would go too far and damage their livelihoods.There were citizens who are worried about the cumulative effect of this type of operations and whether we are fully considering the risks involved. According to one count, there were 29 speakers, of whom 16 spoke in support of the industry. This is a difficult topic where there is no “right” answer, only levels of compromise.
Unfortunately, one board member, Vice Chairman Robert Crockett, felt it was important after the public hearing to add a speech against what he perceived as “enemies of the poultry industry.” Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore and Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper were the focus of his speech. The core of his attack on CBES was that our recent forum was simply an “anti-poultry” rally. CBES certainly acknowledges the poultry industry was not represented on the panel. Why? Our volunteer forum organizers had concerns that the “opposing” view on poultry expansion was not being heard.
The purpose of the forum was to discuss the risks posed by the rapid growth of new houses hence the panel’s make-up of four scientists, a former Perdue grower, and a representative from an organization that is indeed against “factory farms.” Unfortunately, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and fire department spokespersons were unable to come. Frankly, I also disagree with some of the panelists’ points on the industry. But their presence furthered the CBES objective to get the conversation going about the regulatory environment the industry works in and some of the risks that the poultry industry’s growth poses to our communities.
Unlike Mr. Crockett, I have few worries about citizens not being able to differentiate the extreme from the reasoned portion of the arguments. The poultry industry is also an old master of public relations and they have plenty of experts to reassure us that they pose no risks. The challenge of differentiating fact from fiction in their information is much the same. Of course, there are risks.
We all need to understand them as best we can.
Of all the things I heard from our members after the meeting, what worried me the most was one long-term CBES member who felt intimidated by Mr. Crockett’s speech. She wondered if anyone who opposed his views would be personally attacked like this in the future. I hope that the Accomack Board considers carefully how chilling that sentiment could be in our local government. When a Vice-Chairman of a Board of Supervisors takes a harsh tone, it makes a big difference. Do they really want to encourage that kind of divisiveness and anger in our community? In a time with little citizen involvement already, do you want to make it harder to hear minority viewpoints? However misguided you may perceive CBES actions to be, attacks led by a County Supervisor always hurt our community.
CBES purpose is to try to keep the conversation honest and balanced so that the community can make informed decisions. Our role is particularly important when one side has the resources or power to prevent other points of view from being heard. Many times we pose uncomfortable challenges on difficult topics to important members of our community. We are hardly perfect and sometimes our passion goes too far. But our debates are always guided by the hope that we can make the Eastern Shore of Virginia “better,” even if we struggle to agree on what that means or how to get there.
Good debates make both sides think about their position and often create opportunities for compromise. But a good debate is also respectful and civil. Passion is not the same as anger and combativeness. After the meeting, I talked to several folks who agree with Mr. Crockett’s conclusions. Even they felt he had probably gone too far and taken a tone that was too antagonistic.
I hope to have a chance to re-visit the discussion with Mr. Crockett soon. In the meanwhile, CBES will continue to explore what “balanced growth” should look like in our communities.
Thank you,
Arthur Upshur, President
Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore
CBES, is a nonprofit organization serving Accomack and Northampton Counties since
1988. It is dedicated to promoting balanced growth, enhancing the quality of life of all
our citizens and preserving our cultural and natural resources through education while
promoting open government and citizen involvement
Board of Supervisors tables Solar Farm special use permit
The Northampton Board of Supervisors tabled a Special Use Permit that would have destroyed 130 acres of prime agricultural lands along Cherrydale Drive. Hecate Energy had plans to build a massive solar farm on this parcel. Despite lukewarm assurances from the company that it would increase the tax base as well as create a few temporary jobs, the BoS, as well as most of the public, was not buying what they were selling. The tradeoff, giving up a big chunk of productive farmland, as well as a pound of our agricultural heritage, seemed too high a price tag.
Clearing Ghost Pots: How ES Waterman can fight the winter blues
As was reported in Scientific Reports, a new VIMS study focuses on a collaborative 6-year program to remove abandoned crab traps in the Chesapeake Bay, which showed that the effort generated more than USD 20 million in catch value for local fishermen. For Eastern Shore waterman, this may not be the be all to end all, but it does offer a way to supplement winter income, while relieving the bay of rogue pots.
The research, which was conducted by Professors Andrew Scheld, Donna Bilkovic and Kirk Havens, with support from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, was funded through disaster-relief funds made available in 2008 after the US Department of Commerce declared the Bay’s blue crab industry a “commercial fishery failure” following several years of downward trending harvests.
[Read more…]
Can Resiliency Parks fight Sea Level Rise in Cape Charles?
Bay waters are already rising due to climate change and land subsidence. This combination increases the relative rate of sea level rise in the region: during the last century, the relative sea level has risen approximately one foot in the Chesapeake, nearly twice the global average. Scientists predict that the bay’s relative sea level could rise anywhere from 1.3 feet (0.4 meters) to 5.2 feet (1.59 meters) by the end of this century. Of greater immediate concern is flooding from tropical storms, hurricanes and nor’easters. Storm surge associated with extreme weather events will threaten both natural and human infrastructure in the bay.
[Read more…]
Bernie Sanders: Think Locally, and Organically
During national election events, like the Iowa Caucus or the New Hampshire Primary, it’s hard see how any of this really relates to us at a local level, especially in rural areas like the Eastern Shore. At the national level, only Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has any kind of track record when it comes to advocating for family farming, and against large industrial farms and Biotech giants. Going back as far as 1994 Sanders criticized Monsanto for using chemicals that impact human and animal health. In the Senate, Sanders was also one of the only senators that introduced the Farm Bill that would require labeling of any genetically engineered ingredients in food.
Where Hilary Clinton fully supports GMOs, Sanders continues to rail against biotech companies that he says are “transforming our agricultural system in a bad way.” He says that he stands for the right of the people to know what is in our food (through mandatory GMO labeling that he helped pass in Vermont, an effort that the GMO giants are trying to block through the DARK Act) and supports family-owned and organic agriculture.
[Read more…]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- …
- 56
- Next Page »