News
Rare Birds at Chino Farms
Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory banded and released two "rare" Ash-throated Flycatchers during the fall migration period. A husband and wife team of field ecologists (Dan Small and Maren Gimpel) banded one on November 9th and another on November 30th (pictured at left; photo credit Small and Gimpel 2011). These birds are common west of the Rockies, but they rarely show up in the fall on the East Coast. This species has been documented in Maryland less than 20 times and these are the first to be banded in the state. These individuals are only the 3rd and 4th Ash-throated Flycatchers to be banded on the whole Atlantic flyway.
Birds show up in the "wrong" places from time to time, but there is a theory about the unusually high number of Ash-throated Flycatchers being reported in the East this fall. A bird sightings database run by Cornell University (eBird.org) recently reported on the numerous sightings and proposed that the record-setting drought in Texas and the southern Great Plains had driven these birds from their usual habitats and that the strong recent southwesterly winds have propelled them further East than is normal.
Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory, under the direction of Jim Gruber, is located at Chino Farms in Queen Anne's County. The observatory and companion field research station is part of Washington College’s Center for Environment & Society. For more information please visit Chester River Field Research Center or contact JoAnn Fairchild Wood at 410-778-7295.
Video of Recent Cooking Demo
In an effort to promote sustainability and expose the Washington College community to under-utilized portions of wild game, anthropology professor Bill Schindler and visiting lecturer Mark Wiest led a “Wild Charcuterie” cooking demonstration on Saturday Nov. 5. Read the accompanying Elm article.
Dr. John Seidel in Chestertown Spy Futures Study
View the great video of Dr. John Seidel, Director of CES, courtesy of the Chestertown Spy.
Climate Action Coordinator Briggs Cunningham in Kent County News
Support generated for 'aggregate' metering, Seen as a boon for alternative energy programs
By CRAIG O'DONNELL
codonnell@thekentcountynews.com
Published: Thursday, June 30, 2011 4:36 PM CDT
CHESTERTOWN — There could be an aggregate meter in your future.
To be precise, “aggregate” metering is when electrical use by some institution or group, no matter how many physical wires to separate electric meters there are, all goes into one big bucket for billing purposes.
At the moment that can’t be done in Maryland. Briggs Cunningham said last week that aggregate metering is important for solar power on farms, by businesses and by local governments, especially in rural areas.
Businesses and governments and other institutions with multiple locations have many meters. Some buildings use a lot of juice and some use a little.
Cunningham, Climate Action Coordinator at the Washington College Center for Environment & Society, said the current Maryland regulations limit how much solar electrical energy an installation can generate to, roughly, the amount used at a particular electric meter plus a little.
The Maryland Public Service Commission, which controls electric utilities, is taking comments on a decision it plans to make in the near future on whether to allow aggregate metering. The state’s net metering regulations allow generating power for on-site use and selling excess power back to the electric company. But as they stand, they force users to have a separate wind, solar or other alternative energy installation for each meter.
One piece of the puzzle is in place: Gov. Martin O’Malley signed a law in May 2011 which requires power companies to buy back excess power at the retail rate, not the wholesale rate.
With it, for example, one large group of solar panels at the Chestertown wastewater plant could be designed to generate enough power to offset the use by town hall, the water plant, and at the wastewater operation.
Without it, Chestertown would have to install and operate three or more separate systems.
One large set of solar panels somewhere in the county on school property could be designed to offset the electricity consumption of multiple school buildings.
Without it, the school board would have to fund solar panels for every individual school and office building.
It is not limited to solar. Any alternative source is eligible. A farmer could build and operate a system burning switchgrass, providing enough power for multiple buildings. Under the proposal, “One account would incorporate all meters, and any power generated onsite would be credited to the overall account,” Cunningham said.
Chestertown attorney Phil Hoon said he represents Dr. Henry Sears, who wants to install solar power for his agricultural operations. He said Tuesday the places where power is used, such as irrigation pivots, are widely scattered, and aggregate metering “makes or breaks the transaction.”
Hoon sent a letter favoring the policy to the Public Service Commission. “I’m in favor of it, both professionally and very much so personally,” he said Tuesday. “It’s what seems right for our society and culture and communities.”
The college is particularly interested in whether solar generation at 215 Washington Ave. can be designed to supply green power to more than just that one building, Cunningham said.
It allows small entities to achieve some economies of scale. A village, such as Kennedyville, could form a nonprofit coop. The residential meters for all members would be combined in one account. An array of solar panels at a suitable location would provide juice to households, instead of having solar panels set up, house by house.
Cunningham added, “The county is interested. They have facilities spread out all over the place. The schools are interested – their attorney is researching it for the board of ed.”
On the other side are the power companies. “They don’t want other people generating their own power,” said Cunningham. “One of their arguments is that they’re concerned about the stability of the power system, figuring out how much to generate” if there are many small providers of solar power.
Delaware’s PSC is also considering aggregate net metering rules.
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council notes the Delaware regulation includes: “If a customer has multiple meters under the same account or different accounts, regardless of the physical location and rate class, the customer may aggregate meters for the purpose of net metering regardless of which individual meter receives energy from a distributed generation facility, provided the system does not exceed 110% of the customer’s aggregate electrical consumption of the individual meters or accounts that the customer is entitled to aggregate.”
“As a resident of Kent County, I’ll say it would be a good thing,” Cunningham said.
According to college spokeswoman Kay Macintosh, the college has not offered its comments to the PSC and has taken no position yet.
The Public Service Commission is still taking public comments for and against aggregate net metering.
To see the PSC web page with comments which have already been submitted, type the words “Maryland PSC meter aggregation admin docket results” into Google.
Letters should reference “Admin Docket FM41” and should be addressed to Terry Romine, Maryland Public Service Commission, 6 St. Paul St. 16th Floor, Baltimore MD 21202.
New Video of Urban Greening Program
MGO Program in Kent County News and Chestertown Spy
On June 14, Michael Hardesty, Chesapeake Semester Program Coordinator, led an oyster planting on Lankford Creek. With the partnership of DNR's Maryland Grows Oyster (MGO) program, growers on the Chester River raise oysters from spat in cages on their docks, which are then released on protected oyster bars. Read the full article here, and find out more about CES's involvement with MGO on our oyster page. The event also appeared in the Chestertown Spy. Click here for the article.
Climate Action Coordinator Briggs Cunningham in the Kent County News
"At the Tuesday evening Commissioners' meeting, Briggs Cunningham of the Center for Environment & Society delivered an audit of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during the period July 2009 to June 2010.
He said Easton's Town Creek Foundation supported it. It follows reports done for Chestertown and Betterton.
He examined electricity use by county government and schools, county fuel use and estimated gas burned by commuting county employees.
The annual electric bill was $1,009,922, and $847,600 was spent on fuel for cars, trucks and heating. He estimated 239 employees used 42,987 gallons of gas going back and forth to work. The report's suggestions focused on conservation: a no-idling vehicle policy; buying only Energy Star products; turning off computers, lights and HVAC when leaving for the day; and a summer four-day work week to cut energy use for summertime cooling.
"How would you feel about a four-day week in the summer?" Rasin asked Planning Director Gail Owings. "I think people would be pretty happy with that," she said. As long as weekenders knew the office would be closed on Friday or Monday so they could plan accordingly, it would seem to be fine, she said.
Choptank Electric bills for the public works complex, community center and park; Worton's schools and wastewater plant sprayfield; Nicholson landfill; and "Galena transfer." Two Worton Park meters have not used electricity in years but Choptank has billed $948 and $228 each in minimum annual charges.
Rasin noted Choptank's rates seem to be much higher. Cunningham said they might be negotiable, or solar power could be installed to serve the parks, community center and schools. Any excess would be sold back to the supplier.
Craig O'Donnell, Kent County News. Used by permission.
June 16 2011
Chesapeake Semester Featured on Nautica Blog "Ocean 2 Ocean"
In the Fall of 2010 Nautica visited Chestertown to capture the story of local artist and activist Marc Castelli. CES’s Chesapeake Semester had the opportunity to work with Castelli through the premier of his exhibit, "The Art of the Waterman—Simison Collection" in our very own Kohl Gallery. See photos from the event here.
See the video of Chesapeake Semester Students featured on Nautica’s "Ocean 2 Ocean’s" blog.
Shoreline Cleanup April 30, 2011
The Center for Environment & Society partnered with the Friends of Eastern Neck to conduct a shoreline cleanup on April 30, 2011. Members of the community banded together to remove trash from the marshy edges of Eastern Neck Island, creating a better environment for wildlife and improving the appearance of the shoreline. View pictures of the event here.
Washington College Announces Its Acquisition Of Chester River Field Research Center
The research station at Chino Farms in Queen Anne's County will offer hands-on research opportunities in habitat management and sustainability.
CHESTERTOWN, MD, April 22, 2011— Washington College today announced that it has acquired the Chester River Field Research Center (CRFRC), the nonprofit corporation that leads and facilitates scientific research and environmental studies at Chino Farms in Queen Anne's County.
The CRFRC was founded in 1999 by conservationist Henry F. Sears, a retired surgeon and the owner of Chino Farms, a 5,000-acre property on the Chester River. Under an agreement reached with the board of directors of the CRFRC, and with financial support from anonymous donors, the College's Center for Environment & Society will take over all operations of the Research Center, coordinating the study projects underway there. The College acquires no Chino Farms land in the agreement.
The research center's two full-time field biologists, Dan Small and Maren Gimpel, will join the staff of the Center for Environment & Society (CES). Founding scientific director Douglas E. Gill, a professor emeritus of biology at University of Maryland, will serve as a consultant. And Jim Gruber, a retired Natural Resources officer who volunteers his time and expertise as the director of the bird-banding operation at Chino Farms, will become an Associate of CES.
Sears sees the transfer of operations to the College as the next step in the growth and stability of the CRFRC. "This gives the investigations part of the Research Center a broader base, a broader scope, and longer legs," he says. "And it provides institutional longevity— a future beyond the lives of the current participants."
He says he has been following the growth of the College's Center for Environment & Society over the past few years. "I appreciate the interest and enthusiasm the CES staff has shown for the kinds of conservation and farming techniques we've been exploring at Chino Farms," he says. "And I couldn't be more excited about the commitment Washington College has shown for maintaining the community's rural and agricultural heritage."
"This is exciting news for all of us at Washington College," says President Mitchell B. Reiss. "We expect this acquisition to bring a quantum boost to the environmental field work our faculty and students can conduct. We are grateful to Dr. Sears and the CRFRC board for the trust they have shown in our Center for Environment & Society and its ability to maintain and expand the research on farm practices, habitat restoration and wildlife happening at Chino Farms."
The CRFRC is best known for its work in grassland restoration and migratory bird banding— it has successfully restored 246 acres of Atlantic prairie grasses, creating one of the very few large-scale coastal grasslands on the Eastern Seaboard, and has banded more than 150,000 new birds at its Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory.
Washington College has been involved in a limited way in programs at Chino Farms over the past several years. A handful of students have worked at the bird banding station as part of their paid internships with CES, and professor Leslie Sherman has conducted research on soil chemistry there. The acquisition of the CRFRC facilities will enable those who work in environmental studies to think and dream big when it comes to grant-funded research and environmental study.
"This opens up unparalleled hands-on field opportunities to our own students and faculty, and to scientists and educators from other schools and organizations as well as state and federal agencies," says John Seidel, the director of the Center for Environment & Society. "We can expand research projects into the other rich habitat areas at Chino Farms, including forest habitat, wetlands and seasonal wetlands, and farmland. We'll be the portal to this wonderful resource and all its rich habitat areas."
Washington College senior Rachel Field, an Environmental Studies major from West Chester, Pa., knows first-hand the kinds of opportunities the CRFRC can bring to students. As a CES intern at Chino Farms, she has spent two summers and much of the spring semester mapping Grasshopper Sparrow territories, banding birds at the Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory banding lab, and studying mate selection in Blue Grosbeaks. "As a scientist, this experience has been invaluable," she says. "I have gained practical experience in conducting field experiments, designing experiments, completing bird surveys, and banding migratory birds. And, as an individual, my time at the Chester River Field Research Center has helped me to become more confident and independent."
All 5,000 acres of Chino Farms are protected under conservation easements, making it one of the largest easements in Maryland history. Three thousand of those acres are farmed commercially by Evan Miles of Bluestem Farms, who uses a mixture of precision agriculture and organic methods.
Other subjects now under study through the CRFRC include wild turkeys, songbird communications, bobwhite quail, breeding birds in managed grasslands, and nutrient recycling in soil.
Gill, who led the grasslands restoration, is glad to see Washington College take on the work of the research center he and Harry Sears created 12 years ago. "It has been a somewhat private affair led by Dr. Sears' vision and my expertise as an ecologist," he says. "It makes sense to have a top-quality academic institution like Washington College, so close to the research station, take it on and make it available for teaching and research. It's what I always envisioned should happen. And John Seidel at CES will provide superb leadership."
For more information, please visit http://ces.washcoll.edu/ and http://www.chesterriverfieldresearchcenter.org/
Watch a video by previous CES Intern Maureen Sentman '10 about bird banding at Chino Farm, featuring 2008 CES Chino Intern Melody Warner '08:
CES Hosts First Annual Oyster Growers Picnic
The Center for Environment & Society (CES), hosted the first annual "Picnic at the Pavilion" for local waterfront property owners participating in Governor O'Malley's "Marylanders Grow Oysters" program. The event, held Sunday, April 10 at the Leila Hanson Pavilion in Wilmer Park, Chestertown, MD, was designed as a "meet and greet" session. CES successfully applied to the program last year, purchased oysters in September, and currently have 55 community members growing oysters in 260 cages hanging from their piers along the Chester River. Read the full article on the Chestertown Spy, and the additional coverage in the Rock Hall Wave. For more information on the Marylanders Grow Oysters Program see http://www.oysters.maryland.gov/ or contact Mike Hardesty, Chester River MGO coordinator mhardesty2@washcoll.edu or 410 699 1940.
Locavore Lit Fest is Huge Success
The first ever Locavore Lit Fest took place in Chestertown March 25 and 26. There was a great turnout, and festival goers were able to hear from and interact with authors who spoke on food related subjects from the environmental impacts of agriculture to the native wild foods of the Eastern Shore, with a dose of humor and the simple joys of eating thrown in for good measure! The WC Dining Hall had local food specials at lunch on Friday to kick off the weekend, and several local authors, including CES' own Program Manager, Tara Holste '07, and Assistant Director of Admissions Aundra Weissert '08, spoke on their inspiration to begin writing about local foods.
Click here for the press release and schedule of the event, and here to view more pictures!
Community Greening Initiative
In March, six members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Washington College teamed up with volunteers from the Chester River Association and staff from the College's Center for Environment & Society (CES) to plant ten trees and 5 bushes on the grounds of the Robvanary park in Millington. The project was partly funded by a grant awarded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to the Chester River Association as part of a larger restoration effort in the Upper Chester River watershed. The planting will help the town increase its tree canopy by more than 10 percent, which is the recommendation from the Town's Community Forest Master Plan, produced by CES.
Students and Staff From GIS Program Join Defense Personnel at Conference
CHESTERTOWN, MD—Students and staff from Washington College's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) program joined top national-security partners from government and industry at the GEOINT 2010 Symposium in New Orleans, November 1-4. GEOINT is government-speak for geospatial intelligence, which is playing an ever more prevalent role in the nation's defense.
Read the full article.
Professor Bill Schindler on NPR's Weekend Edition
Listen to Professor Bill Schindler, one of the professors of the Chesapeake Semester, speak on foraging for Thanksgiving with Bonny Wolf, NPR Weekend Edition Food Commentator.
Foraging for Your Thanksgiving Meal
Also check out Professor Schindler in the latest Chronicle of Higher Education.
Full Moon Kayaking October 22, 2010
Six Washington College students (Dan Danko, Nicole Robinson, and 4 other member of SEA) were among 22 paddlers on a Full Moon Float at Eastern Neck Island on October 22nd. It was brisk but calm as the group launched from Bogles Wharf and headed for the Duck Inn Trail. "It was peaceful gliding through the water and watching the moon come up," said Katherine Thornton, a sophomore at Washington College who took some of these photos. The event was organized by the Center for Environment & Society, and John Wagner, head of the College's waterfront programs, provided kayaks, paddles and life vests for students. The other intrepid paddlers (including a father and son in an Old Town canoe) brought their own gear and flashlights. The next group kayaking event at ENNWR is planned for 21 June 2011 in celebration of the summer solstice.
For more information about volunteering, membership with Friends of Eastern Neck, or to learn about upcoming CES events, please contact JoAnn Fairchild at jfairchild2@washcoll.edu or 410-778-7295. View pictures of the event here.
Maryland Birds and Habitats, Summer 2010
The Youth Program of the Maryland Ornithological Society (YMOS) conducted a new field camp, "Maryland Birds and Bird Habitats," during summer 2010. This residential program was based at Washington College and offered in collaboration with the Center for Environment & Society on June 20-25. CES Senior Associate Wayne Bell and retired middle school science teacher George Radcliffe (Queen Anne's County Public Schools) were co-directors. Five students enrolled (grades 8-10) from Baltimore, Carroll, and Queen Anne's Counties plus three educators from the DC and Baltimore areas. We were able to tailor much of the program content to their specific interests and education needs.
The workshop's theme stressed the relationship between birds, habitats, and the "working landscapes" that are characteristic of Maryland. Each day included a field trip or field exercise, beginning with a "habitat competition" game that pitted forest/wetland against field/scrub lands at the Adkins Arboretum (the forest team won, 34 vs. 24 species). Other field trips included a night search for owls and nightjars, a visit to agricultural lands and a bluebird trail in Dorchester County, a breeding bird trip to Bombay Hook NWR, and a bird banding demonstration at the Chesapeake Field Research Center. A final trip to C&O Canal habitats in Montgomery County gave everyone a chance to apply what they had learned to actual field identification. Total tally for the workshop: 111 species heard, with almost all of them actually seen by the majority of the class. In addition, participants learned how to use hand-held global positioning devices to geo-reference observation locations and were able to practice applying this information in entering their field data on eBird, a citizen-science data base
maintained by Cornell University. One of the educators has produced a workshop video for presentation to the MOS Board of Directors; it will be accessible via the YMOS Facebook page and MOS web site shortly thereafter.
WC GIS Lab in Chestertown Spy
The Chestertown Spy recently covered the renewal of a state grant to the WC GIS lab, a part of CES. The grant will be putting $216,000 in state monies to work in a variety of mapping projects for municipal planners and law-enforcement agencies. GIS Program Coordinator Stewart Bruce says the funding comes from the renewal of a grant from the Maryland Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP). Now in its third year, the grant funds the salaries of three summer interns, three student interns for the fall and spring and two full-time staff (Crime Analysts Caryn Thomas and Andrew Wright). It also partially funds the salaries of Bruce and sociology professor Dr. Andrea Lange, who serves as GOCCP Project Director.
Read the full article.
Climate Action Coordinator Briggs Cunningham in Currents Magazine
CES Climate Action Coordinator Briggs Cunningham appeared in the annual journal of the Chester River Association, speaking about the progress on the Chestertown Green initiative. You can find the complete article here (pdf).
You will also find a mention of CES on page 6, "Making a Case for Capt. John Smith." CES Director Dr. John Seidel wrote the feasibility study to connect the Chester River to the national John Smith waterway trail, which leads boaters along the path taken by Capt. John Smith when he first sailed up the Chesapeake. Hopefully, the Chester River will be added as an addition to the trail in the near future.
Horseshoe Crab Lecture May 27, 2010
The Center for Environment & Society hosted a public horseshoe crab ecology event at Eastern Neck Island with a presentation by Martha Shaum of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Chestertown locals explored native wildlife and met a diamondback terrapin and a box turtle. View pictures and video of the event here.
Shoreline Cleanup May 1, 2010
The Center for Environment & Society partnered with the Friends of Eastern Neck to conduct a shoreline cleanup on May 1, 2010. Members of the community banded together to remove trash from the marshy edges of Eastern Neck Island, creating a better environment for wildlife and improving the appearance of the shoreline. View pictures and video of the event here.
COLLEGE TO CHRISTEN RESEARCH VESSEL SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010
CHESTERTOWN –Washington College has exciting plans for the Callinectes, the new research vessel it will christen Saturday, April 17, at 1:30 p.m. at the foot of High Street in Chestertown.
Named after Maryland's famous blue crab species, Callinectes sapidus, the 46-foot fiberglass boat was designed for teaching and research on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. It was built by Chesapeake Boats in Crisfield, Md., with generous grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Callinectes can carry 35 passengers and is fully equipped with the latest electronics and environmental instrumentation, including trawls, sonar, acoustic seabed classification systems, magnetometers and positioning systems.
"This vessel will provide college undergraduates, faculty and research scientists a platform for exploring the nation's largest estuary," says John Seidel, Director of the Center for the Environment and Society and chair of the sociology and anthropology departments at Washington College. It also will serve high-school teachers and students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, he adds.
Over the next few months, the vessel will complete the certification process with the U.S. Coast Guard and do survey work on the Chester River, with teaching opportunities for high-school and college students. By fall, it will be ready for Washington College classes in biology, chemistry and environmental studies.
The christening ceremony, which is open to the public, will include remarks from former U.S. Congressman Wayne Gilchrest and the Maryland director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, Matthew P. Mullin. Washington College First Lady Sarah Tipson will share actual christening honors with Elizabeth Seidel, director of the Archeology Laboratory. A reception will follow.
For more information, contact the Center for the Environment and Society at Washington College, 101 S. Water Street, Chestertown, Md., 21620, (410) 810-7161 or visit the web at http://ces.washcoll.edu.
View photos of the christening here.
CES Director John Seidel on Homegrown and Green
Read about CES Director John Seidel's apperance on local radio show, Homegrown and Green, hosted by Marilyn Klompis and Andy Goddard. In the show, he spoke about the early settlers of the Eastern Shore, green initiatives at the Center, the Chesapeake Semester, and other great offerings! Homegrown and Green: Bringing Together the Best We Have to Offer