While still not open for regular hours, The Phillips Wharf Environmental Center is pleased to begin offering limited opportunities to visit our new space inside Easton Point Park.
First up, is a new version of an old event; Tidy Up Talbot. We’ve restructured our annual trash clean up to allow folks to pick up trash throughout the county. On Saturday, April 15th, participants can pick up supplies from Phillips Wharf between 7 am and 9 am. If it’s more convenient, you can email us at [email protected] to request a supply pick up in the week leading up to the event. Available supplies include trash bags, gloves, and a small number of neon safety vests. The morning of the event, we’ll have Rise Up Coffee available for all participants.
Once you have your supplies, head to your chosen spot (or ask us for a recommendation on where to go). We’ll have black trash bags for trash and clear trash bags for clean recyclables.
Once you’re done, bring all bags back to Phillips Wharf for proper disposal in the dumpster that is being provided by Patuxent Companies or the recycling bins being provided by the Maryland Environmental Service. If you need help transporting trash, let us know and we can coordinate a pick up with you.
Trash and recycling drop off is 12 pm to 2 pm, though you can certainly come earlier. There just might not be as many people available to help unload your trash and recycling as they’ll be out picking up trash themselves. Snacks and restrooms will be available inside Phillips Wharf for participants during pick up and drop off hours.
If picking up trash isn’t your thing, or you’re not available, we will also be hosting our first open house on Saturday, April 22nd from 1 pm to 4 pm. We’ll have all our animals on display, you’ll be able to tour our new building, and we’ll have some Earth Day crafts and activities available. Once you’re here, there’s also the rest of Easton Point Park to explore, along with the spur of the Rails to Trails for biking and walking.
Later in April, we’ll be hosting our first group of students at Phillips Wharf. This field trip is part of our OysterBlitz program, which is supported by an Oyster Innovation grant from the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance. Through this program, we are training different groups of students on how to measure oyster spat (juvenile oysters) and how to identify the different animals that live on and around the oysters. We are so excited to try out our new space for student programs and we hope to begin offering additional field trip opportunities in the coming months.
In terms of the Fishmobile, school programs kick off April 18th. Thanks to a grant from the Talbot County Health Department Cigarette Restitution Fund, we’ll be visiting all the Talbot County Public Schools for a special 4th grade program. This program introduces students to the animals that call the Chesapeake Bay home and the impacts of cigarette waste on the environment.
At the end of April, the Fishmobile will be at the Bay Bridge Boat Show Saturday and Sunday (April 29th and 30th) on Kent Island We’ll also be at the Maryland Coastal Bays Program Bay Day event in Ocean Pines on Sunday, May 7th. This is a free event with lots of different organizations on hand with animals, fun activities, and even boat rides! In July, we will once again be at the Salisbury 3rd Friday event (always free and open to the public) on Friday, July 21st from 5 to 8 pm. We had just a great turn out at this event last year and we can’t wait to bring our Chesapeake Bay animals to this year’s Wild for Water themed event!
At the beginning of June, we’ll be wrapping up another season of Tilghman Islanders Grow Oysters. We’ve got just over 100 cages to collect, dump, and clean so we’ll be looking for volunteers to assist with this. We’ll also be gearing up to expand the program as we head into the fall, so we are looking for more folks to hang oyster cages from their docks. If you’re interested in volunteering to help pick up or clean cages or you’d like to host some oyster cages, be sure to email us at [email protected].
All of this is going to make for a busy spring but we are thrilled to be running programs, getting to meet kids and adults alike, and working to support a healthy Chesapeake Bay. If you’d like to schedule a Fishmobile program – we have some open days available in May and lots in June and beyond – get in touch with us at [email protected]. You can also stay up to date with our public events and programs on our new website calendar or on Facebook.
We hope to see you at an event soon!
