Orsted, the developer of the US offshore wind project Skipjack, has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays to expand environmental research, education, and preservation in the coastal state.
The centre will use the grant to expand initiatives that conserve and restore local ecosystems across the Inland Bays watershed and southern Delaware.
The grant will support five programmes.
These include the Lessons in Nature Initiative at James Farm Ecological Preserve in Ocean View where funds will support improvements to the preserve’s infrastructure to better accommodate environmental education, restoration, research, and community recreation, including a new education building and maintenance facilities, trail system realignment, interpretive and wayfinding signage, and restrooms.
The second initiative is a Horseshoe crab survey, where funds will support the centre’s citizen science survey held annually in May and June to collect data about the horseshoe crab spawning population in the Inland Bays. Funding will help support 200 volunteers who collect data that is used for species management decisions.
The grant will also go towards shellfish restoration for their water filtration capabilities as well as the Sussex Conservation Partnership which is seeking to preserve open space in the Inland Bays watershed and in southern Delaware for conservation.
The fifth project is Decked Out! fundraiser support, where some of the grant is supporting the centre’s annual fundraising event, which draws over 200 attendees who are active in the local community and concerned about the health of the Inland Bays and the environment as a whole.