DOVER, Del. — A virtual ceremony marked the annual Governor’s Agricultural and Urban Conservation Awards today. Governor John Carney, along with DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, Delaware Association of Conservation Districts President Richard Carlisle, and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Kasey Taylor, led a ceremony recognizing this year’s honorees and signed a proclamation officially designating April 25 -May 2 as Stewardship Week in Delaware under the theme, “Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities.”
“Stewardship Week helps to remind us all of the power each person has to conserve natural resources and improve our world.” said Carlisle, “As a farmer and a conservation district board supervisor, I have long been aware of the importance of conservation to my farm and to our local communities.”
“During Soil and Water Stewardship Week, it’s a good time to think about the importance of clean water and caring for our state’s watersheds” said Governor Carney. “Each of the award recipients have made improving our watersheds a priority on their farms, in parks and in communities statewide.”
This year’s agricultural honorees include Blaine Hitchens, a farmer from Laurel with a passion for improving soil health, L & J Farms, an organic poultry operation in Harrington that has sought to increase the sustainability of their farm as they expand their operation, and Marianne Hardesty, a dedicated conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the New Castle Conservation District.
Urban conservation award recipients demonstrate innovation and exceptional community service. The Kenton Dollar General features the first submerged gravel wetland in the state, installed by William Owen of PennTex Ventures and designed by Jonathan Street of the Becker Morgan Group. In Sussex County, the Trap-White Floodplain Creation Project transformed a drainage challenge into a wetland that captures nutrients, prevents erosion and provides habitat. New Castle County recognizes the Skyline Orchard Civic Association and General Excavating, Inc. for emergency road repairs following the severe storms in August of 2020.
“These honorees worked with Delaware’s conservation partners to implement model conservation practices on their farms and in their businesses and projects.” said Secretary Garvin. “I would also recognize a great partnership between DNREC and Delaware’s conservation districts, who provide invaluable support to DNREC’s conservation mission. These awards highlight the beneficial outcomes of these relationships, and we’d like to take a moment to recognize the hard work that’s been done.”
Delaware’s Conservation Districts, one in each county, are a unique governmental unit in partnership with DNREC. Their mission is to provide technical and financial assistance to help Delawareans conserve and improve their local natural resources, including solving land, water and related resource problems; developing conservation programs to solve them; enlisting and coordinating help from public and private sources to accomplish these goals; and increasing awareness of the inter-relationship between human activities and the natural environment. Delaware’s district supervisors have a statewide organization, the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts (DACD), a voluntary, non-profit alliance that provides a forum for discussion and coordination among the Conservation Districts.
Additional details for this year’s Conservation Award winners:
NEW CASTLE COUNTY
AGRICULTURAL: Marianne Hardesty, long-time USDA and Conservation District Employee
In Marianne Hardesty’s 40-year career, the summary of conservation activities in her work with farmers in New Castle County would fill a library. She and the NRCS team have worked on projects on just about every farm in New Castle County. The types of projects are too many to describe in detail but include a variety of practices for on-farm conservation for soil erosion and nutrient management. Marianne also provided producers with expert technical guidance for various wildlife practices while contributing significantly to the NC County agricultural land preservation program to keep agriculture viable in the heavily developed areas of northern NCC. She also advised landowners in the urban-suburban landscape. A strong advocate of outreach and education, she was a charter member of the Delaware Envirothon committee in 1996 and continues to work with the soils team to this day.
URBAN: Skyline Orchard Civic Association and General Excavating, Inc. for Skyline Orchards Emergency Road Repairs, near Hockessin
The August 2020 storms caused significant storm damage on the private roads in community of Skyline Orchard located on Brackenville Road near Ashland Nature Center, causing severe erosion, filling drainage pipes with sediment, flooding roads and creating a large sinkhole. The repairs required the removal the accumulated sediment from the pipe and inlet basin on Dogwood Drive followed by the extension of the pipe on the outlet side, restoration of the embankment on the outlet side, followed by the placement of riprap, and repair of the road. The Hemlock Drive repairs included excavation of the sinkhole and pipe repair, sediment removal from the stormwater basin, and roadway repair. The cost to complete this work was $72,000, through contributions from the Skyline Orchard Civic Association, NCC Councilperson Janet Kilpatrick, State Representative Krista Griffith and Senator Laura Sturgeon and the New Castle Conservation District.
KENT COUNTY
AGRICULTURAL: L & J Farms, Harrington
John and Linda Brown started with two poultry houses and have since expanded their operation to six. They recently converted their operation to organic, growing for Coleman Organic and have installed solar panels to assist with the energy efficiency of their operation. They also drive an electric car. Their operation also includes 2 Poultry Waste Structures, a poultry composter and Heavy Use Area Protection (HUAP’s), all of which have been installed with the assistance of the Kent Conservation District or Natural Resource Conservation Service. They continue to add conservation practices to the farm, applying for additional HUAPs and an Eco Drum to handle mortality in a more efficient manner. The Browns have also been awarded with the Environmental Stewardship Award at Delaware Ag Week in January 2019.
URBAN: Mr. William Owen, PTV 1024, LLC and Jonathan Street, Becker Morgan Group, Inc. for the Kenton Dollar General Project
The Kenton Dollar General project overcame challenging site conditions using a Submerged Gravel Wetland facility. Due to the high groundwater table at this location, and presence of environmentally sensitive areas surrounding the site, traditional stormwater management practices were ruled out by the owner’s engineering firm, Becker Morgan Group, Inc. of Dover, Delaware. Submerged Gravel Wetlands (SGW) treat stormwater runoff primarily through filtration, sedimentation, physical and chemical sorption, microbially mediated transformation, uptake, and attenuation. This project represents the first use of a Submerged Gravel Wetland approved by the Kent Conservation District for use in Kent County. Having this first project constructed helps demonstrate the cost effectiveness and applicability of Submerged Gravel Wetland facilities. This site will serve as an example and will encourage its use on other challenging sites where traditional stormwater approaches may not be an option.
SUSSEX COUNTY
AGRICULTURAL: Blaine Hitchens, near Laurel
Blaine Hitchens is following in father and grandfather’s footsteps, farming nearly 1,000 acres in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The operation consists of cropland in a corn, soybean and cover crop rotation and six poultry houses with a capacity of 150,000 broilers. Hitchens began his soil health journey with no-till over 15 years ago, adding cover crops over 10 years ago. More than five years ago he began planting green; now, every acre has a living root growing year-round. Additional nutrient, irrigation, pest and best management practices have been implemented through USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and other Farm Bill programs. These conservation efforts reduce overall nutrient applications, absorb excess nutrients, prevent runoff and soil erosion which protects and improves water quality all while making his operation more sustainable. He is also a vocal advocate. In 2019, Hitchens became a National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Soil Health Champion and hosted the planting green soil health field day. He is featured in the USDA NRCS 2019 #OurFarmersRoadtrip story map and Conservation at Work no-till video, SCDs cover crop commercial, several From Cloud to Cab podcasts and news articles. He was also selected to participate in a national economic case study by the Soil Health Institute in partnership with NACD. His passion for soil health and dedication to conservation is evident in everything he does.
URBAN: Michael and Angela White for the Trap-White Floodplain Creation Project
Completed in October 2020, the Trap Pond Rd.-White Floodplain Creation Project was designed to alleviate drainage challenges on the White’s property and reconnect the Beaverdam Branch stream flow channel to a wetland floodplain. The project lies in the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay in the Broad Creek watershed. Beaverdam Branch continuously flooded the Whites property during significant rain events where it crossed East Trap Pond Road in Laurel. The newly created floodplain provides temporary storage space for floodwater which slows water velocity, helping to recharge groundwater. Lowering the stream bank allows floodwaters to contact vegetation sooner and more frequently which provides water quality treatment by absorbing nutrients. Native plant species added at the site will stabilize, enhance, and provide nutrient uptake and provide a habitat for wildlife. The project required coordination with property owners, Michael and Angela White and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Drainage Section and the Sussex Conservation District’s Equipment Program. Funding for this project was provided by Rep. Timothy Dukes, and DNREC’s Resource, Conservation and Development Program. The project covered approximately 400 linear feet, was approximately one acre in size and was constructed in three weeks.
–Jen Nelson, Delaware Association of Conservation Districts
