#SUKAYAKSDelmarva

Twenty-one days kayaking and camping around the Delmarva peninsula - not a bad way to start the summer! I was fortunate to spend June assisting with a summer semester course doing just that with the writer Tom Horton and students from Salisbury University. I am currently compiling and editing footage from the journey, but here are a few of the social media posts I made during the trip. 

We have our “warm-up” day on the #WicomicoRiver in the books! Day 2 starts now - heading to the upper parts of #Delmarva today.

A post shared by SUENVRdept (@suenvrdept) on May 29, 2018 at 3:40am PDT

Day 6 of #SUKayaksDelmarva kicked off Week 2 with an adventurous paddle through #MarshyHope Ditch & Creek before exploring the woods of Nick Carter’s land in #GreensboroMD, where he showed everyone the headwaters of the #ChoptankRiver. The day wrapped up with grilled kabobs and a lengthy discussion on the many issues being addressed in the #ChesapeakeBay region.

A post shared by SUENVRdept (@suenvrdept) on Jun 6, 2018 at 6:46pm PDT

Day 8 of #SUKayaksDelmarva: The group took a day off from the water after their long paddle the previous day & stayed at their Walnut Landing campsite. They visited with the #Nanticoke Historic Preservation Alliance at #Handsell, a historic property that they are restoring as a center to teach the rich history of the Native Americans, colonial settlers, and African Americans who once lived on the site. The grounds also contain a replica of a #Chicone Native American lodge and garden. After lunch the group met with local lawyer Mike Pretl to learn about #environmentallaw before returning to camp, where they caught & prepared their own dinner, which also helped to put a small dent in the local invasive blue catfish population!

A post shared by SUENVRdept (@suenvrdept) on Jun 10, 2018 at 8:58am PDT

Day 12 of #SUKayaksDelmarva: a return to #CedarIsland under much different circumstances! This time the group took a boat with Virginia Institute of Marine Science out to the south end of the #island where they seined & beachcombed. They also trawled the waters & took samples back to the lab to take a closer look at some of what they found 🔬 In the evening Brian Scharle, a #wildlife biologist with USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, dropped by to talk about wildlife management.

A post shared by SUENVRdept (@suenvrdept) on Jun 26, 2018 at 7:33am PDT

Day 14 of #SUKayaksDelmarva saw our group push off from the #CapeCharles Town Harbor and Marina for a pleasant paddle south to their base camp at #Kiptopeke State Park. They made side trip up Old Plantation Creek to look at the #CustisTombs and have lunch before continuing down to the Concrete Fleet, also known as also known as the Kiptopeke Breakwater. The “fleet’ is made up of concrete ships lined end to end and include nine of the 24 concrete ships that were contracted by the U.S. Maritime Commission during #WWII. Quite a sight to see! #Student-led discussions in the park amphitheater closed out the beautiful #ESVA day.

A post shared by SUENVRdept (@suenvrdept) on Jul 7, 2018 at 10:01am PDT