Our Gift to You
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Become a member of Delaware Greenways in 2012, and recieve 10% off all purchases at Penn Farm's Tract 6 Produce Stand.
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Delaware Greenways Wish List
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Special
thanks to all who have donated to our annual Gala and Silent
Auction. The launching of many new educatial programs and
community events are directly related to the success of this
event. We have had a great start and will continue accepting
donations until the event next Spring.
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Thanks
to all our Trail Stewards hitting the trails to become ambassadors and
providing eyes-and-ears for the trail's managing partners. NDG Trail
Stewards assist trail users with directions and advice. They promote use
of the trail and report on trail conditions, visitor needs and safety
concerns.
Making everyone's experience more enjoyable!
Volunteer Form
Click Here
Delaware
Greenways' seeks volunteers to help us with programs, planned events,
outdoor activities, trail projects and administrative support. Our
projects vary in type and interest area, which offers vast opportunities
for our volunteers to learn and enjoy.
Delaware
Greenways depends on volunteers to help us maintain our mission of
preserving and enhancing Delaware's natural, scenic, historic, cultural
and recreational resources. If you are looking for an organization to
give your time to and feel rewarded -- Delaware Greenways is it!
Volunteering
at Delaware Greenways is a fantastic way to to get outside, stay
active and learn more about what Delaware has to offer.
Enjoy meeting new people who share a passion for the outdoors and
living healthy lifestyles! There are a wide range of opportunities
available to fit your skills!
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Join Delaware Greenways
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Delaware
Greenways is the only statewide organization dedicated to establishing
greenways. Delaware Greenways works to connect open spaces, preserve
scenic vistas and historic sites and create ribbons of green that
connect to places we love. By supporting Delaware Greenways, you support
enhancing and increasing the quality of life for Delawareans!
Membership Benefits
Supporting Members
$25 College Student $35 Individual $50 Family $75 Enthusiast
Supporting members benefits:
- Periodic newsletters
- Discounts on selected program and event admissions
- Advance alerts to upcoming Delaware Greenways' sponsored events and programs
- Gratification
of supporting a statewide organization providing leadership in
greenways protection, recreational development and healthy
lifestyle advocacy in Delaware
Sustaining Members
$125 Greenways Guardian $250 Sponsor $500 Patron $1,000 Benefactor
Sustaining members benefits (all the above plus these additional benefits):
- Priority registration for all programs
- Two complimentary tickets to the annual Greenways Gala
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The Green Hour
Click Here
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The Green Hour program is starting this winter in New Castle at:
Carrie Downie Elementary School
The program aims to get kids outdoors to enjoy physical activity and to learn about nature and wellness.
We are looking for volunteers to commit to working one-on-one with students for at least 8 sessions, which will take place on:
Tuesdays/Thursdays, from 3:30-4:30pm through the remainder of the school year (dates may vary depending on school schedules).
The
program will be delivered to a group of approximately 15 students by a
Delaware Greenways staff person. The Green Hour is part of the New
Castle Wellness Initiative being managed by Delaware Greenways.
For more information, please contact:
Andrea Trabelsi atrabelsi@delawaregreenways.org 302-655-7275
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Dear Friends of Delaware Greenways:
Welcome
to our online newsletter! With so many exciting new plans on the
horizon, we would like to invite you to explore what Delaware Greenways
has to offer, and what lies in store for the future. Our fall issue
describes the many areas where we are active across the state and in
your community.
As we begin to enter 2012, we reach out to our friends and supporters and ask your help to allow us to continue our efforts to:
- Preserve and connect open space and greenways
- Protect scenic and historic roadway corridors
- Increase opportunities for walking, bicycling and close to home recreation
- Foster healthy lifestyles and truly livable communities
You
will find as you read this newsletter, that the products of
Delaware Greenways are seen all around you in the trails created, open
spaces protected, and new wellness and healthy lifestyle initiatives
generated in communities across the state. We are your advocate
and voice for sensible development and the protection of our scenic and
natural resources.
We
hope that you will choose to support our mission and the work we do
across our state, as well as our ongoing efforts to maintain and enhance
your community. Please help us continue to keep Delaware a special
place and keep us in mind as you make your plans for annual donations.
If you have not become a member yet, we invite you to do so.
Have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.
Sincerely,
Mark R. Chura
Executive Director
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Rehoboth Beach
Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan
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Delaware Greenways has
been selected to develop a Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan for the City of
Rehoboth Beach. The Plan is being designed to support the city's
recently adopted Comprehensive Development Plan.
Rehoboth Beach,
Delaware's most prominent beach community, is a compact city that is
home to 1,600 year-round residents in slightly more than one square
mile. The city hosts 3.5 million visitors per year, however, and its
compact nature encourages bicycling and walking around town. Many
visitors and residents take advantage of the variety of recreational
venues and trails throughout the coastal region that are accessible to
bicyclists and pedestrians alike. Rehoboth Beach, acknowledging the
city's growing appeal as a destination, wants to increase pedestrian and
bicycle trips in the city to mitigate automobile congestion on its
streets.
The Plan, when completed in May 2012, will be designed to:
- Make the public right-of-way more accommodating to pedestrians and bicycles
- Improve connections within the City and to external destinations
- Improve safety
So
far, the first of several technical memoranda has been published and
one public workshop has been held on November 18. Current activities are
centered on developing the infrastructure, management, and policy
elements of the Plan. A twenty-nine member Stakeholder Committee has
been established to assist the Rehoboth Beach's Streets and
Transportation Committee adopt the elements of the Plan.
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Brandywine Valley
Scenic Conservation Plan
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Since August 2010, Delaware Greenways has been developing the Brandywine Valley Scenic Conservation Plan.
The purpose of
the plan is to create a strategy that preserves the scenic beauty
of the Brandywine Valley and the Brandywine Valley National Scenic
Byway. The Project Team, consisting of the Scenic Conservation Committee
and the Viewshed Committee, has completed an analysis of the existing
land use in the area, the current transportation conditions, and
has cataloged the most valued and endangered viewsheds in the valley.
The
Project Team developed projections of future population,
employment, and development activity that could impact the Valley.
The data show that approximately 2,500 to 4,900 new houses and 2.4
million square feet of non-residential space could be constructed --
covering about 63% of the valley on 350 parcels of land.
Granogue,
Woodlawn, and perhaps two of the three country clubs are the most
likely parcels to be developed over the next 30 years. Clearly, if
nothing is done, the Brandywine Valley will be changed forever.
With
the challenges identified and quantified, the Study Team has turned its
attention to developing the tools to preserve the character of the
Valley and develop design guidelines for the portions that cannot be
preserved.
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New Castle Wellness
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The
City of New Castle Community Wellness Initiative began in late 2010
with the goal of improving the health of community members by making it
easier to live a healthy lifestyle. Delaware Greenways, with support
from the City of New Castle, is managing the Initiative.
The
Community Wellness Advisory Team was formed, comprising representatives
of community organizations, businesses, and residents, to begin this
community-driven effort to counteract major public health concerns
related to unhealthy weight, tobacco use, and chronic disease. Rather
than emphasize the more traditional individual-centered approach to
health intervention, the Initiative aims to affect change at the
community level.
Throughout
the winter and spring of 2011, Delaware Greenways and the Advisory Team
assessed existing systems, environmental conditions, and policies of
local schools, health care providers, work places, community
organizations, and the community-at-large. Delaware Greenways then
analyzed the findings of surveys, field documentation, interviews, and
meeting minutes to serve as the basis for developing the Community
Wellness Action Plan. The Advisory Team participated in guiding the
plans contents and developed a vision for the community: to become known
as the most health-oriented, livable city in Delaware.
The plan's goals include:
Healthy Eating
- Make fresh ingredients more accessible to all community members
- Improve
eating habits of youth in the community through in-school and
extra-curricular food offerings and education, with a focus on
translating to habits among parents and outside of school
Physical Activity
- Make active transportation (bicycling, walking, etc.) safer and more appealing to all
- Get more residents, workers, and visitors physically active through recreation and daily activity
Tobacco-free
- Protect the rights of non-smokers to breathe smoke-free air
Awareness, Leadership, and Education
- Build community capacity to carry-out policy, environmental, and systems changes
- Track
wellness progress so that program can adjust based on success of
outcomes indicated by data, and to provide a case study and model for
other communities in the state
- Build recognition as the healthiest, most livable community in Delaware
Since
the plan was finished in August 2011, implementation has begun on a
number of the recommended actions in the community, including:
- Penn
Farm and William Penn High School integrated learning partnership,
which will engage students in hands-on educational activities at the
farm
- Implementation of
No-Smoking in Parks policy in the city of New Castle's parks and
playground areas, including the playground and basketball courts in
Battery Park
- Preparations
to kick-off the Green Hour elementary education program on December
1st, at Carrie Downie Elementary School; the program engages young
people in physical activity and instills an appreciation of nature by
engaging them in fun outdoor activities
- Pedestrian
and bicycle infrastructure planning and development, including: The New
Castle to Wilmington (Industrial Track) Trail, Route 273,
and enhancements of the Broad Dyke Marsh Trail system
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Junction and Breakwater Trail Interconnectivity Study
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Delaware Greenways was awarded a Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Grant from the State of Delaware to perform the Junction and Breakwater
Trail Interconnectivity Study.
The purpose
of the study is to improve the accessibility of the trail to the
cities of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach as well as to the communities
along Route 1. An increase in accessibility will result in a lower
dependence on auto trips to access the trail and other nearby
attractions and, along with it, a reduction in greenhouse gasses.
So
far, the study has conducted an extensive program of user counts and
surveys along the trail. Over 50 hours of data was collected, totaling
1,563 trail users in 896 groups of one to six people, with an average
size of 1.7 people per group. The data shows:
- 62 percent of
survey participants reported being between 46 and 65 years old. 11
percent reported being 65 years or older with the remaining 27 percent
being younger than 46 years. Of those observed on the trail, 84 percent
of all individuals were adults and 4 percent were seniors.
- Nearly 70 percent of survey participants reported using the trail during both the weekend and the weekdays.
- 85 percent of
survey participants spend between 30 minutes and 2 hours on the trail
with just under 11 percent spending more than 2 hours on the trail. The
remaining 4 percent spent under 30 minutes on a given trip.
- 8 percent of
the surveyed users said that they used the trail daily, 22 percent three
to five times per week, 21 percent use the trail 1 to 2 times per week,
17 percent a few times per month, and 13 percent a few times per year.
Interestingly, 17 percent said this was their first time using the
trail.
- Over 90 percent
of survey participants responded to most frequently use the trail for
recreation and/or health and exercise. The most popular response was
recreation at 47 percent with health and exercise a close second at 43
percent.
- In total, 81
percent of all observed trail users were on bicycles, with the remainder
of users split between joggers and walkers. Less than 24 percent of
survey participants reported that they drove to the trail.
Over
the next several months, the study team will be developing
recommendations to improve accessibility and meeting with the public.
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Lewes Byway:
Gateway to the Nation Corridor Management Plan
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Delaware
Greenways received notification late this summer that nearly $100,000
in grant funding was being awarded to the Lewes Byway Corridor
Management Plan (CMP) project. The funding will enable Delaware
Greenways, the City of Lewes, the Lewes Byway Advisory Committee, and
other stakeholders to formally designate the road corridors-including
New Rd, Pilottown Rd, Savannah Rd, King's Highway, Gill's Neck Rd, and
Cape Henlopen Dr-as a state Byway.
A
nomination application for the Byway was approved in June 2009 by the
Delaware Secretary of Transportation, Carolann Wicks; a CMP is required
in the state of Delaware to complete the designation process. The CMP
will encourage sustainable development, livable communities, multimodal
and context sensitive transportation solutions, and green initiatives in
the byway corridors and surrounding communities.
The
Lewes Byway is known as the Gateway to the Nation because of the
remarkable 378 year history of the Greater Lewes area that can be seen
and experienced along the Byway. Both physically and historically, the
roads and surrounding buildings, land and seascapes have played a vital
role in the town's development and reflect its evolution since 1631, the
time of the first Dutch settlement in the New World . These resources
also remain vital to the community's social, economic, and cultural
fabric to this day and are the reason that the City, Delaware Greenways,
and many community groups and leaders are working to protect them. A
need for a greater, coordinated effort to protect and enhance the byway
resources and safe/convenient access to them, has been identified as
imperative to maintaining the scenic beauty, natural environment,
economy, and visual history of the area. The overall goal for this
project is to insure that the outstanding resources along this Byway do
not become diminished as growth takes place, but rather that one of the
most livable communities in Delaware remains that way for future
generations.
The
Corridor Management Plan will provide an opportunity for communities
along the byway and stakeholders to help identify the qualities that
make it special; identify strategies and methods to protect and promote
the byway, its assets, and access to them; and prioritize those
strategies. The plan will be used to attract more visitors by promoting
heritage, recreational and eco-tourism to expand the community's
economic base, while ensuring that the balance between development and
preservation is achieved.
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Bay to Bay Scenic Byway
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Recently,
Delaware Greenways has formed a collaboration between Southern Delaware
Tourism and a number of Sussex County municipalities to explore the
development of the Bay to Bay Scenic Byway.
This Byway would connect the already established Blue Crab Byway in
Maryland, and expand into both Cape May New Jersey and coastal Virginia.
The
Delaware component of this regional Byway would have several different
routes across Sussex County, and would connect with coastal towns such
as Fenwick Island, Oceanview, Millville, Bethany Beach, Rehoboth and
Lewes to the South, as well as Laurel, Seaford, Bethel, Bridgeville,
Milford, Milton and Slaughter Beach to the west and north.
The
intent of this Byway is to highlight the economic, recreational,
cultural, historic and natural assets of the towns noted above, as well
as create a scenic highway network of roads that explains and promotes
Sussex County's rich heritage of shipbuilding, agriculture, lighthouses
and lifesaving stations, and religious settlement patterns. The Byway
program is not a regulatory program whatsoever. It is designed for
those that live, work, and recreate in the byway corridor to make the
decisions. They can decide which issues they see as
important and which community assets they would like to remain the
same. Some aspects they would like to see enhanced for future
generations.
To
date, several meetings have been held with interested communities and
stakeholders on this project. More are scheduled over the next several
months. Watch our website for dates and times. Please
contact Christine Thomas, Southern Delaware Coordinator for Delaware
Greenways at CThomas@delawaregreeways.org or at 302-745-2229 for more
details.
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The Historic Penn Farm
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Delaware Greenways' annual meeting marked the formal
launch of the Friends of the Penn Farm. The New Friends group will play
an important role in supporting Delaware Greenway's sustainable urban
agricultural initiative.
The mission of the Penn Farm is to improve the health and wellness of Delawareans through the sale, production, and promotion of our state's finest produce and agricultural products.
Our
vision is to educate, document, interpret and perpetuate the rich
heritage of Penn Farm for the benefit of future generations and the
betterment of our community.
The Farm is a collaboration between:
- Growers dedicated to providing local foods, seed and other plant and animal products developed through sustainable and organic farming methods, to local markets
- Educators
committed to teaching the importance of locally grown food and animal
products as part of a healthy and active lifestyle
The goals of Delaware Greenways' newest initiative include:
- Preserve, promote and educate the public on the cultural and historic landscape of Penn Farm
- Grow, promote and sell Penn Farm produce and other Delaware-raised and made produce and products
- Provide
farms and the surrounding communities a model educational center
focusing on wellness and nutrition, innovative and sustainable
agricultural practices, and creative land use and energy practices
- Use
green or sustainable methods for renovation, adaptive reuse and the
ongoing operation and maintenance of the farmhouse, the barn, outdoor
education facilities and the gardens, CSA and production fields
- Establish
an ongoing relationship with William Penn High School and integrate
students from the schools various CTE courses into the planning,
programming and production of various facets of the Farm's operations
- Use the Tract Six Produce operation to showcase and cross promote other Delaware farms and their products
For more information, please visit our website.
Penn Farm: Its Past and its Future
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