Adult Eco-Tour Underway June 11

NAPS member Jane Towner has been working to set up an EcoTour for Northumberland Preservation Inc. (NPI). It will be an adult tour including several families and new people to the county. Since NAPS believes that we all need to be on “speaking terms” with our local ecosystem, we are hosting even ‘older students’ to expand Bay knowledge.

On Sat, June 11, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, NAPS and NPI-Shiloh will offer a unique educational opportunity, an EcoTour led by waterman, Capt. Danny Crabbe. Participants will board his boat, “Kit II,” at his dock in Ophelia to tour the Little Wicomico River and the Bay to learn about the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay from a true waterman. This trip is designed for people of all ages, with families especially welcome. An EcoTour experience provides up-close and personal insight into the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem.

The cruise will start with a tour of Purcells Oyster Aquaculture facility. Then it will move to pulling a couple of crab traps and becoming familiar with local blue crab ecology. (How do you hold a crab without getting pinched?) Tonging a few oysters and opening a few is next on the agenda. (Are you ready to eat one?) Then, if the weather cooperates, a short trip out to Smith Point Light and a close-by fish trap will complete the tour.

See herons, gulls, cormorants, and eagles in close proximity. Have fun while becoming familiar with how to be a steward of this natural resource – to return the Bay to productive health.

Are you and your group interested in a similar experience? Tours are available from both Captain Rowe on the Coan River and Captain Crabbe.