According to Margaret Enloe, the executive director of Waterfowl Chesapeake, the ‘sister’ organization for the legendary 47-year-old Waterfowl Festival, the event has a challenge on its hands.
Drawing over 16,000 people to downtown Easton every year, the Festival is popular celebration of the Eastern Shore heritage and wildlife art. The challenge is that many of its participants no longer realize it’s a non-profit and that the proceeds benefit waterfowl-related conservation work carried out by Chesapeake. It’s a bit like those who enjoy all the fun that Christmas brings but don’t have a clue what the real purpose of it might be.
The original aim of the event’s founders in 1970 was to come up with an exciting fundraiser to help support local waterfowl conservation efforts. Well, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams on that front, but the price for that success has meant that the November celebration’s real purpose has been lost for many.
Edloe, and the board of directors of Waterfowl Festival, along with its charitable foundation, Chesapeake Waterfowl, is trying to fix this dilemma this year. The organization will be launching a special community challenge, entitled “Community in Conservation, ” funding project throughout the Festival that should help connect visitors to its long-standing conservation mission.
As Margaret notes in her interview with the Spy, the Community in Conservation project will start with providing vital matching funds for programs at the Mid-shore Riverkeeper Conservancy, University of Maryland’s Horn Point Laboratory, and Delaware Wildlands.
This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Community in Conservation program please go here
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