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October 13, 2017

A perfect day at the 2017 Party to Preserve

A most heartfelt thank you to all who attended, volunteered, and sponsored the Party to Preserve (or "P2P") on Saturday, October 7th just outside of Chestertown, MD! We literally could not have done it without all of you. This annual fundraising gala on a preserved Eastern Shore property has become a huge part of ESLC's annual fundraising goals, and its success is of the utmost importance to our organization. (Scroll down for pictures of the event.) This year’s Party to Preserve was a wonderful success in many ways. We had the most tickets sales of any Party ever, and the initial numbers look like it raised the most revenue ever for an ESLC event (by a small margin) as well! The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, the band sounded sweet, and the comradery was amazing. It was simply a lovely party. An extra thank you to the Hoon family for generously hosting this year's Party at the beautiful Thornton Estate! And a special shout out to Carin Starr, who, after 6 years of service with ESLC, recently accepted another position but still made the time to help with all the Party minutia in the last few weeks. Thank you, Carin – we cannot tell you how much you've meant to the organization. Thank you all so much:) Corporate Sponsors: Angelica Nurseries, Inc., Asplundh Tree Expert Co., Avon-Dixon Agency LLC, Bank of America, CBIZ MHM LLC, Chesapeake Bank and Trust Company, Dixon Valve & Coupling Co., Ducks Unlimited, DuPont, Ewing, Dietz, Fountain & Kaludis, P.A., Fair Hill Farms Inc., Francis J. Hickman Farm Management, Gillespie & Son Inc., GreenVest LLC, The Hill Group at Morgan Stanley, Lane Engineering LLC, LS Investment Advisors LLC, MidAtlantic Farm Credit FLCA, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Parker Counts, Piazza Italian Market, PNC Financial Services Group, Radcliffe Corporate Services Inc., Shore United Bank, Talbot Preservation Alliance, Tuckahoe Treasures Alpaca Farm, Willard’s Agri-Service In-Kind Sponsors: EC Fisher Design, Executive Transportation, Kelly Distributors, Magnolia Caterers & Bread Co., On

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September 8, 2017

Packing House meetups scheduled

Help us create a dynamic Innovation Hub as a key part of The Packing House project - at the historic Phillips Cannery building in Cambridge. We are holding four September “Meetups” at different locations, with each running from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm. A brief presentation will be made by Cross Street Partners and ESLC, and the rest is discussion. Focus on traditional Eastern Shore sectors that also belong to the technology economy: food and agriculture, aquaculture, environmental sciences Unparalleled environment for meeting, collaborating and innovating with others – from inside our community, and beyond it Higher education presence around research and commercialization Compelling exhibit space for public education Come to the one most convenient for you, and share your thoughts about our region’s economic and entrepreneurial future, and feedback on this exciting project. If you have not already RSVP'd, please attend one of the upcoming meetups during which a presentation will be made about the planned Innovation Hub in Cambridge. Pizza, beer, wine, and beverages will be provided. Cambridge Meetup - September 27 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm RSVP Chestertown Meetup - September 13 5:30pm to 7:00 pm RSVP Easton Meetup - September 14 5:30pm to 7:00 pm RSVP Salisbury Meetup - September 21 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm RSVP Questions? Please contact ESLC Program Coordinator Rachel Roman at rroman@eslc.org

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June 1, 2017

Executive McCarthy ignores county plan

(Op-Ed from Cecil Whig - May 31, 2017) From: Jill E. Burke, Elkton We are responding to County Executive McCarthy’s article in the Whig (March 16), and his response (April 28) to an opinion piece in the Baltimore Sun (Feb. 19) regarding Cecil County's tier map and the Comprehensive Plan on which it is supposedly based. Rather than being solely about protecting private property rights, the 2010 Comprehensive Plan states that they should be balanced with the need to manage growth. The 41 individuals on the review committee crafted a plan that reflected their diversity of opinions and put equal, if not more, emphasis on conserving agricultural and forested lands and on keeping our rural areas rural. The tier map adopted by the county in 2012 and recently endorsed by the decidedly un-diverse Tier Map Advisory Committee makes a mockery of our Comprehensive Plan and its commitments to conservation and rural character. Executive McCarthy seeks to be “aligned with state law,” but seems ready to ignore the law when he disagrees with what it tells him to do. The intent of the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 is clear from its title. An interpretation was presented to the Tier Map Advisory Committee as Tier Map No. 11 (Whig March 9, 2017). This map came closer to the legal requirements than anything since Tier Map No. 4 from August 2012. Rather than be insulted by the state’s approach to land use planning, we are insulted that our county executive should so comprehensively ignore our own plan. Jill E. Burke is the president of the Cecil Land Use Association.

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March 17, 2017

Climate Change Conference to be Held in Easton, April 1st

EASTON – The Eastern Shore is the third most susceptible region to the effects of sea level rise in the country. The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC), a progressive, environmentally-focused nonprofit organization headquartered in Easton, will host the half-day conference, Unsinkable Eastern Shore II: Rural America Responds to Climate Change, on Saturday, April 1st from 9am to 1pm. The event will be held at the Eastern Shore Conservation Center – the former McCord laundry facility which ESLC rehabilitated and has since occupied with several other conservation groups since 2015. The event is $20 to attend and includes breakfast, two panel discussions, and presentations by two keynote speakers. Also included with admission is a copy of speaker John Englander’s book High Tide on Main Street, which Politico Magazine called “one of the 50 most important books to read in 2016.” Attendees may register online but are encouraged to do so soon, as seating is limited. The conference will be hosted by ESLC’s Coastal Resilience Manager, Brian Ambrette, who has been working with town and county government on the Mid and Upper Shore for more than two years, helping to bring awareness about the effects of climate change – most notably, sea level rise – as well as working to help implement sound planning in the form of mitigation strategies and town/county comprehensive plans. “I hope our audience will learn how their communities and their neighbors are embracing change as an opportunity to innovate and make the systems we rely on stronger and greener”, notes Ambrette. “I am excited about the new ideas that our keynote speakers will inject into the conversation.” While the conference panels boast a mix of knowledgeable educators and emergency management professionals, the inclusion of oceanographer, author, and consultant John Englander is perhaps the most impressive addition to the conference. As a leading

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March 9, 2017

Sen. Cardin to visit Phillips Packing Plant in Cambridge Friday, March 10th

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) will be visiting Cambridge, Maryland on Friday, March 10, 2017. More specifically, he will join representatives from the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC), Baltimore’s Cross Street Partners, and Preservation Maryland for a tour and media availability regarding The Packing House – a historic tax credit rehabilitation project. In addition to addressing the media and answering questions immediately following the tour, Senator Cardin will spotlight his new legislation to improve the federal historic tax credit program, which will benefit rural communities and small towns across Maryland. A partnership between ESLC, Cross Street Partners, and the City of Cambridge, The Packing House (ThePackingHouseCambridge.com) is an urban revitalization project that seeks to repurpose the historic, 60,000 square-foot Phillips Cannery building in Cambridge into an active, mixed-use plan for office and food-related innovation. This structure is the last standing piece of the storied Phillips Packing Company empire, which employed thousands in Cambridge and served as the largest supplier of rations to American troops in World War II. The project was recently awarded a $3M historic tax credit for revitalization of a structure located within an underserved community. Plans include an array of food-related uses that acknowledge and support local hunger and nutrition needs, building off of the Eastern Shore’s agricultural resources and a growing local food economy of growers, makers, distributors, retailers, and restaurants. The ambitious vision to renovate and repurpose the former Phillips ‘Factory F’ is key to the continued revitalization of Cambridge, including Cannery Park – the adjacent 6.6 acres of land which includes the Cambridge Creek headwater area that will begin a stream restoration process this coming spring. The event is free and open to interested members of the public, friends of ESLC, and the media. For members of the media planning to attend the grand opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center immediately afterwards, a

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eastern shore Tag

A perfect day at the 2017 Party to Preserve

Packing House meetups scheduled

Executive McCarthy ignores county plan

Climate Change Conference to be Held in Easton, April 1st

Sen. Cardin to visit Phillips Packing Plant in Cambridge Friday, March 10th

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