The Nature of Delaware

By Brenna Goggin, Environmental Advocate

When standing in the frozen vegetable aisle of the grocery store, do you ever wonder where those vegetables came from and how they got into that bag? Delaware Nature Society members found this out out on a Delaware Agriculture Tour, Saturday September 19th. Anna Stoops, New Castle County Cooperative Extension agent and I led this exciting farm tour in New Castle and Kent Counties. The first stop on the tour was the Hanover Foods vegetable processing plant in Clayton, Delaware which processes those frozen vegetables and entrees you find in your local grocery stores. While visiting the plant, we were able to experience first hand, the extensive process veggies must go through before they come to your dinner table.

Step 1: Farms across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania contract with Hanover foods to grow lima beans, corn, spinach and other delicious veggies. Once ripe, these veggies are picked by the Hanover “picker” department (yes, such a department exists) and driven in Hanover trucks to Clayton. On average, 300,000-400,000lbs of lima beans are delivered per day to the plant (when in season). Spinach is the only exception as it is picked by the actual farmer instead of a Hanover picker.

Step 2: Once delivered, the veggies (in our case we got to see lima beans) are taken off the truck and onto conveyor belts where they are first sorted by employees handling brooms which will separate the stems, dirt, and other debris found on the beans from the actual bean itself.

Bill Simpson, plant manager of Hanover foods in Clayton, DE, explains the process of lima bean cleaning and sorting.

Step 3: The beans are then pushed through water for their first cleaning. Right after they are cleaned for the first time, there is a sorter system containing salt water. This salt water system separates green lima beans (they sink to the bottom in salt water) and white lima beans (which float to the top) into two separate piles.

Step 4: The beans are again cleaned, sorted through by another set of employees and sent through an optical device which can “see” the bean and determine if it is rotten, unripe, or not a bean at all and sort it again.

Step 5: After yet another cleaning and sorting process (where now the employees are using their hands to pick out any left over debris), the lima beans are put in a freezer kept on average at -29 below for 10-12 minutes. They are shifted again and examined by-hand before they are boxed and shipped out of the plant.

As you can tell, your lima beans, corn, and spinach were well taken care of by the good people at Hanover before being sold at the local Giant or Acme. While it was hard to top the mind-boggling experience at Hanover, the rest of the trip was a terrific learning experience for everyone. The group stopped briefly at Fifer Orchards in Wyoming, Delaware to experience their oh-so-delicious apples and apple cider and then ate a scrumptious lunch at Blackbird State Forest. Kent County Forester Bill Seybold gave a wonderful presentation on the creation of Delaware State Forests and took us on an informative tree identification walk. We finished our the day with a stop at Woodside Creamery for a tour of the facilities and some yummy ice cream. All-in-all the day was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. However, we learned an important lesson in humility and gratitude for our local farmers who work 365 days a year without a weekend, spring break, or summer vacation.

Kent County Forester, Bill Seybold, identifies a variety of trees in Blackbird State Forest.

In a State that has seen a dramatic increase in development, this tour enlightened us to the critical need to preserve our precious farmland so that future generations will also have access to locally grown food in their grocery stores.  Despite the current economic crisis, the Delaware Nature Society feels it is important to continue to advocate for increased funding for farmland preservation.

If you are interested in helping DNS seek increased funding related to farmland preservation or would like to become more involved in our advocacy program, sign up for our “Voice It!” alerts by going to http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/advocacy.html.

Photos by: Anna Stoops, New Castle County Cooperative Extension Agent

By Jason Beale, Manager, Abbott’s Mill Nature Center

As environmental stewards and members of a species with high metabolisms, one of the most ecologically responsible things we can do is learn how and where our food is produced in order make informed consumer choices.  The acreage dedicated to agriculture throughout Delaware, the U.S., and the world is staggering.  Eating locally (being a “Localvore”) benefits your community, the local economy, and is generally more environmentally sound.

Grass-fed Cattle on pasture

To kick off our seasonal “Farms to Food” series, we will be visiting the Miller Family Farm adjacent to the Lee Meadow at Abbott’s Mill.  The Millers raise a small herd of cattle using a grass-fed beef model.  This method is less resource intensive, mimicing the natural relationship between the grazer and grass to produce a leaner meat in a more humane manner.  They direct market to their customers strengthening the relationship between the consumer and the land that supports them. 

The Millers direct market to customers

The tour begins at Abbott’s Mill Nature Center (itself a former farm) with a short walk to the Miller Farm.  We’ll take a wagon ride tour of the farm to learn about grass-fed beef and the opportunities and challenges of small-scale farming.  The program will finish up at Abbott’s Mill with samples of grass-fed beef products.  Each participant will learn how to purchase beef from the Millers and recieve recipes for grass-fed beef, which is cooked a little differently due to the lower fat content. 

Our farming/agriculture theme will continue on March 18 as Abbott’s Mill holds “Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation.”  Participants will learn about mushroom biology and safety and make a shiitake log to grow your own mushrooms at home!

Shiitake "plug spawn" ready to inoculate chestnut oak logs

Program Info:

Farms to Food: Grass-fed Beef

Saturday, February 21st

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Member/Non-Member $10/$15

Please call 422-0847 to register.

Shittake Mushroom Cultivation

Wednesday, March 18

7:00-9:00 pm

Member/Non-Member $25/$35

Please call 422-0847 to register

First of all, the correct answer to the trivia question from the Green Living Series post is…the Microwave.  Microwaves tend to use a lot of energy when operating, but when cooking times are reduced, such as making a cup of tea, they use about two-thirds the energy of a conventional or gas oven.

By Ginger North: Citizen Science Coordinator

To kick off the Delaware Nature Society’s Green Living Series, I took 12 members to the GE Solar Manufacturing plant in Newark, DE.  It is one of only two GE solar panel manufacturing plants in the world.  The other is in China.  It is here because GE bought AstroPower, an independent solar energy company that was started with University of Delaware research technology.  The GE presenters ranged from Operations and Quality, to Sales and Product Line staff.  They all were extremely knowledgeable and able to convey technical aspects in a clear, easy to understand manner.  In fact, our attendees had so many questions that we stayed 1/2-hour longer than expected.  I eventually dragged them away so I could get home for dinner! 

GE has been involved in solar energy production for about 40 years, but interest in the US has just recently increased.  Most of the demand up until 8 years ago has been in Africa and certain third world countries where electricity is not often available and solar energy is the only option to pump water for villages and towns.  I also learned that residents do not actually use the solar power they produce.  It goes back into the grid and provides credit to their electric bill (your electric dial actually runs backwards!).

Delaware Nature Society Members Program field trip to the GE Solar Panel Facility, Newark, DE

Bill Haldeman, a participant on the program, was looking to get some answers for his employer, who is considering adding solar panels to the property.  He said that they really dispelled some misconceptions for him.  “Shading one little spot on the panel disables it because the cells are all connected,” Bill said.  Bill also learned that the panel needs to be attached to your existing electrical system, since the power you generate goes directly back to the grid, not to directly power your home or stored in a battery.  Bill also said that, “During a power failure, you won’t be using the solar power your produced.  Your house will still be dark, since the solar panels simply feed the grid and don’t directly contribute power to the house”.  Bill also learned that you shouldn’t purchase one that is too big, because if you produce more energy than you use, you won’t get paid for the extra energy you feed into the system and won’t realize the return on your investment for the bigger solar array. 

Join us for the next Green Living Series program will be on February 9th from 6-8pm, entitled “Green Cleaning and Home Energy Audit Workshop”.  Register on-line at www.delawarenaturesociety.org.

By Brenna Goggin, Environmental Advocate:

Like most people, I have been trying to find ways to save money and cut back on my consumption each month.  While researching topics for the Delaware Nature Society’s Green Living Series, I came across several tips, websites, and news articles that all provided advice on how to become more “Green.”  Green is “in.”  Everywhere you look, there is a billboard, TV commercial, a politician, or an ad emphasizing the importance of going “green.”  Magazines, websites, TV ads are bombarding you with ideas on how you can save money and the environments at the same time.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one place to find all the information at once without having to spend hours researching which product is more efficient or how solar panels really work?  If you answered yes, then the DNS’s Green Living Series might have just what you are looking for!

Throughout the winter and spring of 2009, you can join us through four exciting programs.  These include a tour of the GE Solar Panel Facility on January 26, a Green Cleaning and Home Energy Audit Workshop on February 9, a Build Your Own Rain Barrel Workshop on March 10, and a Green Roof Tour on April 24. 

All four segments will give you strategies for “saving green by being green,” including methods to reduce monthly heating, cooling, water, and electricity bills; furthermore, you will leave with an arsenal of information to help you make smart choices when it comes to reducing your personal impact on the environment. 

In the meantime, if you would like to learn how you could further reduce your environmental impact, visit www.goodguide.com.  Good Guide makes it easy to identify environmentally friendly products with the straightforward rating system based on the product’s health and environmental performance, and the company’s overall environmental and social performance.

If you would like to sign up for any or all of the Green Living Series programs, please visit our website, www.delawarenaturesociety.org or call the registrar at (302) 239-2334 ext. 134

By: Sally O’Byrne, Teacher Naturalist

The Delaware Nature Society trip to the Veolia Wastewater Treatment Facility (Wilmington Wastewater Plant) on December 10 was not your usual natural history tour.  However, learning a little about what happens to our wastewater, from toilets to dishwashers to industry to stormwater is probably good for all us waste-producing citizens to know about. 

Water comes into the plant where it is strained, degritted, and clarified, using no chemicals in the process.  Most of the work breaking down the organics is done by microbes, otherwise known as ‘bugs’; all sorts of ‘bugs’ that contribute to different parts and chapters of the cleaning.  This gets a little complicated when the amount of waste water coming in changes every day, or every week, or every hour, and when accidental discharges of nasty things into the system disrupt the balance.

 The ‘bugs’ need oxygen, so there are pipes aerating the tanks of wastewater to help the process along.  Later in the process, the sludge goes into an anaerobic digester where the methane is collected to heat the ‘bugs’ so the process can start all over again.   Other than the microbial ‘bugs’ the other living organisms present were gulls – lots of them, and by far the most common was Delaware’s own Larus delawarensis – the Ring-billed Gull.

For the final or tertiary stage, the now mostly clean water is pumped up the hill to very large settling ponds where there is further aeration and a final dose of chlorine before it is discharged into the Delaware River.  These ponds are great places to find waterfowl in the winter, and today we saw many Northern Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, and American Coots.  However, they were distant to us, even with the aid of a spotting scope. 

The Wilmington Christmas Bird Count was yesterday and Jim White and I visited the same location, so stay tuned to see the report……….