Friends of Blackwater E-Newsletter
from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, MD
Blackwater River
 August 2016 Edition
In This Issue
Annual Volunteer Session
Friends of Blackwater Scholarship Winners
Osprey Cam Chicks Flying
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Did You Know?
The Friends of Blackwater bird walks will be starting up again in September. See our calendar for details.
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Annual Volunteer Session at Blackwater NWR

volunteerWe Want Volunteers!      
On Saturday August 6, Blackwater Refuge staff and the Friends of Blackwater will hold a volunteer information session at the Blackwater NWR Visitor Center near Cambridge, Maryland, from 9:00am to 3:30pm (lunch provided) where potential volunteers and current volunteers can learn about what the Refuge is doing to manage habitat and provide visitor services, and how volunteers can help. If you've always wanted to do something fun to benefit the Refuge, now is a great time to come and learn more about the many ways you can volunteer. Attendees can stay for part of the day or for the full session, and this year's attendees will also have the opportunity to meet Blackwater NWR's new Refuge Manager, Marcia Pradines. Please register for the session by contacting Michele Whitbeck at 410-221-8157 or Michele_Whitbeck@fws.gov. Also, see the Refuge press release (PDF) for more details.
Congratulations to our Scholarship Winners!

2016 Scholarship Winners2016 Scholarships Announced

The Friends of Blackwater recently announced the winners of the Friends' 2016 Environmental Sciences Academic Scholarships. This year the Friends awarded scholarships to four outstanding students majoring in environmental studies fields. Erika Koontz of Woodbine, Maryland and Suzanne Sullivan of Cambridge, Maryland each received $3,000 scholarships, and Olivia Gulledge of Crofton, Maryland and Kathryn Hutcheson of Catonsville, Maryland won scholarships of $2,000 and $1,000 respectively. Read more about our winners and the scholarship fund on our website.
Update on the Osprey Cam

2016 Osprey Cam Chicks Two Chicks Doing Well   
As visitors to our Osprey Cam know, we had a camera malfunction earlier in the season, and as a result, we have been offline since that time because we couldn't risk disturbing the family by going up and repairing the cam with young chicks in the nest. This past week, we did see that both chicks are flying, so we plan to go up soon and repair the cam. We hope to be online for a few weeks before the family migrates to South America in September. Thanks to our cam watchers who have been patient throughout the season.
 
Sincerely,
 

Lisa Mayo
webmaster
Friends of Blackwater