Delaware Award Recognizes Volunteer Efforts at Bellevue State Park

April 21, 2011

Newark, DE

The Delaware Adopt-A-Wetland Program (AAW) presented KCI with one of its three Statewide Adopter Awards at their Spring Workshop held on April 9 in Smyrna, Del. KCI’s Bruce Thompson accepted the plaque, which recognizes the firm’s work at Bellevue State Park, north of Wilmington.

KCI staff worked closely with Marlene Mervine and Gary Kreamer from AAW and Park Superintendent Missie Jones after adopting the park in 2009 as part of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control program. Volunteers have donated more than 150 hours towards improving the Bellevue State Park wetland environments by removing invasive wetland plant species and conducting wetland macroinvertebrate monitoring. Each hour donated also results in federal match funding for the Delaware AAW Program.

At the workshop, Thompson demonstrated a simple process for using a Web-based mapping program to collect data on individual adopted wetland sites. “We have volunteered time to help get something like this up and running for the program,” Thompson said. “Once this mapping tool is in place, AAW staff could gather the information for each site and make the data available on their Web site.”

The Delaware Adopt-A-Wetland Program was developed to increase public awareness on the function and value of wetlands and create a community-based network of volunteers to assist with monitoring and protecting of these natural resources. The initiative traces its history to a retired chemist who was also a Sussex County farmer. Her vision led to creation of the program and its first successful adoption in 1989. More than 100 sites located around the state have been adopted to date.

KCI is an engineering, consulting and construction firm serving clients throughout the U.S. and beyond. With revenues of approximately $117 million in 2011, KCI is ranked 96 on the Engineering News-Record's list of the top 500 engineering firms in the country. Roughly 850 KCI employee owners provide environmental, transportation, telecommunications, construction, facilities, and land development services from more than 20 locations. For more information, visit www.kci.com.

For more information please contact:
George G. Perdikakis, Sr.
georgep@kci.com
410.316.7951