Looking for an opportunity to meet others on the Eastern Shore, enjoy a day in the sun, and learn something new? 

Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake (IPC) and the Wicomico Environmental Trust (WET) are teaming up to bring monthly educational programming to Pemberton Park, just outside Salisbury Maryland.  

Pemberton Park’s 260 acre campus houses a tremendous amount of history, and we can’t wait to help you explore it all.  Hosting nearly 5 miles of trails, Pemberton Park is the ideal location to  help paint the indigenous, colonial, and natural history stories which dot the Lower Eastern Shore. 

While out on the trails, you will encounter ecosystems and their natural complement of biodiversity specific to many different regions of the Lower Shore. Pemberton’s concentration of diverse biomes is unusual on the Eastern Shore, hosting tidal and fresh water wetlands, fresh water ponds, upland pines, hardwood forests and meadows all within the same site. This unique concentration of biology is likely what has attracted people to Pemberton Park for thousands of years.  

We can’t wait to show it to you.  See you there!

What’s Happening at Pemberton Park?

June 24th for a ‘Interfaith Summer Solstice Walk’.  
For many of our faith traditions the Summer Solstice represents a special time for personal reflection and growth.  Join Susan Parker from WET for a special walk through the trails of Pemberton Park, hearing reflections from local Faith Leaders alike about the importance of the Solstice.  Come listen to the birds, enjoy beautiful scenery, and meet other faithful stewards doing their part for the Chesapeake Bay.  Let’s reflect together on the importance of this environmental movement and celebrate what we can achieve together!

July 30th for ‘Composting 101’.
Want to learn how to compost at home?  Come join as we dig into the science of composting, featuring guest lecturer Jay Martin from Salisbury University.  Join us as we sit outside the nearly 300 year old Pemberton Hall Plantation, as we together learn what it takes to start your own composting system at home, what materials you’ll need, and the science behind composting.  

August 26th for ‘What’s in the Park, After Dark!’
Have you ever been curious about the world that comes alive after dark?  Late-Summer is a busy time for our nocturnal friends!  Come see them brought to life on this exciting night-walk with Wildlife Biologist and IPC Outreach Coordinator Taylor Swanson.  All you’ll need is a flashlight and a good study pair of shoes for this special wildlife encounter.  Together we’ll cover a variety of unique biomes in the hope of hearing, seeing, and enjoying some of Maryland's most elusive wildlife species.  Afterwards join us for a special closing reflection about our nocturnal world and its harmonious role with the waking world we know.  

September 30th for ‘Birding, Fall, & Faith’
It’s fall migration for birds!  There are few animals who have captured our hearts and imagination the way birds have. For a wide variety of reasons, across the globe our feathered friends hold significant and special meanings in our lives.  Join IPC’s Taylor Swanson for a fun filled morning of action-packed birding, learning, and reflection on the importance of birds to a multitude of different faith traditions. Together we will explore Pemberton Park’s woodlands, swamps, marshes, and meadows in search of more than 200 recorded species seen within the park's boundaries.  Bring good shoes and a pair of binoculars.  Don’t have binoculars but want to join? Reach out to [email protected] to coordinate reserving a pair for the day.  For beginner and advanced birders.

These are just the next four programs!  Stay tuned on our IPC events page for more information and opportunities at Pemberton Park EACH MONTH!

Are you not from the Eastern Shore and wish any of these programs were closer to your own congregation and community? Reach out to your regional IPC Outreach Coordinator today and see how you can help us create programming interesting to you and your congregation!  

Thank you for everything you do for each other, your communities, and for our shared Chesapeake Bay!