NEWS

Dogfish Head to sponsor botanic garden 'living classroom'

Doug Ferrar

dferrar@dmg.gannett.com

Mark Carter (second from left), director of Dogfish Head’s Beer & Benevolence program, presented a check for $30,000 to the Delaware Botanic Gardens at the brewery in Milton. Tyler Hammond, director of operations for Envirotech Environmental Consulting, is at the far left. Also pictured are DBG leaders Gregg Tepper (third from left), Sheryl Swed, Henry DeWitt, Janet Point, Peter Carter, and Raymond Sander.

Beer may teach Sussex Countians about the environment and purify water at the same time.

The Dogfish Head Companies donated $30,000 in January to the Delaware Botanic Gardens on Pepper Creek near Dagsboro to build a "living outdoor classroom."

Delaware Botanic Gardens Vice President Raymond Sander said the feature is not a traditional classroom, but an area of "constructed wetlands."

Designers from Envirotech Environmental Consulting of Lewes will simulate a natural freshwater intermittent wetland, attracting the sorts of wildlife that would naturally be found there. The artificial ecosystem will demonstrate how such an environment sustains life, and the role of inland wetlands in water purification. Visitors will be able to walk through and observe the living environment.

"People can sample the water before it's filtered through it and sample the water afterward and see what the difference is," Sander said.

He said that the donation demonstrates Dogfish Head's commitment to the environment and to clean water sources.

"They are a great company who are committed to the environment and wanted to be part of the project," Sander said.

Mill Pond Garden in Lewes, directed by Michael Zajic, founding president of Delaware Botanic Gardens, features a collection of educational habitats.

Mark Carter, director of Dogfish Head's Beer and Benevolence philanthropic arm, explained the company's commitment to the new classroom.

"When it comes to beer, water is the number one ingredient, and the number one by-product from the brewing process," Carter said. "It is integral to what we do, and the key to life in so many ways."

He said that Dogfish Head has developed a number of ways to conserve water, including reusing waste water from the brewing process for agricultural irrigation. Several local farmers use the repurposed water to grow grasses for livestock feed and bedding.

This freshwater wetland habitat constructed by Envirotech introduces local students to elements of the coastal plain environment. Envirotech will build another one for the Delaware Botanic Gardens, financed by a grant from the Dogfish Head Companies.

The company is building an on-site waste water treatment plant which will use bacteria to digest spent yeast in the brewery cast-off, and the waste gases from this will be captured and used to help power the facility. Carter said the process should generate as much as 40 percent of the energy needed to run the plant.

The brewery also uses the heat from spent water leaving the system to pre-heat fresh water coming into the system, saving energy needed to bring the water to brewing temperatures.

The company, which has partnered with the Nature Conservancy for 12 years for the Dogfish Dash 8K race, has assisted that organization in planting trees to protect the local aquifer, helping ensure a clean source for their operations and for local homes.

"We believe in the community and the community is what helped us get started," Carter said.

Carter said that Delaware Botanic Gardens approached Dogfish Head and several other environmentally conscious companies in the early stages of fundraising.

"Our thought was, 'Wow, this is a great project, this is going to provide educational opportunities to Sussex County, and protect an area of Pepper Creek running out to the bays, creating a buffer zone,' " he said. "The outdoor classroom attracted us because we want to take care of water and there will be a lot of minds that will pass through there that can learn about taking care of water, too."

The new section is designated the Dogfish Head Outdoor Classroom. Sander said he hopes that branding opportunities will attract other donors.

"When you're doing a public garden like this or a public structure, you need to be able to get the cooperation of people who want to be associated with it," Sander said. "You could sell bricks for $100, or you can (offer) 'naming rights' of some elements of the garden."

Other features that will have naming rights attached will include walkways and woodland paths, some of which are already under construction.

Walking paths, already completed at the Delaware Botanic Gardens, present a branding opportunity for potential sponsors, Raymond Sander said.

The outdoor classroom was developed by Todd Fritchman, president of Envirotech. Fritchman, who is captain of the Dewey Beach Patrol, used to teach marine science at Indian River High School. Fritchman built the original prototype for his classes.

The prototype helped win Fritchman the 2005 Governor's Marine Science Teacher of the Year award.

Sander said the outdoor classroom has been part of the garden plan since the very beginning, but the Dogfish Head gift will make the classroom possible.

The Delaware Botanic Garden, which was designated a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2012, held a groundbreaking ceremony in December 2016 attended by former Gov. Jack Markell and former First Lady Carla Markell.

Sander said the gardens are on track for completion by the grand opening in 2019.