About Us
Who we are
Our Education Legacy and Moving People to Conservation Action
A commitment to education is at the heart of the Pickering Creek tradition. By inspiring more people in more places to value and protect the natural world, we are laying the foundation for future conservation. Pickering Creek has inspired generations to learn about and protect birds, other wildlife, and the natural world, reaching over 13,000 contacts each year.
Our model for engaging people in conservation breaks new ground with its focus on measurable conservation results. In-depth programming and activities turn visitors into active participants in our conservation work saving birds and protecting habitat.
Our approach
Our Mission
Pickering Creek Audubon Center conserves natural habitats on Maryland’s Eastern Shore by engaging and empowering our community through exploration, education and stewardship.
Our Vision
A community where people see and feel the value of our natural world and make it a priority in their everyday decisions and actions.
Our Guiding Values
Nature is accessible and welcoming to all
Everyone should be able to enjoy the thrill of the outdoors, feeling the seasons change, seeing flowers bloom, hearing birds sing and eagles soaring overhead. By removing barriers to experiencing Pickering Creek and its programs, people of all backgrounds and circumstances can experience wild green spaces. No admission fee for visitors, offering low to no-cost programming for schools, providing scholarships and transportation from town to summer camp, and finding ways to encourage new audiences to participate are examples of how we remove barriers to getting outside.
Diverse partnerships
Securing the health of our ecosystems requires the effort and a connection to nature of individuals, community, faith, business and government groups with diverse interests and needs. Through strategic programming, Pickering Creek engages with individuals and groups with a broad range of perspectives and expertise to empower people of all backgrounds to take action for birds and their habitats.
Healthy native habitats big and small
As part of the 5,454 square mile Delmarva Peninsula, we manage the 400-acre wildlife sanctuary to feel naturally wild and representative of the habitats of the Mid-Atlantic region, while safely accommodating human visitors as well. Our respect for all living things guides us to inspire and empower our Delmarva Peninsula neighbors to improve their own landscape, big or small, for wildlife.
Lifelong relationships with nature
Research confirms that a meaningful adult connection with the natural world develops in early childhood. Because of this understanding, Pickering Creek educators begin hands-on programming in early childhood then nurture those initial connections regularly throughout their school career, encouraging lifelong exploration and action.
Authentic experiences in wild spaces
Nature is hands on — playing in dirt, navigating rough terrain, examining insects and climbing trees. Natural spaces are dynamic, changing, complex, places to explore, disorderly, free-range and untidy. Being in nature helps people develop relationships with nature, including appreciation of natural processes, interrelationships between organisms, and care for plants and animals, large and small. Pickering Creek space and experience-based programs are designed to get people outside and INTO nature to get things accomplished for the benefit wildlife and their habitat.
Community involvement and action
Because we value the power of community collaboration, we act as trusted partners to leverage volunteer and financial resources to make nature play a pivotal role in bringing individuals and groups together to improve the health of Delmarva’s human and wild communities.
Creativity and Innovation
Because we value creativity and innovation, Pickering programs and processes effectively address the ever-changing issues facing local, regional and flyway natural habitats and we work closely with partners to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes.
