CAMBRIDGE — Come to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, for the 15th Annual Eagle Festival on March 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Celebrate birds of prey at the home of one of the largest breeding populations of bald eagles in the eastern United States.

All activities are free and include live birds-of-prey programs, exhibits, presentations, refuge tours, and eagle prowls. Activities for the kids include make-and-take crafts as well as a youth archery range and BB gun range! Get up-close looks at eagles, owls and falcons with naturalists, learn about Native American culture with Daniel Firehawk Abbott, and talk with American Birding Association president Jeffrey Gordon about Delmarva’s birding hotspots!

Check out the entire schedule of programs, exhibits, guided tours, and kids’ activities, as well as directions, by visiting www.fws.gov/refuge/blackwater or call Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge at 410-901-6124.

Blackwater NWR announces summer youth jobs

CAMBRIDGE — Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is offering Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) positions for young people ages 15 to 18 during the summer months in 2015. This year’s YCC program will last 8 weeks, starting on June 22 and continuing until Aug. 14. YCC recruits work 40 hours a week, 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. each day, and are paid minimum wage. They must be a permanent resident of the United States, its territories or possessions, and be able to provide their own transportation to work.

The Youth Conservation Corps offers students the chance to learn a variety of skills in the great outdoors, get plenty of exercise, engage in teamwork, make new friends, accomplish goals, and learn about the natural world. YCC recruits will spend several paid hours each week participating in environmental education programs, getting to know the many different aspects of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Working trips to other refuges are also a possibility for Blackwater’s YCC team. Recruits will be provided with all necessary safety and work equipment, and will be under constant supervision of an adult YCC Leader or other refuge staff.

Youths interested in the YCC program can obtain an application from Ranger Tom Miller by calling 410-901-6124, or e-mail Thomas_J_Miller@fws.gov. Applications can also be picked up and dropped off at the Blackwater Visitor Center or Headquarters building on Key Wallace Drive. Applications must be returned by April 17, 2015.

YCC recruits will be randomly selected from applicants in early May. If more applications are received than positions available, students who did not get selected will become “alternates” in the event a selected applicant cannot work. After selections are made, there will be an evening orientation at the refuge prior to June 22.