voc 2021 episode 10: Nick Carter

Nick Carter muckn’ with Michael (Photo: Claudia Donegan)

Educator, ret. fisheries biologist/ecologist at MD Dept. of Natural Resources

W. R. “Nick” Carter, III became the second recipient of the ShoreRivers Award for Environmental Stewardship. Upon bestowing the prestigious award Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, compared Carter to environmental stalwarts E.O. Wilson and wildlife filmmaker David Attenborough. “Nick is brilliant. He is a synthesizer—a complex thinker.” Carter spent 35 years as a biologist at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (Md DNR), retiring in 2000. Forever active, Nick Carter turned his sights to his backyard abutting the Choptank River and championing the Chesapeake with local school presentations. “Nick can take disparate pieces of information—biology, ecology, hydrology, sociology, history, and even politics—and weave them together into an understanding that becomes new knowledge, not just regurgitated facts,” suggests Swanson at the ShoreRivers presentation. Recognized by his regional Virginia accent, Carter is a purveyor in hope and creative solution-making. “Nick can talk to anyone, explains Swanson — “…including any age, education level, or political persuasion. He believes that everyone has an entry point [to environmentalism], you just need to find it.” Voices co-founder and longtime Md DNR tributary teams leader Claudia Donegan accompanied me on this visit to Nick Carter’s backyard peat bog on a cold early April day, 2021 in Caroline County.