SATURDAY 9/28: Volunteer Oyster Growers Sought by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) seeks volunteers to grow oysters for Bay restoration purposes.  CBF will conduct a training workshop for new oyster gardeners 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, September 28, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 66 Market Street, Onancock.

Advanced registration is required.

Oysters may be grown at private docks, marina slips, or anywhere with access to salty water. After a year, the mature oysters are then returned to CBF at a “Round Up” event and transplanted onto sanctuary oyster reefs in local creeks.

“Growing oysters with CBF is a very simple and highly rewarding endeavor –- definitely one of the most productive ways you can contribute to the recovery of Chesapeake Bay waters,” said Tanner Council, CBF Hampton Roads Grassroots Coordinator. “Oysters are prolific filterers and important players in the restoration of our waterways.  People of all ages find great enjoyment nurturing these amazing creatures from baby ‘spat’ to mature oysters. And anyone with access to salty water can become an oyster gardener and learn how they can advance the comeback of the great Bay oyster and the Bay’s water quality.”

A $30 workshop fee is required to cover the cost of 1,000 native oyster seed (other materials must be purchased) and includes membership in CBF.  To register, visit www.cbf.org/virginiaoysters, send an e-mail to [email protected], or call 757/622-1964.  CBF’s oyster gardening program is sponsored in part by The Port of Virginia and Maersk Line Ltd.

Oyster populations have declined dramatically over the past decades, but CBF is working with the state of Virginia, other organizations, and local residents to restore them.  CBF currently has more than 300 oyster gardening volunteers throughout Virginia raising oysters for restoration. Since 1996, CBF and its partners have grown or transplanted more than 47 million oysters and have helped build or restock more than 35 oyster reefs.