The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is holding an Oyster Gardening Workshop June 18 on Virginia’s Eastern Shore for volunteers to support efforts by the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance to add 10 billion new oysters to the Bay by 2025.
Tuesday, June 18– 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The workshops will provide everything needed to grow oysters off a dock for eventual planting on sanctuary oyster reefs.
“Raising your own baby oysters is both a fun and rewarding activity for all ages,” said Peyton Mowery, CBF’s Virginia Oyster Restoration Outreach Coordinator. “By becoming an oyster gardener, you’re helping to bring back a key species while also creating reefs in waterways that provide crucial habitat for fish and crabs.”
The process involves raising oysters in cages suspended in the water from a dock at home or a marina.
Don’t live on the water? CBF can help find interested gardeners a public location. Over the course of a year, gardeners raise oysters that filter water and provide habitat for aquatic life. After a year, CBF places the oysters on a Virginia sanctuary reef.
CBF’s oyster gardening seminar teaches oyster growing basics to new gardeners and provides them with a growing setup and baby oysters. On the same day, CBF holds “round-ups” where returning gardeners can swap out their full-grown oysters for new baby oysters.
On the Eastern Shore, CBF will hold a seminar on Tuesday, June 18, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the VIMS Eastern Shore Campus at 40 Atlantic Ave. in Wachapreague.
Registration is required, and a $25 fee helps offset the cost of the program. Participants can register online at www.cbf.org/vaoystergardening or can call 644-4125 or e-mail OysterGardener@cbf.org.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is holding an Oyster Gardening Workshop June 18 on Virginia’s Eastern Shore for volunteers to support efforts by the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance to add 10 billion new oysters to the Bay by 2025. The workshops will provide everything needed to grow oysters off a dock for eventual planting on sanctuary oyster reefs.
“Raising your own baby oysters is both a fun and rewarding activity for all ages,” said Peyton Mowery, CBF’s Virginia Oyster Restoration Outreach Coordinator. “By becoming an oyster gardener, you’re helping to bring back a key species while also creating reefs in waterways that provide crucial habitat for fish and crabs.”
The process involves raising oysters in cages suspended in the water from a dock at home or a marina. Don’t live on the water? CBF can help find interested gardeners a public location. Over the course of a year, gardeners raise oysters that filter water and provide habitat for aquatic life. After a year, CBF places the oysters on a Virginia sanctuary reef.
CBF’s oyster gardening seminar teaches oyster growing basics to new gardeners and provides them with a growing setup and baby oysters. On the same day, CBF holds “round-ups” where returning gardeners can swap out their full-grown oysters for new baby oysters.
On the Eastern Shore, CBF will hold a seminar at the VIMS Eastern Shore Campus at 40 Atlantic Ave. in Wachapreague.
Registration is required, and a $25 fee helps offset the cost of the program. Participants can register online at www.cbf.org/vaoystergardening or can call 644-4125 or e-mail OysterGardener@cbf.org.
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