Aww shucks! Chesapeake Bay Foundation seeks future oyster gardeners

Sarah Goode
·1 min read

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is looking for oyster foster parents in the Commonwealth.

Be an oyster gardener and help the foundation clean and restore the state’s tidal waterways. The effort will support the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance’s goal of adding 10 billion new oysters to the Chesapeake Bay by 2025.

Are you interested in participating?

Registration is now open for participants to join the 700 oyster gardeners already working across the state.

“Oyster gardening is a hands-on experience and allows you to interact with the Bay environment in such a positive way,” said CBF Virginia Oyster Restoration Specialist Jessica Lutzow.

<em>Heather North of CBF and Graham Mitchell pick out oyster spat for Mitchell to raise</em>. (<em>Photo courtesy</em> <em>Kenny Fletcher/Chesapeake Bay Foundation</em>)
Heather North of CBF and Graham Mitchell pick out oyster spat for Mitchell to raise. (Photo courtesy Kenny Fletcher/Chesapeake Bay Foundation)
<em>Ean Greene of CBF passes a growing kit to a new oyster gardener.</em> <em>(Photo courtesy Kenny Fletcher/Chesapeake Bay Foundation.)</em>
Ean Greene of CBF passes a growing kit to a new oyster gardener. (Photo courtesy Kenny Fletcher/Chesapeake Bay Foundation.)

There are a few ways to participate. One option is for participants to raise oysters in cages suspended from a dock. CBF can find you a public growing space to raise oysters, such as marinas or parks, that partners with the program.

Nine workshops will be held throughout the summer in coastal Virginia. The first one will happen from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, June 8 in Virginia Beach.

In the workshops hosted by CBF, oyster gardeners will learn everything they need to know, from getting started to future planting on sanctuary oyster reefs. This process takes about a year.

The workshops will continue in cities across coastal Virginia through the beginning of August. Click here to view the full list of workshops and sign-up.

Find out more about the oyster gardening program at cbf.org.

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