Help Chesapeake Bay Foundation Build Oyster Reefs

Via CBF:

March marks one of our favorite times of year . . . it's the start of oyster-reef-ball-building season! 

Reef balls are concrete spheres with holes that provide valuable marine habitat for many Bay critters—mostly oysters. As natural filters, oysters eat by filtering algae—a serious problem facing our waters. Just one oyster alone can filter and clean 50 gallons of polluted water a day! 

We need your help preparing these reef balls so critical to our oyster restoration efforts and the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. Come on out and join us on one of the following days:  

Thursday, March 20 9 a.m.-2 p.m. We'll be building oyster reef balls. We will build approximately 30 reef balls using fiberglass molds and concrete.

Friday, March 21  9 a.m.-2 p.m. We'll be hatching reef balls built the previous day and building another 30-40 reef balls.   

Saturday, March 22 9 a.m.-Noon We'll be putting the finishing touches on the reef balls. After the molds and concrete have cured, we "hatch" open these reef ball molds and organize materials for the next event.

This is an outdoor event and the weather is unpredictable at this time of year, so dress appropriately . . . don't wear anything that can't get ruined! It's not a bad idea to bring an extra set of clothes. We will provide snacks and a big water jug (bring a water bottle and lunch).  The reef ball molds are fiberglass with connector pins and tether balls inside, after assembling we pour concrete in the molds to form a reef ball, so if you have gloves, boots, or foul weather pants, please bring them. We will also give everyone a tour of our Oyster Restoration Facility (ORC) after the day's activities.

WHERE: CBF's Oyster Restoration Center (ORC), 4800 Atwell Road, Discovery Village, Shady Side, MD

REGISTRATION: Registration is required. Please register on our website here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at mhoffman@cbf.org. 

Hope to see you at ORC!

P.S. Don't feel like getting down and dirty at ORC? Be sure to join us on Saturday, March 22 for a lecture on the Bay's health and special tour of our headquarters in Annapolis—one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world! 

Boom...Morgan