At the beginning of June, James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center’s Natural Resource Management Class took a trip down to St. Mary’s College to help plant oysters.
Students also pulled a seine net to catch small river inhabitants that add to the biodiversity of our aquatic world.
They learned the importance of reef balls as three-dimensional structures to oyster restoration sustainability and even helped build one! The St. Mary’s River Watershed Association demonstrated the components of a reef ball from the mold to the “ingredients.”
On top of it all, they bagged 200 bags – 100 bushels – of oyster shell for us to strike in the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association’s next oyster nursery set scheduled for June 28.
Outreach is a key element to promoting sustainability and cleaning our waterways. Field trips to the shoreline help to personalize the concerns for our natural environment and emphasize ways each of us can assist with river clean up. We even had a handful of kids voice their interest in helping us out on an ongoing basis.
