REGISTRATION REQUIRED
This event is for all new oyster gardeners to get the supplies and training necessary to grow their own oysters.
There is a one-time start-up fee of $50 to help offset the cost of supplies.
During the two-hour workshop, you will learn about oyster ecology, the importance of oysters to the Chesapeake Bay, and how to care for your oyster garden. You will also construct four oyster gardening cages that you will use to grow your oysters. Once the cages are finished, each registered participant will receive two bags (roughly one bushel, approximately 2,000 juvenile oysters) of oyster "spat on shell" to take home and care for over the fall, winter, and early spring months. Once grown to adult size (next summer), gardeners will return their oysters to CBF for replanting onto a nearby sanctuary reef. The now hardy adult oysters will remain on the sanctuary where they can provide water quality and habitat benefits for the Chesapeake Bay.
If you are an oyster lover who is interested in being a foster parent for a few hundred baby oysters but need a location or the $50 to make it happen, please contact our oyster gardening team at MDoystergardening@cbf.org or at 443-482-2065 to learn how you can get involved with CBF’s Gardening program though the "Adopt an Oyster Gardener" program.
For more information on water quality requirements and program specifics, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
See our new gardener workshop pagefor the complete list of workshop dates and locations. Feel free to choose the distribution location that works best for you.
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS:
For further questions and inquiries please reach out to our oyster restoration team at MDoystergardening@cbf.org.
*Volunteers understand that all spat-on-shell provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation remains the property of CBF and is to be returned at the end of the growing season.