Largest Seagrass Restoration in the World!

The Nature Conservancy and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, along with several partners in the Seaside Heritage Seagrass Community Restoration Program, are once again gearing up for the largest seagrass restoration project in the world!

We are looking for 100 local volunteer recreational divers and snorkelers to collect 10 million eelgrass seeds. 

Eelgrass is a simple seagrass that once thrived in the coastal bays of Virginia. In 1933, an outbreak of disease and a major hurricane virtually wiped it out. The Seaside Seagrass Community Restoration Program has been conducting highly successful efforts to restore eelgrass in the nearby coastal bays since 1999. To learn about the Virginia Seaside Heritage Program, click here. 

Last year, 85 tireless volunteers, including teachers, nurses and truck drivers, put in 450 hours over 10 days. They gathered reproductive shoots containing ripe seeds from the underwater plants. The shoots were measured into water tanks, and the seeds were then cured, separated, and prepared for planting in the fall.

How You Can Help

This May and June, we need YOUR help with the 2009 Seagrass Restoration.

1. Volunteer! Mark your calendar for eelgrass collection. Download the schedule here (pdf). 
   
   We will hold a training workshop for interested volunteers on May 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the Anheuser-Busch Center for Coastal Research (click for directions). 
    
2. Make a donation. Can't attend the event, but still want to help our seagrass restoration efforts and other projects at the Virginia Coast Reserve? Your monetary donation will make a difference. Donate online today to support Conservancy programs on the Eastern Shore.
    
3. Contribute gear. Donate or lend us wetsuits and/or snorkeling equipment. 
    
4. Advertise. Email or call up your friends, and post this year’s poster at a local business or around town. Click to download the seagrass restoration poster (pdf, 1.20MB). 

More Information

Who: Volunteers. We’re looking for at least 100, preferably volunteers who have experience snorkeling or diving, who are comfortable with being underwater, and/or who participated in last year’s event.

What: Collect seed-bearing reproductive shoots from underwater eelgrass plants. During low-tide collection, the water will be about waist deep. The most productive times for collecting will be during low-tide snorkel sessions when we will need the majority of volunteers.  SCUBA divers will be utilized this year for mid-day, high-tide collection. Trips will last from 5 to 6 hours.

When: Late-May to mid-June. Exact dates can be downloaded here (xls, 18KB). Note: weather and timing are variable, and trips may change on short notice.  It is important that volunteers are flexible. For those who are inexperienced, we highly encourage you to sign up for at least two collection days.

Where: In the seagrass meadows of South Bay off Oyster, Virginia, on the Eastern Shore. Volunteers will be leaving the dock in Oyster at varying times based on the tide.

Gear: You need a face mask, snorkel and towel(s).  If you have a wetsuit, please bring it. We will have some wetsuits available, but you will possibly have to share and sizes vary.

What Next? If you are interested in signing up to receive more information about the largest seagrass restoration in the world, please contact Jen Rich, volunteer coordinator, at 434-951-0572  or jrich@tnc.org. 

Partners

Thank you to our partners for making this event possible. 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Jennifer Rich/TNC (Seagrass restoration in Oyster, Virginia, June 2008); Photo © Jay Odell/TNC (Collected seagrass awaits transport to water tanks for curing and preparation); Photo © Barry Truitt/TNC (Volunteers collect eelgrass along Virginia's Eastern Shore).