Chesapeake Bay Foundation 2-1-11

CBF Oyster Shell Bagging Project Feb.1, 2011

Nine Tuesday Groupers answered the call from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) to help with an Oyster Shell Bagging project on Sara's Creek on the north side of the York River. The property owner has permission to establish a reef of shell bags along his shore line to provide habitat and combat erosion. Ellis and Marti, Carl, Vic, Phil, Bob H., Phyllis, Jim N. and Sandy B. bundled up against the bitter cold and worked in two teams along with CBF staff, the property owner, his brother and a few other volunteers. We put net bags onto PVC cylinders and placed them into special frames. The shells from the pile were loaded into the pipe cylinders by an excavator, which made that part of the job much easier on everyone. Next, we evened out the loaded pipes with oyster shells, discarding the excess. Then the cylinder is lifted up and out of the frame. This leaves the bag full

of shells standing free. The bag is twisted off and crimped, then left for the staff to stack on pallets. We all rotated through the various stages and really got into a great

rhythm as we worked. After a few hours of steady work (just one short break to enjoy donuts and coffee from the staff) we were stopped. The staff said we needed to leave some shells for another group coming later to help. We could have finished the pile off but reluctantly left some for the next helpers. The goal for the day was to bag 700 bags and we did it! We ate our lunch and enjoyed Phyllis' brownies in the comfort of the owner's garage. The group decided to pass on ice cream on this very cold day. We will be notified when the reef will be installed and will have an opportunity to volunteer to help. The staff also said they hope to make more reef balls this year and will let us know the dates for that once it is planned. Many of the Tues.Group helped with that last year and it was very interesting. We will keep you posted on future volunteer opportunities with CBF.

Marti

Click on the link to view the pictures:

Carl's Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/m.malabad/CarlSPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNr03Lys2Y2sbw#

Marti's Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/m.malabad/ChesapeakeBayFoundation?authkey=Gv1sRgCPOZn4en9vTbmgE#

Pictures by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation: http://picasaweb.google.com/m.malabad/ChesapeakeBayFoundationPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCLSj0MqPqYHR8QE#