VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Despite the rain Wednesday, some ODU students and staff took time to give back to Hampton Roads.
Fifteen students and 15 staff were at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach working with oyster cages.
They helped clean some and get them ready to be reused and helped make new cages.
Oysters help filter water and provide a habitat for fish according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This was part of ODU’s week-long Alternative Spring Break program where students spend the week of spring break volunteering.
Portsmouth
Students use oyster balls to create reef at Portsmouth City Park
“We’re showing them different possibilities of ways to get employment after graduation but also ways you can get involved now and you can help and volunteer," said ODU service Learning Assistant Dir. Kara Boone. "We tell them all the time, it doesn’t necessarily have to be money to make an impact. You don’t have to donate money, you can donate your time and your passion and your skills."
“It’s extremely important for everything we do and we are really excited to partner with schools like Old Dominion University because it allows us to reach different demographics that we might not be able too with just our regular volunteer list," Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Oyster Restoration Specialist who works at CBF’s Brock Environmental Center Jessica Lutzow said.
The students are volunteering at a different location each day. They were scheduled to be at the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia Thursday.
