HAMPTON, Va. — With summer quickly approaching, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is preparing for the "summer oyster gardening" season.
Oyster gardening takes place across the entire Hampton Roads region with workshops on both sides of the Peninsula.
On Thursday, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, alongside partners and volunteers, met at the Docks at Downtown Hampton to track the current growth on last seasons oysters.
A process that was conducted by volunteers in the public, who decided to grow oysters and begin oyster gardening.
According to CBF representatives, this process is beneficial for the waterways as each oyster can hold large amounts of water.
When tracking oyster growth, there are a few factors to consider: weather, water salinity, and other local conditions.
Thus making restoration work a different process each time oysters are let into the waterways.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Intern and rising senior Marine Science student at Hampton Univeristy, T'Kiyah Reeves, says growing oysters is an essential part in helping our ecosystem and observing different species.
"There are huge microbiomes going on within the oysters, there's mussels that grow on here, there's nematodes and worms that live on here, sometimes you see crabs and defiantly barnacles. All of these animals are now feeding and living in the oyster ecosystem," said Reeves.
With ten oyster gardening opportunities taking place in the summertime, the foundation hopes more people will get involved in nurturing oysters.
To learn more about oyster gardening and how you can begin raising your own oysters visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation website at cbf.org.
