The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays is recruiting First State residents for its annual Oyster Gardening Program.
Delaware’s Inland Bays currently have a very small natural population of oysters.
But the Center believes oysters were previously a thriving and important component of their ecology - and can be again with help from its Oyster Gardening Program.
“The Oyster Gardening Program started in 2003," said Nivette Perez-Perez, project manager for the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays (CIB). "It’s actually an excellent example of how a collaboration between the residents and environmental entities can do very good (work) to improve the health and restoration efforts of the Inland Bays.”
Perez-Perez notes that oyster gardeners need to own or have access to a private, waterfront property on tidal waters - such as Delaware’s canals, creeks and/or Bays.
The Center provides volunteers all training, guidance and supplies needed to care for their oysters for approximately one year.
Perez-Perez says the oysters grow for one year before the Center collects them for use in various restoration or research projects throughout the Inland Bays.
The oysters in this program are not intended for human consumption, but are put back into the water to help filter algae and other particles from the water and remove excess nutrients polluting the Inland Bays.
Information on signing up is available at the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays website.
