CONSERVE & RESTORE - Maryland Oyster Gardening Schedule

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We Want Your Oysters!

Please come to one of the Spat Pick-Up Days listed below to get new spat for your oyster garden.

Please contact the Oyster Gardening Program at least two days before the date you plan to attend and let us know when you are coming so we can be sure to have enough spat on hand. Please leave an e-mail or phone message, including which Spat Pick-Up Day you'll attend and the number of cages you have. MDoystergardening@cbf.org or (443) 482-2152.

You can also return your adult oysters at these Spat Pick-Up Days if you have not already done so.

• Please bring your oysters in bushel baskets, sturdy cardboard boxes, buckets, or any sturdy container that you do not need returned to you. This really helps facilitate transplanting them onto the reef. Please count your oysters before you bring them to us, and let us know how many you have. This helps us keep track of how many oysters we plant. You may want to take a sample from your garden (say, estimate 10%), count every live oyster in that sample, then use that number to estimate how many oysters you have in your whole garden by multiplying by 10.

• Oysters can stay out of the water for up to 24 hours before the event, as long as they are not in direct sunlight. (Keep them in a cool, shady place and cover them with damp newspaper).

2010 Fall Schedule of Spat Pick-Up/Drop-Off Days:

Please Note!!

CBF is asking that volunteers participating in CBF-sponsored oyster gardening help the Foundation with the cost of spat-on-shell and materials associated with the project by making a $25 gift to the Foundation. This gift is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law*. We will be set up to collect contributions at all Spat Pick-Up Days. CBF appreciates your ongoing support, and we hope you will continue in the oyster gardening program. Thank you for all you are doing to help save the Bay. *Volunteers understand that all spat on shell provided by the Foundation remains the property of CBF and is to be returned at the end of the growing season.

Replacement Oyster Gardening Supplies:

If you need replacement supplies (wire mesh cages, closure clips, etc.), this is a great time to pick them up. Just leave an e-mail or phone message two days in advance letting us know what you need, and we’ll bring the supplies to the Spat Pick-Up Day. MDoystergardening@cbf.org or (443) 482-2152.

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Directions to Oyster Return Locations

Look for the big, blue CBF truck (the ‘Spatmobile’) in the parking lot.
Just pull up and we'll help unload your oysters!

Calvert Maritime Museum, Solomon's, MD:

• From Anne Arundel County or above the Thomas Johnson Bridge in Solomon’s: Take Route 2/4 south (Solomon’s Island Road). Once in Solomon’s, stay in the right lane of Route 2-4.  Exit onto Route 2, passing under the Thomas Johnson Bridge. Then make a left, drive approximately 200 yards, and the Museum will be right in front of you. Don’t go over the Thomas Johnson Bridge (you can’t miss it- it’s huge) or you’ve gone too far!
• From below the Thomas Johnson Bridge on Route 4: Take Route 4 north across the Thomas Johnson Bridge. At the east end of the bridge, take Route 2. Turn right, and drive about 500 feet to the Museum.

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, MD:

From the Eastern Shore:

• From North of Easton, follow 50 east to Rt. 322. Take Rt. 322 to Rt. 33 west. Follow Rt. 33 into St. Michael’s. Once in St. Michael’s, go past Mill Street to the NEW ENTRANCE and PARKING LOT on the right. The Spat Pick Up will be held in the NEW PARKING LOT.
• From South of Easton, follow 50 west to Rt. 322. Take Rt. 322 to Rt. 33 west. Follow Rt. 33 into St. Michael’s. Once in St. Michael’s, go past Mill Street to the NEW ENTRANCE and PARKING LOT on the right. The Spat Pick Up will be held in the NEW PARKING LOT.

From the Western Shore:

• Take Route 50 east toward the Bay Bridge. Go over the Bay Bridge and continue on 50 east toward Easton. Exit for Rt. 322. Take Rt. 322 to Rt. 33 west. Follow Rt. 33 into St. Michael’s. Once in St. Michael’s, go past Mill Street to the NEW ENTRANCE and PARKING LOT on the right. The Spat Pick Up will be held in the NEW PARKING LOT.

Philip Merrill Environmental Center, Annapolis, MD:

• From Route 50 (east or west), take the Route 665 exit (Aris T. Allen Boulevard). Stay on this street; it becomes Forest Drive and then Bay Ridge Ave. The area becomes residential, and you will pass through a pair of brick signs that say ‘Bay Ridge.’ Immediately after passing these signs, turn right onto Herndon Avenue.  The Philip Merrill Environmental Center is about .5 miles on the right.

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Helpful Links

Here is some information to help you prepare:

• Oyster Gardening Quick Reference Sheet
• Maryland Oyster Facts
• Oyster Gardening for Restoration and Education

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