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Restoration

CBF performs hands-on restoration work with community partners across the watershed to reduce pollution at its source and rebuild the Bay's natural filters—oyster reefs, forests, soil, and wetlands. These efforts not only improve water quality in the Bay and its rivers, they also protect shorelines, provide habitat for wildlife, cool cities, and increase our resilience to climate change.

Beth LeFebvre/CBF Staff

About Our Restoration Programs

From tree and oyster plantings to building living shorelines and soil health, CBFers are in the field with partners and volunteers working hard to restore our rivers, streams, and Bay.

Volunteers carry and place concrete oyster castle structures along a marsh shoreline for habitat restoration.
Sue Mangan

The Impact of our Restoration Programs

In 2024, with our steadfast volunteers and partners by our side, we planted billions of oysters and dozens of acres of streamside forests, picked up nearly 100,000 pounds of trash, and more. Take a look at the impact you made possible:

1.7 billion oysters added to the Chesapeake Bay

98 acres of streamside forests planted

4,930 volunteers donated 67,858 hours of time to restoring the Bay

Related Resources

Explore our in-depth reports, videos, and more to learn more about the issues impacting our Bay and how you can help.

View All Resources
Two women and a young girl prepare to plant a tree.
CBF Staff
Resource 17 Native Trees for Your Yard
If you’re thinking of planting trees, consider these 17 species native to the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Resource 14 Things You Can Do
One of the most common questions we’re asked is “What can I do to help save the Bay?” Here are 14 ways you can help.
Resource Six Steps to Create Your Living Shoreline in Virginia
Use these guidelines to design and install your living shoreline.
Resource How To Install a Rain Barrel
Students show how to install a rain barrel as a way to prevent polluted runoff, save water, and educate others.
Resource How to Plant a Bare Root Tree Seedling
To make sure your bare root seedlings get a great head start, watch this step-by-step tutorial by Matt Kowalski, CBF’s Virginia Watershed Restoration Scientist.
Resource Safe Fish Handling
Approximately nine percent of bass released alive die, resulting in millions of dead fish each year. Do your part to increase survival rates by using best practices for catch and release.
Two women and a young girl prepare to plant a tree.
Two women and a young girl prepare to plant a tree.
CBF Staff

Restoration Programs and Initiatives

Explore Our Programs
A group of volunteers celebrating after building a living shoreline.
Restoration Volunteer

Do you enjoy working with others to help restore the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams? Whether growing oysters, planting trees, or helping in our offices, there are plenty of ways you can contribute.

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia
A man passes two cages containing oysters to a woman.
Restoration Virginia Oyster Gardening

Help rebuild the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population by becoming an oyster gardener. Grow oysters alongside your dock and then help CBF plant them on sanctuary reefs.

Virginia
Three oyster restoration boats prepare to deploy reef balls.
Restoration Oyster Restoration

In support of re-establishing this keystone species, CBF has established facilities and programs in Maryland and Virginia devoted to restoration of the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica.

Maryland, Virginia
A herd of cows graze in a grassy field with trees behind them.
Restoration Mountains-to-Bay Grazing Alliance

A multi-state program supporting farmers interested in grazing their livestock.

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia
Herd of brown and white dairy cows graze in a green pasture with trees in the background. Three cows stare directly into the camera.
Restoration Maryland Grazers Network

The Maryland Grazers Network is a mentorship program that pairs experienced livestock, dairy, sheep, and poultry producers with farmers who want to learn new grazing skills.

Maryland
A pair of gloved hands hold an oyster shucking knife and sort oysters that rest on a wire rack.
Restoration Maryland Shellfish Growers Network

The Maryland Shellfish Growers Network provides resources and training for new and veteran shellfish farmers.

Maryland
Restoration Maryland Oyster Gardening Program

Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Oyster Gardening Program offers the opportunity grow oysters. Adult oysters returned to CBF are planted on sanctuary reefs.

Maryland
A stream forks beneath a tree flanked by thick brush.
Restoration Halfmoon and Pequea Creek Watersheds Renewal Project

The Halfmoon and Pequea Creek Watersheds Renewal Project represents an evolution in CBF’s work to reduce pollution to Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams accelerating the implementation of key practices to bring streams back to health, improve wildlife habitat critical to critters like the brook trout, and enhance local appreciation of local waters.

Pennsylvania
Several people install protective sleeves around young trees along a stream.
Restoration Watershed Resiliency Program

Since 1986, CBF’s efforts in Pennsylvania have emphasized collaborating with landowners to implement on-farm practices that result in cleaner waters and more profitable, sustainable, and environmentally responsible farms.

Pennsylvania
Oyster shells rest in shallow water at sunset.
Restoration Chesapeake Oyster Alliance

The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance is a multi-year effort designed to spark governmental action, public attention, and funding to accelerate ongoing oyster restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay. The ambitious goal of this collaborative effort is to add 10 billion new oysters by 2025 in Virginia and Maryland waters.

Join Us in the Field!

From tree plantings to oyster gardening and more, take a look at our upcoming volunteer opportunities to help restore the Bay and its rivers and streams.

Events
Atlantic Blue Crab