AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu &Tai Chi
and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services
August 19th was an exciting day for Severn River Association Program Officer Tom Guay and other members of the staff assembled to watch as the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) craft Papa Francis headed up the Severn toward a section of restored reef at Trace’s Hollow near the Severn River Bridge laden with 12.5 million oysters to be planted.
It was the second time oysters would be planted there and the observers couldn’t wait for the healthy flow of crustaceans from the side of the boat onto the reef to begin. SRA Operations and Communications Manager Sarah Winchester captured digital images of the entire operation including the actual planting as seen in the opening photograph.
To acquaint us with the exact locations of the ten oyster reefs the Severn River Association has been restoring, Guay stood on a bank overlooking the Severn at Jonas and Anne Catharine Green Park and pointed to each. He started with those nearest him on the north side of the river.
“There is the reef just off the historic property Manresa on the hill in the distance and a second reef near the boat in the foreground referred to as Peach Orchard,” Guay said.
Pointing to the Severn River Bridge over Route 50, Guay identified a reef in front and toward the far side of it as the MGO reef. Then, he pointed toward the southern shore slightly below the MGO reef to the Trace’s Hollow reefs 1 and 2.
Shifting his stance, he pointed southward to the Severn River’s biggest reef off the community of Wardour at Weems Creek known as Weems Upper. It has been planted heavily over the years and is the river’s most populous reef. Just north of Weems Upper off Priest Point is another reef referred to as Wade. An additional reef nearby is a “hot spot” for oysters known as Wade 2.
Finally, turning around to face the Naval Academy Bridge, he pointed to the mouth of the Severn River beyond The Naval Academy where two additional reefs are located at Tolley Point near Bay Ridge and Chinks Point near Back Creek.
The Severn River Association’s impressive oyster reef restoration projects began back in 2009 during the administration of Governor Martin O’Malley according to Guay.
“O’Malley asked the State legislature to make some financial commitments to bring oysters back to Maryland waters,” he recalled. “Fortunately, the Severn River was included in the plan.”
The first project launched – an educational outreach program to residents who owned piers all along the river – was called Marylanders Grow Oysters (MGO). The SRA jumped on the program under the leadership of Bob Whitcomb who was president at the time and it was very successful.
The Severn River Association is now the biggest and most effective organization in the State involved with the MGO project. SRA has more than 300 oyster growers who receive free oyster larvae growing on oyster shells – a combination known as spat on shell – in September. They grow them in cages off their piers over the winter. When ready in June, the spat on shell are collected and planted on the MGO reef by the Severn River Bridge.
In 2018, the SRA members realized that, at the pace they were going, it was going to take a very long time to restore the reefs. They’d been planting approximately half a million oysters a year with the MGO program. However, they had a goal of one or two billion mature oysters in order to filter and refresh the water in the Severn River each week
Led by Bob Whitcomb and Ted Delaplaine, the SRA board decided to do something more aggressive and partnered with the Oyster Recovery Project and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to create a project called Operation Build A Reef as an experiment.
Working with ORP and DNR, SRA members raised private money to do their first major planting of 40 million oyster spat on shell with hopes of restoring two traditional Severn River reefs.
“We went to the hatchery at Horn Point and bought 40 million spat on shell, put them on one of Horn Point’s oyster boats, the Robert Lee, and planted them on the Manresa and Peach Orchard reefs,” Guay reported. “We next planted 15 million spat on shell on the reef we refer to as Trace’s Hollow A2. That is the same area we reseeded on August 19 by planting 12.5 million new oysters right over those previously planted there. All-told, we’ve planted over 200 million spat on shell.”
“We think all those oysters are doing really well and we can back that up. SRA has a water quality monitoring program, and we monitor the entire river including the oyster reefs which we visit every week. We monitor the water at each, measuring the levels of oxygen and salinity, particularly at the bottom where the oysters live. Over time, since 2018, we can show that the salinity and oxygen levels are of good enough quality for our oysters to be thriving.”
Guay added that the monitoring is followed up with an annual dive conducted on reefs planted with hatchery oysters the year before by volunteers who are experienced scuba divers. The divers take samples and are able to count, within a square meter, how many of the oysters are alive.
Thus far, the dives reveal that year-old oysters are thriving on the reefs. The minimum requirement to say a reef has been restored is 50 live oysters per square meter. SRA is getting 86 live oysters. In one spot, there were 150.
Guay revealed what a clump of healthy one-year old oysters looked like with a photo he took. He noted that, by the time the oysters are three years old, they have reached their full potential to filter up to 50 gallons of water each day.
The dives and underwater drones sent down to photograph the Weems Upper reef showed that from the surface to 12 and 14 ft. down the water is murky. “However, down right on top of the oysters, suddenly, the waters clear and you’re able to see the oysters,” Guay said. “You can actually view the oysters in the photographs. They do seem to be helping with the clarity.”
It’s fortunate that the Severn River has brackish water with salinity levels in drier years that are high enough for oysters and crabs to reproduce. When those conditions occur, there are enormous spawns allowing the oysters to reproduce themselves. If that happens often enough, the reefs can become self-sustaining.
Though the Severn River Association has many excellent programs, from floating classrooms for students to creating living shorelines, the organization is justly proud of its efforts to bring back the estuary’s historic reefs. SRA’s ultimate goal is to create favorable enough conditions in the Severn that there are enough fish, oysters and crabs for the local populations to share.
To learn more about the Severn River Association and explore opportunities to volunteer, visit Home – Connect Restore Protect | Severn River Association
Walk the Walk Foundation continues to grow by leaps and bounds
Thanks to help from generous donors and volunteers from Thrive Gym Annapolis and The Rotary Club of Parole (Annapolis), Walk the Walk Foundation completed the collection and distribution of more than 500 school backpacks to students at Mills Parole Elementary School on August 22.
WTWF director Nicole Dolan said she was incredibly pleased with the success of the organization’s 2024 school backpack drive.
“Since Walk the Walk Foundation can purchase school supplies for a much lower cost in bulk, we purchase the supplies up front and invite volunteers to join in filling backpacks,” Dolan said.
The busy director and her volunteers travel to communities, churches, offices, or schools where generous donors can fill a backpack for a $30 donation. The $30 covers the cost of one backpack along with all the necessary school supplies.
From the time Dolan and her husband Jeff took over the leadership of Walk The Walk Foundation from founders Dave and Kim Mitchell in 2022, the organization has grown by leaps and bounds and there has been lots of good news to share.
By far, the best news of all concerns one of WTWF’s most important initiatives – its Diapers for Babies program. At the end of July, the organization received a remarkable donation of 213,000 diapers from Huggies and The National Diaper Bank Network. The diapers were delivered in a 53 ft. trailer. Thankfully, a crew of volunteers helped the Dolans unload boxes and boxes of them.
Walk the Walk Foundation’s Diapers for Babies program now supports 16 pantries across Anne Arundel County.
Aside from ongoing efforts to package diapers for distribution to those who need them, the foundation will be participating in their 3rd annual Bay Bridge Run/Walk Fundraiser on November 10th. Through WTWF’s Christmas for Children program, they’ll also be asking the local community to sponsor children for the holiday by purchasing Christmas gifts for families who otherwise would not be able to afford them
Since started by Dave and Kim Mitchell in 2005, over 10,000 children have been sponsored for Christmas by caring donors over the past 18 years. For more information about Walk the Walk Foundation or to volunteer for one of its programs, visit Walk the Walk Foundation | Annapolis MD (wtwf.org).
Homeschool businesses and organizations gather at Jing Ying Institute this Friday
Tomorrow, September 6, Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi is hosting a Homeschool event. The event will provide Anne Arundel County homeschool families an opportunity to meet local businesses and organizations that have homeschool programs and/or extracurricular activities appealing to students of all ages from elementary school through high school.
From 11 am till 2:30 pm, parents and students will be free to meet with vendors. From 12:30 to 1:30 pm, there will be a free Kung Fu class for kids. There will be free school supplies for students and other giveaways. There will also be a raffle. You may register your student or students for the kids’ kung fu class in advance at https://bit.ly/HSKungFu.
Langton Green Community Farm to celebrate 10th Anniversary on September 28
President John Iaquinta and the staff at Langton Green Community Farm invites local residents to join in as they celebrate the farm’s 10th anniversary on Saturday, September 28th from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm. There will be live music provided by Pretty Big Deal Trio, food, and family fun. The farm is located at 844 General’s Highway in Millersville. For more information, visit Home – Langton Green.
Hatton Regester Green Fall Concert Series resumes
The Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails‘ Concert Series at Hatton Regester Green got underway on September 1 with a concert by the duo Two Stories. The next concert will be held Sunday, September 8, from 4 to 6 pm and will star Sparks & McCoy playing classic acoustic rock.
Sunday, September 15 will see Ginger and the other Dave singing and harmonizing. Both play guitar with Ginger also play fiddle on pop, rock, country and folk music. Sunday, September 22 will feature Caribbean influenced trio Guava Jelly – a Hatton Regester favorite. September 29 will feature the Old Mill High School Steel Band.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)
and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
