Sandy Hook: Oyster Restoration with the NY/NJ Baykeeper
Sponsoring Club: Association of Asian American Yale Alumni
Co-sponsor Club: Yale Alumni Association of Bergen County and Vicinity
Date and Time: Sat, 05/15/2010 - 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location:
Meet at Moby’s Restaurant
2 Bay Avenue
Highlands, NJ
Web site: http://nynjbaykeeper.org/
Description:
Oysters are crucial to the health of our waterways because they filter and purify water, and oyster reefs are the natural habitat for hundreds of aquatic species. Once plentiful in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, the oyster population decreased drastically in the 1900s due to overharvesting, pollution, disease and siltation. The Baykeeper has been restoring oyster beds in the estuary since 1997.
The oyster restoration project includes two sites: an aquaculture facility in Atlantic Highlands, NJ and a shell bagging site in Sandy Hook, NJ.
The shell-bagging site needs volunteers to rake through clam shell piles, pick out and bag shells and stack the bags on pallets. This is not labor intensive.
The tasks at the aquaculture facility include preparing tanks/equipment for the upcoming season (cleaning, attaching plumbing, etc), sorting the oyster stock, and moving floats. This is labor intensive.
Schedule:
9 AM to 12 noon: half the volunteers will be at each site (We will contact you to let you know where to report.)
12 noon to 1 PM: Please bring a bag lunch
1 PM to 4 PM: volunteers will switch sites
Baykeeper staff will be at both sites to present the oyster restoration project, lead you through the tasks, and to answer your questions.
You will be working near or with water and this work is VERY dirty and smelly, so dress accordingly! Volunteers must be at least 12 years old.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Site Coordinator:
Dee Hamaguchi ’87, Branford College
deehamaguchi@yahoo.com
(917) 907-2153