Through this educational program, citizen volunteers living on San Domingo Creek or La Trappe Creek tend to the young oysters growing in wire mesh cages suspended from their piers for their first year of life. The oyster spat and cages are provided by DNR and Environmental Concern at no charge to the volunteers.
Participants can either pick up their oysters and cages from Environmental Concern in St. Michaels or have them delivered directly to their home and installed on their pier. Cages with oyster spat will be available on - or after September 11. Once installed, the maintenance involved is minimal.
The oysters require minimal care—mostly rinsing the cages every two weeks. Citizen volunteers enjoy the personal rewards of stewardship while contributing to the enhancement of an oyster reef in their tributary. After about 12 months, the oysters are collected and planted in a local oyster sanctuary, and a new group of young oysters are distributed to participating growers to start the process again.
