The Nature Conservancy, along with several partners in the Seaside Seagrass Community Restoration Program, is once again gearing up for the largest seagrass restoration project in the world!

Snorkelers and water lovers are needed to collect millions of eelgrass seeds offshore of Oyster, VA on the Eastern Shore. Seed collection will begin on Monday, May 22 at 10 a.m. See below for additional dates and times. It is very important to show up if you sign up so that we can plan transportation and logistics appropriately.

2017 Collection Schedule (all times are meeting at the Oyster Boat Ramp)

Mon., May 22: 10 a.m.
Tues, May 23: 10:30 a.m.
Wed, May 24: 11:30 a.m.
Thur, May 25: 12:30 p.m.
Fri, May 26: 1 p.m.

Trips will last from 5-6 hours. If you have not collected before, we highly encourage you to sign up for at least two collection days.

Gear
You need a face mask, snorkel, towel(s), swim suit, snacks/water and sunscreen. If you have a wetsuit, please bring it. We have 10 wetsuits in various sizes from men’s S-XXL, but choice tends to run to the smaller sizes. Most of the wetsuits are 3/2mm which is lightweight. If you have a wetsuit hood, bring it as you may get cold. You may need to share wetsuits if you don’t have one. Face masks and snorkels are also available on a limited basis. The water temperature will be around 65-70 degrees F. You may also prefer some type of water shoe. You are responsible for your personal gear. 70 degrees sounds warm, but after an hour you will get chilly. Dress in layers.

Training
There will be on-site training each collection day. Volunteers will be trained on how to identify the reproductive shoots of the eelgrass plant and how to collect and bag them along with other related educational information.

For additional information or to sign up, call or email Jen Dalke, volunteer program manager, at jdalke@tnc.org or 434-951-0572 (w) or 540-335-1302 (c).

For more information visit http://www.nature.org/seagrassrestoration. Check out the videos and slideshows!