CBF s oyster gardening program is designed to provide citizens with a way to help restore oysters to the Bay. Participants attend workshops where they learn about oyster ecology and are trained in oyster culture. Each participant builds a float for growing oysters at their dock and receives 2000 seed oysters.
Gardeners grow their oysters for about a year until they are around two inches in length.
Oysters are collected and planted on a rebuilt reef in local waters. The gardener starts over with a new batch of seed. Oysters supported the most valuable fishery in the Bay for over 100 years. Not only are they important economically, but oysters are also a very important part of the Bay s ecology. Oysters form large reefs that provide habitat for a wide range of plants and animals.