2024 CBOCS Annual Report
Chesapeake Beach Oyster Cultivation Society
Friends of Fishing Creek
2024 Annual Report
2023 Accomplishments
The Chesapeake Beach Oyster Cultivation Society continues its vibrant role in promoting oyster restoration projects and educational opportunities for Calvert County elementary school students, residents and visitors to Chesapeake Beach and Calvert County. Our membership increased 10% to 115 members and we continue to encourage enthusiastic participation in our mission and events.
As always, the Society is only successful with the generous commitment of time and energy of all its members. We are so appreciative of your passion for the health of oysters, the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the education of our young people and your commitment to making our town a great place to live.
March ushered in the start of our active program season. CBOCS volunteers in conjunction with the Coastal Conservation Association travelled to six northern Calvert County elementary schools (Beach, Windy Hill, Mt. Harmony, Sunderland, Huntingtown and Plum Point) to support the 5th grade Oyster Reef Ball Build project. The students built the reef balls by constructing molds, mixing and pouring concrete, and then “Hatching” the reef balls on the second day of the event. 400 students participated in building 120 reef balls to be distributed in the Bay, the Patuxent River and the St. Mary’s River.
CBOCS volunteers also supported an Oyster Reef Ball Build at Broadneck High School in Annapolis. Unfortunately, the students missed out on the second day “hatch” as the smoke from the Canadian wildfires prevented outdoor participation. 12 adult volunteers scrambled to open the molds and remove the reef balls early in the morning to avoid the worst of the air conditions.
In April, CBOCS was contacted by the American Chestnut Land Trust to participate in their annual one-day Water Quality Blitz. The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons along with ACLT obtains water samples from non-tidal sections of the major creeks and streams in Calvert County. The CBL tracks the results for historical analysis and submits the report to ACLT. I’m happy to report that the non-tidal sections of Fishing Creek were rated Good for Nitrogen Levels.
Also in April, the town of North Beach opened a nature center at Wetlands Overlook Park. CBOCS contributed some live oyster reef inhabitants for their oyster aquarium, as well as additional informational materials to be distributed at the center. If you have not visited it yet, the nature center is a wonderful asset to our twin beaches’ community.
Several CBOCS volunteers travelled to the University of Maryland Environmental Science laboratory in Cambridge for a tour of the oyster growth facility. This is a tremendous program, and the tour was truly fascinating.
September saw the return of our 5th grade oyster field trip program encompassing all elementary schools in Calvert County. This is a hugely successful and popular event in the CCPS calendar. 12 CBOCS volunteers supported the Dept. of Parks and Recreation Naturalists over the course of 10 weeks with logistical support, setting up and taking down teaching stations, driving the ever-popular golf cart and providing storage facilities for the equipment. At program completion, over 1,146 students and 266 teachers/chaperones were educated on requirements for a healthy oyster environment and the vital role oysters play in the health of Chesapeake Bay. 207 volunteer hours were recorded for this program. Many thanks go out to the volunteers as well as Jay Berry and his terrific staff at CB DPW who came out in heat, cold, rain and sunshine to support this major effort.
Several volunteers participated in the Maryland Grows Oysters program to over-winter spat-on-shell in cages on their own property. This small but enthusiastic group of volunteers are tracking the oyster spat growth over the winter. The shells will be collected in the spring and deposited on reefs in the bay. We are actively planning on increasing the number of volunteers who are willing to participate in 2024 and notice will be sent out in the spring.
Sue Alexander, Director of CBOCS, along with Mayor Pat Mahoney, attended the annual Chesapeake Oyster Alliance Science Symposium for two days in Cambridge, MD. This was an exciting event that promoted All Things Oyster. There were 24 speakers covering a range of topics including Increasing Returns in Restoration and Aquaculture; Presentations from Emerging Scientists – 4 students from area colleges and one high school student; New Developments in Monitoring Oyster Reefs and Hatcheries; New World Advances in Oyster Technology; and Forecasting the Future of Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture. The highlight of the trip for Sue was a chance to sail a Skipjack on the Choptank River. Many connections were made to provide future opportunities for CBOCS to promote Oyster growth and restoration.
A new initiative started in the fall with a proposal from the ACLT to create a Friends of Fishing Creek group. They have established three other “Friends of” groups in Calvert County – Mill Creek, Hunting Creek and St. Leonard Creek. Fishing Creek is the third largest creek in Calvert County and deserves equal attention. The mission of the “Friends of” groups is to promote maintenance of the overall health of Fishing Creek as well as educate local citizenry on good environmental practices impacting the creek. Creating a third group, in addition to CBOCS and the CB Green Team, would likely draw on the same citizen population and therefore be redundant. Too many committees are never a popular idea. After discussion, CBOCS and the CB Green Team will support the mission of the Friends group with any proposed project being absorbed by one of the two existing teams (CBOCS – oyster/water related projects; Green Team land related projects). More to come on this effort in 2024.
Greg Bowen and Mary Hoover of the ACLT also contacted CBOCS to discuss another major initiative they are promoting. This effort will entail designating Fishing Creek a Rural Legacy Area. This program, run by the ACLT and a Maryland State Trust, is a voluntary program to preserve land along the creek. The program applies to any land bordering Fishing Creek outside of the Chesapeake Beach town limits. ACLT has asked for support from CBOCS for this program. More information to follow in 2024.
CBOCS members Sue Alexander and Melanie Crowder met with the Twin Beach library Director and Assistant Director along with local artist Parran Collery to begin planning for an exterior tile mural for the new North Beach Library. The tile mural will be designed around the flora and fauna of the Chesapeake Bay. Installation is planned for spring/summer 2024. An Oyster Celebration Day is being planned to involve the community in arts and informational events to celebrate this mural, the bay and our Calvert County environment, with a tentative date in early 2025.
The CB Town Administrator has worked diligently this year with several CBOCS members to update our web page on the town’s website. Yea!
And finally, CBOCS sponsored tables at three events in our community this year. Volunteers distributed 500 pieces of candy, 200 pencils and 240 glow stick bracelets at the annual Halloween Fun Night – another hugely popular event in town. Volunteers also manned a table at the Light Up the Town event in December where over 50 children (and a few adults) painted oyster shell ornaments for their Christmas decorations. Lastly, a table was manned at the Taste of the Beaches event in September handing out informational brochures and reusable tote bags. Volunteers were amazingly spry in closing down the table and quickly packing up all materials as a heavy thunderstorm rolled through.
2024 Plans for the Future
The future as always looks bright for CBOCS. There is increased interest in maintaining the health of the bay with a major focus on the crucial role oysters play in this environment. We look forward to increasing membership and support for CBOCS in the coming year. Refer your friends and Families!
Volunteer Opportunities 2024
March brings the start of the Reef Ball Builds. The 5th grade classes from CCPS that participated in the fall oyster field trips will be building reef balls at their school locations. CBOCS will provide volunteers to assist in the building of the reef balls at six northern Calvert County elementary schools – Windy Hill, Beach, Plum Point, Sunderland, Huntingtown and Mt. Harmony. This is a two-day event that includes building the molds, pouring the concrete and then “Hatching” the reef balls once the concrete has set. Volunteers are asked to provide any time they can – 1 hour, 2 hours, 2 days…no experience necessary.
In April, CBOCS volunteers will be assisting in water-quality testing of Fishing Creek. The American Chestnut Land Trust (ACLT) in conjunction with the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory of Solomons Island is testing the water quality of a number of creeks in Calvert County and has asked CBOCS to provide resources for the Fishing Creek portion of this testing. This is a 2-3 hour project gathering water samples from designated locations on the creek.
September brings the MGO program. Volunteers will be needed to over-winter spat-on-shell in cages provided by the program. Volunteers are asked to provide the location – a pier or waterfront in brackish water that is at least 2’ deep at low tide and has good water flow. The only other requirement is that cages be lifted and shook once every few weeks to loosen mud and debris.
5th grade field trips in the fall always can use a few good hands. This program runs weekdays from Labor Day to the first week of November. It is outdoors on the creek and always lots of fun. Hours and workload are very flexible and will fit any volunteer schedule.
CBOCS would like to reestablish a Facebook page and update the town web page. If anyone has an interest in setting up a page and/or helping to maintain page content, please let Sue know so we can get our message out.
As always, the CBOCS team is looking for new projects and efforts supporting the restoration of oysters in the bay and the promotion of good environmental health for Fishing Creek. If you hear of any events or projects that touch on our oyster mission and you think CBOCS could support, forward the information to Sue to get the ball rolling.
Thank you all for dedication and support of our mission and I look forward to working with you all in the future.
Sue Alexander can be reached at sue.alexander.2449@gmail.com