By Max Stumpf, SMRWA Intern

On June 19, more than a dozen members of Leonardtown’s Scout Troop 420 joined the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association (SMRWA) to deploy over 300 cages of baby oysters. These oysters were cared for by members of the local community through the Oyster Recovery Partnership’s Marylanders Grow Oysters (MGO) program, facilitated by SMRWA.

Oysters are most fragile in their first year of life. Through the MGO program, volunteers keep cages filled with baby oysters tied to their dock or pier for eight or nine months. During this time, they check on them, clean off debris, and ensure that they remain submerged. By June, they were strong enough to move to their permanent home west of Horseshoe Point in the St. Mary’s River Oyster Sanctuary.

The Scouts planted over 30,000 oysters in just a couple of hours. The trip also gave these scouts a chance to learn more about oysters and local watershed health, all while providing a fun and hands-on service opportunity!

Thank you to Troop 420 and our MGO volunteers for their help and enthusiasm for our work! We couldn’t have done this without them.