Dear Friend,
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a marine flowering plant and eelgrass beds fringe or extend off the shoreline from the low intertidal to subtidal zone. Eelgrass provides important habitat for fish and marine invertebrates and also helps to stabilize sediment and shorelines to prevent coastal erosion. However coastal development has resulting fragmentation and substantial loss of eelgrass habitats. Project Watershed has been working with partners to restore eelgrass beds. The Society and our volunteers will be working this spring to transplant eelgrass around the Trent River Estuary, near the Kingfisher Resort.

Project Watershed needs help undertaking this restoration work and can pay for workers to help out, we will also need volunteers to augment our efforts.

The work consists of harvesting eelgrass at the low tide and transporting it back to the shore and tying individual washers onto each eelgrass stem. The prepared eelgrass stems will then be transplanted at the low tide the next day.
At the same time we will be working with Lush Valley Food Action Society to hand harvest invasive Japanese wireweed (Sargassum muticum) from the area where we will be transplanting. This invasive seaweed out-competes native eelgrass for habitat. Lush Valley will compost this seaweed, and use it in their local community gardens.