Summer is underway and the Environmental Committee continues to be busy.
We celebrated World Oceans Day on June 8 with a showing of the film “My Octopus Teacher” followed by a sharing of personal encounters with sea creatures. This Award-winning film is the inspiring true story of a filmmaker who forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest. The film’s story makes you reflect on the “intelligence” of sea creatures and our relationship to them.
In the interesting discussion that followed the film, Deb Jones, Jan O’Connor and Virginia Tippie shared their special encounters with a large crab, baby shark and gray seal, respectively.
In the Chesapeake Bay, the oyster is truly one of our most remarkable and valuable “sea creatures.” It not only is an important food source but it provides fish habitat and cleans the water.
Recognizing the importance of oysters, EYC has a community oyster shell recycling bin in the parking lot, an oyster gardening effort in our marina and a wave wall/reef that is built with live oysters. This year, EYC officially joined the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance (COA), a coalition of almost 100 non-profits, community organizations, oyster growers, academic institutions and business owners working to restore 10 billion oysters to the Bay by 2025! At the COA Spring Partners Meeting on June 15, Vice Commodore Lee Maynard represented EYC and affirmed our commitment to this important effort.
The committee continues to support EYC’s clean regatta efforts. On June 24 the club sponsored the Maryland Cures Cancer Regatta (formerly Leukemia Cup) and held a “Rock the Dock” party at EYC. The overall event was a “Sailors for the Sea Clean Regatta” thanks to the efforts of all involved. We are now looking forward to making the Chesapeake Stand-Up Challenge and the Boomerang Race on the July 8-9 weekend clean events as well.

On July 5, we will transport the oysters that we have been growing in our marina cages to their new home on the Severn River oyster reef. This annual effort has resulted in the development of a healthy oyster reef that is now providing habitat for fish and other creatures. It is clear that the oyster reefs in the bay are like the coral reefs in the tropics - they are critical to the productivity of the ecosystem. We will also engage our Junior Sailors in this effort, thus providing a fun educational opportunity.

Members are encouraged to join us in our efforts to restore and protect the bay. Volunteer for various initiatives including ensuring clean regattas & events at EYC, monitoring the water quality in our marina, and growing oysters to support bay restoration efforts.
The committee usually meets on the first Tuesday of the month but we will not be meeting on July 4th - Independence Day. For more information contact [email protected] or check out the EYC Environmental Stewardship section of website.