Fall is here and the Environmental Committee has begun our 2023-24 monthly lecture series and our oyster gardening efforts, while continuing to help the club sponsor award-winning clean regattas and events within the international “Sailors for the Sea” program.
We are especially excited that the 2023 “Party in the Port” will be 100% compostable, helping to minimize the event’s environmental impact and setting a strong example that we hope can inspire our visitors. Join us in our efforts to foster environmental sustainability and maintain EYC’s solid reputation for environmental stewardship.
Our fall lecture series began with a September 27 presentation by Eddie Gonzales, Director of Partnerships & Grants, National Park Service (NPS) Chesapeake Office, on the NPS & Chesapeake Gateways Program. The Gateways Program provides a linked network of locations such as parks, historic ports and museums – known as gateways – where the public can access the Chesapeake Bay. The various NPS programs truly provide a great resource for EYC members.
Our October lecture will feature Ranger Melissa Boyle Acuti, Chief of Interpretation for the Maryland Park Service. She will discuss citizen science and her Saw-whet Owl research project at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. She looks forward to sharing her knowledge of these tiny owls and more with EYC members. The lecture will be held on Wednesday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m.
On October 14 EYC will host its annual “Party in the ‘Port: Boat Show Edition” and the “Green Team” will join the fun as always, while also ensuring the party qualifies as a high-level “clean event” with Sailors for the Sea.
Sailors for the Sea Powered by Oceana is the world’s leading ocean conservation organization that engages, educates, and activates the boating community toward restoring ocean health. Boaters see firsthand the issues that our oceans face from pollution which fouls our playground, to overfishing and habitat destruction, which threaten marine life. Through solution-oriented programs, Sailors for the Sea unites approximately 12 million boaters in 42 states and 63 countries to save the world’s oceans.
EYC is proud to be affiliated with the program. To learn more, stop by the EYC booth at the boat show and join us at “Party in the ‘Port” for a clean event that is 100% compostable!
Fall also begins our annual volunteer commitment to care for new oyster spat. This year we will be raising oysters in 40 cages hung from EYC marina docks.
This effort is part of the Severn River Marylanders Grow Oysters program. The cages protect the baby oysters from predators and keep them above the mud.
Volunteers then nurture the baby oysters through the fall, winter and spring by periodically cleaning the cages of algae and sediment. In early summer, the oysters are placed on a sanctuary reef in the Severn River in a cooperative effort to restore the bay’s oysters.
Looking to the future, the committee will continue its efforts to make the club truly green. Recently, management agreed to compost kitchen waste and to consider our cost-benefit analysis of installing two EV chargers in the parking lot. Stay tuned for news on these fronts!