For the first time in more than 35 years, redhead grass is sprouting in Harness Creek, a tributary of the South River. Last summer, a group of volunteers with the South River Federation planted redhead plants in the Annapolis waterway as part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Grasses for the Masses program. The grasses were planted in the immediate vicinity of a large oyster garden. The oysters, which have a tremendous filtering capacity, may have contributed to the survival of the underwater grasses, which are dependent upon sunlight to grow.
Bay grasses are key indicators of the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Underwater grasses oxygenate the water, trap sediments and provide vital food and habitat for fish, crabs, waterfowl and other wildlife. Only about 12 percent of the Bay’s original 600,000 acres of underwater grasses remain, however, largely because of water pollution. Restoration of this vital resource is critical to saving the Bay, and CBF has established a goal of restoring 225,000 acres by 2005. Citizens can play a direct role in achieving this goal by joining with CBF to grow underwater grasses and replant them in appropriate areas of the Bay.
CBF will host a Grasses for the Masses workshop on Tuesday, April 24, beginning at 6 p.m., where volunteers will learn more about the benefits of grasses to the overall health of the Bay, how to set up the system in their homes, and how to care for the grasses. Volunteers will grow out the redhead grasses for approximately 10 weeks and will then plant them on June 16 in Harness Creek. CBF, with the assistance of a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, will be working with communities along neighboring creeks to restore oyster, grasses and other critical habitat.
Posted: 4-26-2001
