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Grants helps river protection group offer new programs in tough economic times Date published: 1/9/2009
By RUSTY DENNEN Ripples from the recession have made it harder for conservation nonprofit groups to continue or expand programs. But thanks to recent grants, the Friends of the Rappahannock will add to its lineup. The Fredericksburg-based group will sponsor after-school fishing for at-risk kids, help high-schoolers grow oysters, and beef up water-quality monitoring along Hazel Run in the city. The money, totaling about $22,000, is from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund. The organization's advisory committee chose $393,000 in projects to fund across the state, out of $1.6 million in requests. Fishing connects children with the river, said Maureen Hamm, FOR's education director. "We did a fishing camp this summer, and I was just astounded," said Hamm. "When they arrived, there were fishing poles, hooks flying everywhere." After the sessions, she said, "they were so competent, on how to handle themselves" and the equipment. "They learned so much about fisheries biology by learning how to fish--where fish are and how they find their food." That went so well, Hamm said, FOR approached the Rappahannock Area Office on Youth to include at-risk children for an after-school program. That will begin this spring, with an expanded offering next year. Growing oysters will be the focus for students at Christchurch School on the Rappahannock in Middlesex County. "They started last year growing oysters from spat," said Jenn Allen, FOR's program manager. Spat are baby oysters about the size of a fingernail. The small oysters--attached to oyster shell--are taken from nursery areas and transplanted. They reach adult size in a couple of years. This spring the students will grow more of the bivalves, with the aim of building an oyster reef on 100 acres of river bottom off the school property. Re-establishing native oysters in Virginia's major Bay tributaries could help revive stocks that have been decimated by disease and overharvesting. "It gets students involved in every aspect of growing oysters," Allen said, noting that students helped raise money for the project by recycling aluminum cans. FOR will also help line up community volunteers and oyster-gardening workshops for other landowners. The rest of the grant money will enhance FOR's water-monitoring program in the Hazel Run watershed. Hazel run is among Virginia's list of "impaired waters" and has been damaged by frequent sewage overflows during storms. As Fredericksburg upgrades sewer lines, FOR will use the money to more closely track bacterial contamination of the creek. Partners in that project will include Downtown Greens, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, the University of Mary Washington Science Department and the city. John Tippett, FOR's executive director, said grants, member contributions and special gifts help bridge gaps. "It's so important to have a diversified funding base for economic times like this," he said. FOR has been expanding its presence to the lower Rappahannock. It has a satellite office in Caroline County and has been working with officials in Caroline and Lancaster counties to update Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act code provisions. Friends of the Rappahannock: riverfriends.org Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee: dls.state.va.us/GROUPS/cbrfac/GUIDELNS.HTMRusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Date published: 1/9/2009
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