2011 NOAA Restoration Day Event

On Thursday, June 2, 2011 approximately 150 NOAA employees and partners participated in the 8th annual NOAA Restoration Day event at Piscataway Park on the Potomac River in Accokeek, MD.

NOAA Restoration Day offers a great chance for NOAA staff to interact and work side-by-side with colleagues from throughout NOAA, and it is also a hands-on opportunity to see NOAA science and stewardship at work.

NOAA Restoration Day, organized and co-led by the National Ocean Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, is one of the largest voluntary federal employee-sponsored environmental stewardship events in the Chesapeake Bay watershed region. This event has grown every year as NOAA employees in Maryland and Virginia work to restore habitat at two sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Maryland Event

This year, the Maryland event took place at Piscataway Park, where NOAA previously completed a 3,000-foot long living shoreline restoration project restoring 2.2 acres of tidal marsh and protecting an additional 30 acres of freshwater marsh.

Participants planted 3,600 plugs of the switchgrass grown in NOAA offices since March, as well as planting thousands more switchgrass seeds for the living shoreline. They collected 75 bags of marine debris, 35 of which will be recycled, along with several tires and even a floatable dock; removed invasive plants; and took measurements to create digital elevation maps of the area. Survey teams found submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), birds, reptiles, and fish throughout the area as well. All in all it was a day of hard work and friendly cooperation.

• See more about the 2011 Event
• 2011 Event Agenda
  

Activities:

• Planting switchgrass plugs grown from 22 NOAA office tanks and seeds (see more info)
• Fish seining and sampling
• SAV surveys
• Beach cleanup
• Invasive plant species removal
• Birding and herp surveys
• Digital elevation leveling activities
• and more…

For more information, contact:

• Michele.Miller@noaa.gov

Virginia Event

A smaller scale, coordinated event occured in Virginia on April 29. More than 3,000 marsh grass (Spartina alternaflora) were planted to restore 0.25 acres of Lafayette River shoreline at the Hermitage Museum and Gardens in Norfolk, VA. Twenty-five Virginia NOAA staff participated.

• For more information, contact: Andrew.W.Larkin@noaa.gov
  

NOAA Restoration Day

The NOAA Restoration Day event provides an opportunity for employees to put into action the NOAA mission they support in their office work, and to demonstrate their commitment to restoration and protection of the Bay and NOAA science.

Why NOAA Should Help the Bay:

• The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure in our backyard that needs our help
• NOAA supports coastal habitat restoration activities
• Contributes to the NOAA mission
• Great way to learn more about NOAA science,
  see demonstrations, and meet new people
• NOAA staff enjoy field work – it’s fun!
  
  
  • See previous event photos

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