Marsh Mucking at Poplar Island

This weekend we were priviliged enough to spend a day planting marsh grasses—Spartina alternaflora and Spartina patens— with lots of nice volunteers and folks from the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It was lots of fun traipsing around in the muddy, mucky water of Poplar Island.

The story about Poplar Island is pretty interesting. Apparently the island has been eroding away for the last 100 years to what is today less than one fifth the original size (check out the Google Map of the island. Loss of habitat from erosion, along with development, is a contributor to unstable critter populations in the Chesapeake Bay. To counteract the loss of habitat, The National Aquarium in Baltimore with the Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding the island using dredgewater from the Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay channel. Poplar Island will help add habitat for Diamondback Terrapins, Blue Crabs, and a multitude of waterfowl. When we were planting grasses, we even found some small blue crabs beginning to come into the marsh of the island to seek cover from predators.

It was a fun time being out in the sun all day. The team from the National Aquarium takes good care of their volunteers with lots of water, snacks, and cheerful fun throughout the day. I left with muddy clothes and a smile. I was even lucky enough to have come away with minimal sunburn—damn that short haircut I got last Thursday.