Volunteers test St. Mary’s River water and back oyster sanctuary, invite more sailors

Unidentified Speaker said a volunteer group, the Saint Mary's River Yacht Club, conducts weekly water testing on the Saint Mary's River and sends samples to the DNR for analysis.

The group also donated funds to buy concrete "bell" structures used to hold oyster seed at a sanctuary on the river, the speaker said, and runs sailboat races from late spring through the fall. "We got a group that goes out every week and actually tests the waters of the Saint Mary's River at various points and send it into DNR for analysis to see about the health of that river," the speaker said.

The work combines citizen science and recreation: volunteers collect water-quality samples for state analysis, and the donated structures — described in the meeting as concrete bells — are intended to improve survival of oyster seed by elevating it off muddy areas. "When we started the sanctuary at Saint Mary's River for the oyster sanctuary, we donated funds to buy, they look like some kind of a bell type of, concrete structure that they planted there to put the seed orchards on," the speaker said.

Club members also encourage local interest in sailboat racing and community participation. "We have races, from the late spring all the way through the fall in the Saint mainly in the Saint Mary's River area," the speaker said, adding that people without boats can sign up to be crew and learn the skills needed.

No official timetable or contact information for volunteering or sample results was provided in the remarks. The speaker asked interested people to consider joining the club as crew or volunteers; the club’s testing is reported to support DNR monitoring of river health.